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Home » Recipes » Tofu

Sticky Tofu

Published: Feb 21, 2023 by Lexi

51 shares
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This Sticky Tofu is a delicious, easy and affordable weeknight dinner! Tofu is coated in cornstarch and seared to crispy perfection, and then cooked down in a slightly sweet, sour and spicy sauce with garlic and ginger. Serve with white rice and vegetables for a full meal that the whole family will love.

Overhead view of sticky tofu in a pan with scallions and sesame seeds.
This sticky tofu is easy, affordable and weeknight friendly!

It's no secret that tofu is our favorite plant-based protein – we use it in everything from grilling, to salads, to stir fries, to even desserts (yep!). It's so versatile and perfect for weeknight dinners, and this sticky tofu is no exception.

We press the tofu to remove moisture, then coat it in cornstarch and sear it until super crispy and chewy. (That's the key to delicious tofu, by the way!) Once the tofu is crispy, we cook it down in a delicious sauce with fresh garlic and ginger, soy sauce, tomato paste and more.

It's best served with white or brown rice and a vegetable of your choice. Enjoy!

Jump to:
  • Why We Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Instructions
  • Tips and FAQs
  • Other Tofu Recipes to Enjoy
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Reviews

Why We Love This Recipe

  • Crispy tofu perfection: Getting tofu to be crispy can be tricky, but the pan-fried tofu in this recipe has an amazing crunch from our secret ingredient (cornstarch). It's also super easy and doesn't require much hands on work!
  • Budget friendly: This recipe comes out to less than $1.50 per serving for an affordable, well-rounded meal. You get a plant-based protein, vegetable, and starch for a fraction of the price. That's a win if you ask us!
  • Homemade sauce: Our umami-rich sticky tofu sauce is the perfect companion to crispy tofu. It coats every piece and adds a ton of sweet and savory flavor.
  • Meal prep friendly: This sticky tofu tastes even better the next day. Prep a big batch early in the week and enjoy a delicious and balanced lunch all week!
Overhead view of sticky tofu in a pan with scallions and sesame seeds.
The sauce is a little sweet, a little sour, and 100% delicious.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this sticky tofu:

overhead view of ingredients for sticky tofu in small prep bowls.
This recipe mostly uses pantry ingredients!

Ingredient Notes

  • Tofu: Be sure to use extra firm tofu in this sticky tofu recipe. Extra firm contains less moisture, which will help it get extra crispy and chewy when cooking. Firm tofu will work in a pinch, but don't use medium or silken tofu.
  • Cornstarch: This is the key ingredient that will make your tofu super crispy. It's naturally gluten-free and has zero taste, so it will only improve your dish. We would not recommend leaving it out or substituting it for anything other than arrowroot starch, which behaves very similarly.
  • Soy sauce: If you're gluten free, feel free to use tamari. We use reduced sodium in this recipe.
  • Garlic and ginger: Fresh is always best, but if you're in a pinch, you can sub in 1 teaspoon each of garlic granules/ground ginger.
  • Choice of oil: We recommend using sesame oil for this sticky tofu because it combines a great sesame flavor with a relatively high smoke point.
  • Tomato paste: Feel free to sub with ketchup in a pinch.
  • Agave: Feel free to sub with honey or another liquid sweetener of choice.

Instructions

PREP: Drain tofu and pat dry. Slice the block of tofu in half widthwise, then slice into ½-inch thick rectangles. Wrap the slices in paper towel (or a clean dish towel) and set something heavy on top (like a skillet). Let sit for 15 minutes to remove as much moisture as possible.

(1) Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside until ready to use.

Before and after whisking together ingredients for sauce for sticky tofu.
Make the sauce while the tofu is pressing to save time.

(2) Once the tofu is pressed, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to a small, shallow dish and coat the tofu on both sides.

(3) Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes on one side, until crispy.

on the left: Coating tofu in cornstarch. on the right: searing tofu in pan.
Evenly coat the tofu in cornstarch on all sides for perfectly crispy tofu.

(4) Flip over the tofu pieces and cook until crispy on the other side.

(5) Towards the end of crisping the tofu, make a well in the middle of the pan and add the ginger and garlic.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring well so it doesn't burn. 

searing tofu in a pan and sauteing garlic and ginger.
Stir the ginger and garlic constantly so it doesn't burn.

(6) Pour the sauce over the top of the tofu and let simmer for about 5 minutes until it thickens. Stir well to evenly coat the tofu. 

(7) Garnish with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion. Serve with cooked rice. 

Tofu cooking in sauce in pan.
The sauce only needs a few minutes to cook down and thicken.

Tips and FAQs

  • Make it spicier: For a spicier dish, feel free to add more red pepper flakes into the sauce.
  • Serving: We love topping this sticky tofu with some toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions. For a full meal, we serve it over rice with some sautéed vegetables (broccoli, pea pods, bell pepper, etc.)
  • Use a fine grater or microplane for the garlic and ginger. This helps release the flavor, and makes it small enough that you don't get any huge chunks of garlic or ginger in your tofu! Otherwise, make sure to mince it into very small pieces.
  • Storage: Although this sticky tofu is best served right away (before the tofu loses its crispiness), you can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
  • Don't skip pressing the tofu: Tofu retains a lot of moisture, so it's essential to remove as much of that moisture as possible in order to make it super crispy. 15 minutes should do the trick, but you can press it for up to an hour.
overhead view of sticky tofu on plate with stir fried vegetables and white rice.
Serve with rice and vegetables for a full meal!

Other Tofu Recipes to Enjoy

  • Overhead view of tofu teriyaki in a bowl.
    Tofu Teriyaki
  • Tacos on a plate garnished with avocado.
    Scrambled Tofu Breakfast Tacos
  • close up view of grilled tofu kebabs with vegetables on a platter with a bowl of peanut sauce.
    Grilled Tofu Kebabs with Peanut Sauce
  • overhead view of vegan tofu tikka masala in a bowl with white rice.
    Tofu Tikka Masala

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

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📖 Recipe

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Overhead view of sticky tofu in a pan with scallions and sesame seeds.

Sticky Tofu


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This Sticky Tofu is a delicious, easy and affordable weeknight dinner! Tofu is coated in cornstarch and seared to crispy perfection, and then cooked down in a slightly sweet, sour and spicy sauce with garlic and ginger. Serve with white rice and vegetables for a full meal that the whole family will love. 


Ingredients

Units Scale

Tofu:

  • 14 ounces extra firm tofu
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
  • 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh garlic
  • 1 ½ teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger

Sauce:

  • ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
  • 3 tablespoons agave or honey
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
  • ½ tablespoon cornstarch
  • ¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Drain tofu and pat dry. Slice the block of tofu in half widthwise, then slice into ½-inch thick rectangles. Wrap the slices in paper towel (or a clean dish towel) and set something heavy on top (like a skillet). Let sit for 15 minutes to remove as much moisture as possible.
  2. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside until ready to use.
  3. Once the tofu is pressed, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to a small, shallow dish and coat the tofu on both sides.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes on one side, until crispy. Flip over the tofu pieces and cook until crispy on the other side.
  5. Towards the end of crisping the tofu, make a well in the middle of the pan and add the ginger and garlic.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring well so it doesn't burn. 
  6. Pour the sauce over the top of the tofu and let simmer for about 5 minutes until it thickens. Stir well to evenly coat the tofu. 
  7. Garnish with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion. Serve with cooked rice. 

Notes

Make it spicier: For a spicier dish, feel free to add more red pepper flakes into the sauce. 

Serving: We love topping this sticky tofu with some toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions. For a full meal, we serve it over rice with some sautéed vegetables (broccoli, pea pods, bell pepper, etc.)

Storage: Although this sticky tofu is best served right away (before the tofu loses its crispiness), you can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

Don't skip pressing the tofu: Tofu retains a lot of moisture, so it's essential to remove as much of that moisture as possible in order to make it super crispy. 15 minutes should do the trick, but you can press it for up to an hour. 

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 264
  • Sugar: 9.5 g
  • Sodium: 537.3 mg
  • Fat: 15.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 19.9 g
  • Fiber: 1.8 g
  • Protein: 12 g

Keywords: sticky tofu

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #crowdedkitchen

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. ramona

    March 19, 2023 at 12:16 pm

    Look forward to making this tonight and then your Cobb Salad this week!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lexi

      March 19, 2023 at 12:33 pm

      Love to hear that! Enjoy!

      Reply

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