Japanese Sticky Teriyaki Tofu. Crispy pan-fried tofu dripping in a smooth, glossy sweet teriyaki sauce. Great for lunch or dinner. Easy to make in less than 30 minutes and delicious. Say goodbye to store-bought teriyaki sauce because now you can make your own at home and it’s super easy!
This is probably the best teriyaki tofu I’ve ever made at home. It’s sticky, sweet, saucy and the tofu is crisped to perfection! Now if you think that making teriyaki sauce is difficult to make at home, well I’m here to tell you it’s not and it’s probably the easiest homemade sauce ever! You only need several ingredients and you’re set!
My teriyaki tofu stir fry is quite simple and works well for lunch, dinner, or meal prep too! It’s a great meal to bring to the office for work because it smells amazing!
This quick teriyaki tofu also a tasty plant-based meal that will make you forget about meat for a bit! Ps. I’m not vegetarian but I do love having a vegan meal every now and then just to reduce my carbon footprint when I can.
Easy to make!
As I mentioned before, this tofu teriyaki is incredibly easy to make at home. You only need a handful of ingredients and you’re golden! You don’t need any special kitchen tools - just a knife, cutting board, bowl, whisk, kitchen tongs and a frying pan! That's all you need for this teriyaki firm tofu!
No marinating time!
This teriyaki tofu bowl is not a difficult dish to make at home. In fact, there is no teriyaki tofu marinade involved! It’s just a simple sauce that you whisk prior to pouring over your crispy tofu to reduce and simmer. Super easy. Because let’s be honest, even I forget to pre-marinate my protein. We're all busy and time is precious. So I like to keep most of my recipes simple and I try to pack as much flavour into the sauce as possible to cut out marinating time. So you're going to love making this teriyaki tofu dish!
Tips for making teriyaki tofu stir fry
- Use extra firm tofu for this teriyaki tofu stir fry recipe. No soft or medium tofu. This will make it difficult for you to turn over in the pan to crisp them up.
- Pat dry your tofu with clean paper towel. This will help speed up the frying process in the pan to make the tofu extra crispy.
- Be patient and fry the tofu on all sides over medium heat. Not just one side or two sides, all sides. This will make a big difference when it comes to that crispy texture.
- Whisk your sauce ingredients before hand. If you try multi-tasking this while frying your tofu you can easily burn your tofu.
- After pouring the teriyaki tofu glaze into the pan with your tofu, reduce and simmer that sauce down until it is thick and glossy.
FAQ for this fried teriyaki tofu
Most recipes will tell you to marinate the tofu for at least one hour but my Teriyaki Tofu will require no marinating time because the sauce is so flavourful.
Teriyaki sauce is usually made of soy sauce, rice mirin, ginger, garlic, brown sugar and sugar mixed with a cornstarch slurry.
Tofu itself is a healthy plant-based protein that is packed with nutrients but it really depends on what kind and how much oil you fry it in.
It is a cooking method that originates from Japan.
Other recipes you may like!
ASIAN BREADED TOFU NUGGETS
SWEET AND STICKY TOFU
SWEET SOY TOFU & VEGETABLES
CHINESE SALT & PEPPER TOFU
MALAYSIAN CURRY TOFU
CHINESE FIVE SPICE TOFU STIR-FRY
For this recipe
You will need the following teriyaki tofu ingredients:
- 400 grams tofu, diced (make sure it’s extra firm not soft or medium firm)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
Sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp rice Mirin
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup water
Optional: sesame seeds for garnish
How to make Crispy fried teriyaki tofu
- Strain the liquid of your extra firm tofu and pat it very dry with a paper towel. Then dice it into cubes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together your sauce ingredients.
- In a large non stick pan set over medium heat, add avocado oil. Next add your diced tofu. Pan fry on all sides until crispy and golden. This will take about 10-15 minutes to ensure all sides are crispy.
- Next pour in your sauce and let it reduce with the tofu in the pan. You may need to increase the heat. Let the sauce simmer until it’s thick, glossy and not runny. Serve hot and enjoy!
Give it a try!
Well I hope you give my Japanese Sticky Teriyaki Tofu a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
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Take care,
Christie
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Japanese Sticky Teriyaki Tofu (30-min. Recipe)
Ingredients
- 400 grams extra firm tofu diced (make sure it’s extra firm not soft or medium firm)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
Sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp rice Mirin
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup water
- Optional: sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Strain the liquid of your extra firm tofu and pat it very dry with a paper towel. Then dice it into cubes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together your sauce ingredients.
- In a large non stick pan set over medium heat, add avocado oil. Next add your diced tofu. Pan fry on all sides until crispy and golden. This will take about 10-15 minutes to ensure all sides are crispy.
- Next pour in your sauce and let it reduce with the tofu in the pan. You may need to increase the heat. Let the sauce simmer until it’s thick, glossy and not runny. Serve hot and enjoy!
This is a perfect alternative to chicken teriyaki! I love cooking with tofu in Asian recipes!
Your homemade Teriyaki sauce is dynamite... and I Iove how quickly this yummy dinner comes together. This is one amazing no-guilt pleasure!
I just picked up some tofu and this would be a perfect use for it! It looks so crispy and delicious, and that sticky sauce is perfection!
I'm always looking for new ways to cook up tofu. Teriyaki is a favorite flavor of ours and I know I could even convince the kids to eat this one! 🙂
This sticky sauce looks so perfect for tofu! I can't wait to try it!