Quick & Easy Crispy Soy Garlic Tofu
Crispy pan-fried tofu in a garlicky, savoury sauce with umami flavors! This easy crispy soy garlic tofu is ready in 30 minutes with simple ingredients! A delicious main dish for all the tofu-lovers. It's better-than-takeout! I also share how to air fry the tofu and make this vegan with ingredient substitutes below.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 12.34 oz extra firm tofu (liquids strained out (no pressing required))
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
- 1/2-3/4 cup cornstarch (or potato starch, add more if needed)
- 1 green onion (finely chopped for garnish)
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (for garnish)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tbsp regular soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce (or vegetarian stir fry sauce for a vegan version)
- 1 tsp Shaoxing Cooking Wine (or dry sherry wine, dry white wine or omit altogether)
- 1 tsp white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar or white vinegar)
- ½ tbsp cornstarch (or potato starch or tapioca starch)
- 1/2 cup water (room temperature)
Instructions
- 1
In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- 2
Pat dry the tofu with paper towels to remove excess moisture and dice into 3/4-inch cubes. Set aside.
- 3
Spread cornstarch onto a large plate or baking sheet and generously and gently coat the diced tofu in small batches. Feel free to add more cornstarch if needed. Set aside.
- 4
Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Fry coated tofu until golden and crispy, about 14-20 mins in total, flipping over halfway. Remove fried tofu from pan and set aside.
- 5
Add the sauce into the pan and simmer to thicken.
- 6
Toss fried tofu in the thickened sauce until evenly coated. Remove off heat. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!