This Crispy Tofu recipe is incredibly easy and all made in one pan. An abundance of herbs with the sweet and spicy peanut sauce is essential.
Tofu is so underrated, and I don’t have enough recipes for it on my website. For that I apologize, and will get to work on it immediately. But for now, let’s appreciate this recipe for Crispy Tofu with a delicious sweet and spicy peanut sauce. It’s served with delicious toppings for that necessary textural contrast, like roasted peanuts, chili pepper, fresh scallions and cilantro. The more the merrier!
First, you’ll quickly whisk together the ingredients for the peanut sauce. I like to do this for corn starch-based sauces because it’s helpful to prep this ahead of time. This way when you’re ready to add the sauce to the pan, you can add in all the ingredients at once and you’re less rushed when in the middle of cooking. Of course, I use all gluten-free ingredients in the sauce, as usual. Plus the recipe is vegan!
The tofu is is coated in corn starch to make it extra crispy when shallow fried in the pan. It’s important to dry it as well as possible before coating so that it gets extra crispy. You’ll cook it in the pan, then set it aside briefly to sauté the alliums, such as garlic, ginger, scallion whites, and chili pepper. Add in the prepared peanut sauce and cook until thickened. Then squeeze in some lime juice and add the tofu back into the pan to coat in the sauce. See? Not hard at all!
What Should I Serve This With?
This recipe would be perfect with my recipe for Cilantro Lime Coconut Rice, which is also gluten-free and vegan. if you want a veggie side or a salad, try making with with my Soy-Ginger Braised Bok Choy or my Sesame Cucumber Edamame Salad.
Ingredient Notes:
- Sichuan Chili Crisp – I love this chili crisp by Fly by Jing. easy to order on Amazon, but also sold in many grocery stores, like Whole Foods. It’s naturally gluten-free, and has more depth of flavor than regular chili crisps because of added ingredients like preserved black bean, mushroom powder, and seaweed powder.
- Agave – I like using agave in sauces that I’ll heat up. But you can also use honey.
- Soy Sauce – I use Tamari to make it gluten-free.
- Peanuts – If you don’t have roasted peanuts at home, you can substitute with roasted cashews or almonds.
- Cilantro – If you absolutely hate cilantro, you can substitute with basil or Thai basil.
Crispy Tofu with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
For the Peanut Sauce:
- 1 ½ tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons Sichuan chili crisp
- 1 ½ tablespoons agave
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ¼ cup water room temperature
- ½ teaspoon corn starch
For the Crispy Tofu:
- 14 oz. package firm tofu drained and cut crosswise into 6 even slices, then dried well with paper towels, gently pressing out excess moisture
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Avocado oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- ½ long hot red pepper thinly sliced into rounds
- 2 scallions thinly sliced on a diagonal, whites and light green parts separated from dark green parts
- Peanut Sauce
- ¼ lime juiced
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts roughly chopped
- Cilantro leaves and thin stems as garnish
Instructions
For the Peanut Sauce:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
For the Crispy Tofu:
- In a small bowl, stir together the corn starch with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Coat all sides of tofu with corn starch mixture.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of avocado oil. Add tofu and cook until golden brown and crispy, 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Pour excess oil into a small heat proof bowl and discard when cooled.
- Heat the same large pan over medium heat with a drizzle of avocado oil. Add garlic, ginger, hot pepper rounds, and scallion white and light green parts and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add peanut sauce and cook until thickened (this can happen almost immediately), then remove from heat. Squeeze in lime juice and stir to combine. Add crispy tofu pieces into the pan and turn to coat in the sauce, adding a little warm water to thin out sauce, if needed. Taste and season sauce with additional Kosher salt, if desired.
- Serve sprinkled with roasted peanuts, scallion greens, and cilantro.
Leave a Comment