New stir-fry recipe! This recipe’s sauce was spicy but didn’t have the depth of flavor the sauce I made for the Green Bean Shiitake Mushroom and Tofu Stir-Fry had. It was still a great, quick weeknight meal that we enjoyed.
This crispy tofu stir-fry recipe comes from Eating Well and has a new-to-me technique of coating the tofu in cornstarch before frying, to give it a crisp outer edge. I liked this technique, and L. Smith liked the end result!
I used the recipe as a base for the sauce, but added additional veggies—onions, mushrooms, carrots—to finish off the meal.
How To Cook Spicy Crispy Tofu Stir Fry
- I started by draining and drying the tofu. I wrapped the tofu in a clean dish towel and placed a heavy pot on top of it for 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, I sliced 1 onion, minced 3 cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, and sliced a handful of mushrooms (I used Portabella this time) and 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks.
- Next, I made the sauce: ½ cup of vegetable broth, ¼ cup of dry sherry, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. I stirred this using a whisk to combine.
- At this point, I cut the tofu into cubes and coated it in 1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch; I placed the cornstarch in a bowl and tossed to coat.
- Then I heated 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cooked the tofu for 3 minutes per side.
- I used small tongs to turn the tofu, which took a bit of time, but allowed me to control the turning and make it even, rather than my usual method of shaking the pot and hoping most of the pieces get turned (which doesn’t usually happen and leaves me with half-crisped pieces).
- After the tofu crisped up, I transferred it to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- I turned the heat down a bit, added more oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and added the ginger and garlic.
- I let that cook for only about 30 seconds (the garlic began to brown quickly), and then added in the broccoli and carrots and 3 tablespoons of water. I coved the pan and let it cook for 3 minutes.
- Then I added in the remaining sliced veggies (onion and mushrooms), cooked for another 1-2 minutes, and added in the sauce.
- I let that cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickened, and then removed the pan from the heat and added in the tofu.
I served it over brown rice, topped with scallions. Quick, yummy meal, with great leftovers for lunch the next day!
