Crispy Soy Garlic Tofu

Crispy Soy Garlic Tofu. Crispy tofu pan fried in a garlicky, savoury umami based sauce. This tofu dish is so good it may convert the people in your life to enjoy it!  

Ready in 30-35 minutes!

It’s fantastic for dinner, lunch or for meal prep. It can be vegan as well with a substitution.

Let’s get things straight

I am very picky about my tofu. For me to genuinely enjoy it, it must be either crispy tofu smothered in a tasty sauce OR soft. So, you bet that this recipe will be good!

Easy to make!

This soy garlic tofu recipe is easy to make. It’s one of my tofu recipes that isn’t too fussy and if you have an Asian pantry, most or all of the ingredients should be at your finger tips!

Basically

You’re simply premixing your sauce ingredients. Then dicing your extra firm tofu and evenly coating it in cornstarch. Next, you’ll fry that tofu in oil until golden and crispy. Once crispy, you’ll remove it from the pan and pour your sauce in to thicken and reduce slightly. Toss back in your tofu and give it a mix. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, optional. That’s it!

What you’ll Need

For this soy garlic tofu recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• extra firm tofu
• vegetable oil, or avocado oil
• cornstarch
• green onions, optional
• sesame seeds, optional

Soy garlic tofu sauce:

• garlic
• regular soy sauce, not light or dark!
• dark soy sauce
• oyster sauce, or vegetarian stir fry sauce (for vegan version)
• Shaoxing wine, or dry Sherry wine
• sugar
• rice vinegar or white vinegar
• cornstarch
• water

How to make Soy and Garlic Tofu

Below are brief steps with visuals but please scroll down to recipe card for detailed instructions and measurements:

Dice your tofu into equal cubes.

Premix sauce ingredients.

Place cornstarch on a plate and generously coat your tofu in the starch with gentle hands. Do this in a few batches. Once tofu is coated, set aside.

In a hot non-stick pan set over medium heat, add oil followed by tofu. Fry tofu on top and bottom until golden and crispy (7-10 minutes per top or bottom, 14-20 mins in total).

Remove crispy tofu from pan and set aside.

Back into the hot pan, pour in sauce and simmer to thicken.

Once thickened, mix in tofu until coated.

Optional: garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Cooking Tips

Below are tips on making Asian garlic tofu:

Dice tofu evenly

This is important to ensure even cooking time for all pieces. I will first slice my tofu into long even strips first. Then slice those into halves and slices the halves into even pieces to ensure each piece is equal.

Coat tofu generously in starch

This is also important to achieve a crispy texture. I highly recommend placing the starch on a flat plate and then adding your tofu a few batches at a time to coat GENTLY with your hands.

PLEASE do not just dump the tofu into a bowl and pour the starch over top using a utensil to mix. This will break apart your tofu cubes easily.

Be patient in frying tofu to achieve crispy texture

Patience is the key to achieving a crispy tofu. Frying on the top and bottom of the cubes will be sufficient for a crispy texture.

But make sure you give the top and bottom sides each 7-10 minutes (14-20 minutes in total) to get crispy over medium heat. 7 minutes for crispy or 10 minutes for extra crispy.

Ensure sauce comes to a simmer to thicken

Once you remove your crispy tofu from the pan, be sure the pan is hot before adding in your sauce and let this come to a simmer so it can thicken and reduce. If you don’t let it simmer, it will not become thicker.

FAQ for Crispy Garlic Soy Tofu

Below are frequently asked questions about this Asian garlic tofu recipe:

Can I use firm tofu?

Yes, but extra firm is ideal and much easier to work with. Do not use medium or soft tofu or you will have a very hard time flipping it due to easy breakage.

Can I make this vegan?

Yes, you can sub the oyster sauce with vegetarian stir fry sauce be Lee Kum Kee. This is sauce is found at most Asian grocers in the sauce aisle.

Why isn’t my tofu crispy?

To make tofu crispy requires patience and time. You will need to fry it on the top and bottom, each for 7 minutes.

Where can I buy oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce?

Most Asian grocers will carry this item in the sauce aisle.

Other Tofu recipes you may like!

If you enjoyed this soy sauce garlic tofu, you may enjoy these other tofu recipes:

AIR FRYER SWEET AND SOUR TOFU
CHINESE BRAISED TOFU
SPICY GOCHUJANG SESAME TOFU
JAPANESE STICKY TERIYAKI TOFU
GARLIC SHRIMP TOFU UDON NOODLES
SILKEN TOFU WITH ONION AND GARLIC
ASIAN BREADED TOFU NUGGETS
SWEET AND STICKY TOFU
CHINESE SALT & PEPPER TOFU

Try it!

Well, I hope you give my soy fried tofu recipe a try! It always excites me when you make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.

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Take care,
Christie

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