Tofu is often described as soft, tender, and tasteless.  What about improvising it by creating a crackling surface to encase delicate texture? This is the spicy crispy tofu recipe.

Today I will show you my favorite crispy tofu dressed in a spicy Sichuan-style thick sauce. Best of all, it requires only a few simple ingredients and is easy to prepare.

Let’s get into the details right now.

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1. The choice of tofu

The choice of tofu is vital for this recipe. It is easier to handle firm tofu for making crispy tofu. Therefore, extra-firm tofu is the obvious choice.

However, firm tofu has fewer texture contrasts of the soft interior and the crispy surface. I want the stark contrast of the texture to give it a unique mouthfeel.

So instead of using extra firm tofu, I use medium firm tofu to have a soft texture inside, yet it is firm enough to handle and turn the surface into a crispy thin layer.

Since the tofu is soft, you must extract the excess water using a tofu press. Alternatively, put the tofu on a flat surface or cutting board. Next, place a heavy object, such as a heavy-bottom saucepan, on the cutting board to press down the tofu for half an hour. This step will press out the excess water.

I skipped this process since there is pre-pressed tofu available in the market near me. This tofu has been treated and pressed to remove the excess water to save you time during cooking.

2. How to make the crispy tofu

You can either deep fry, pan fry, or air-fried the tofu to make it crispy.

I prefer pan-frying the tofu. First, it requires less oil to fry the tofu than deep frying. Therefore, it is advantageous to cook it at home to save excess oil. The result is also better than air frying.

Here are the steps:

1. Remove the medium-firm tofu from the packaging. 
2. Remove the excess water from the tofu with a tofu press. Otherwise, place the tofu on a flat surface and put a cutting board on top of it. Then, place a heavy on the cutting board and leave it for half an hour. The weight of the heavy object and the chopping board will press out the excess water from the tofu to make it firmer and easy to handle. (You can skip this step if you purchase the pre-pressed tofu). 
3. Cut the block of tofu into small cubes of about 1 inch in length. 
4. Remove the excess water by putting the tofu cubes on a few paper towels in a single layer. Set aside.

3. Pan-fry the tofu cubes

The next step is to pan-fry the tofu cubes. Please be aware that powerful cubes will become crispy after pan-frying for less than half an hour. They will eventually absorb the water moisture from the air and turn soft. Therefore, it is best to pan-fry the tofu before serving to ensure the best result.

Alternatively, you can pan-fry the tofu in advance to about 90% doneness. Then, when it is about to serve, pan-fry the tofu cubes over high heat for another half a minute to crisp up the tofu cubes.

Here are the steps:

1. Transfer the tofu chunks into a large mixing bowl. Add three tablespoons of cornstarch starch and 1/4 tsp salt and gently toss the tofu to ensure they are evenly coated. 
2. Heat some peanut oil in a non-stick pan. 
3. When the oil is heated to about 180 degrees Celsius, place the tofu cubes in the hot oil over medium-high heat and pan-fry until golden brown. 
4. Flip the tofu chunks carefully so you will cook the tofu evenly on all sides. This process will fix about 7 to 10 minutes.
5. Remove the tofu from the pan. Set aside, you drain away the excess oil if there is any.

Note: 

• An important technique is to dredge the tofu pieces into the cornstarch (or potato starch) and directly into the pan of hot oil. Otherwise, the moisture in the interior will migrate to the surface and causes the starch to cake up and flake off.
• I use a nonstick pan to pan-fry the tofu because you need more oil using a standard frying pan.

4. To prepare the sauce for the tofu

Tofu is like a blank canvas that absorbs any flavor added to it. So here is a simple spicy sauce, Sichuan style. The ingredients in the sauce are based mainly on the more famous mapo tofu. Since mapo tofu is not vegan, this crispy tofu recipe is perfect if you prefer a meatless tofu recipe with a taste similar to mapo tofu.

Here are the steps:

1. Mix the rice wine, light soy sauce, chili bean paste (豆瓣酱), sugar, and water in a small bowl.
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan. Saute the chopped ginger and garlic until automatic.
3. Add the sauce mixture into a pan and bring it to a simmer. Simmer the sauce until it turns into a thick sauce. 
4. Place the tofu on a serving plate. Add a dollop of thick sauce on top of each tofu cube. 
5. Garnish with chopped spring onions (green onions) to serve. You may also sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds in addition to the spring onions.

Note:

• It is important to thicken the sauce. It will wet the tofu and make it less crispy if the sauce is too diluted.
• I prefer to spoon a dollop of the sauce on top instead of mixing it with the tofu. This way of treating the tofu can preserve its crispiness while serving.
• These crispy tofu bites are best as an appetizer. Add sauce to the tofu at the last minute to preserve its crispiness. Alternatively, you can pan-fry the tofu in advance and then pan fried it again for a minute right before serving if the tofu has turned soft.
• This crispy spicy tofu is ideal for serving with fluffy Jasmine rice.

5. Variations (What if I do not like spicy tofu?) 

If you do not like spicy food, please substitute the chili bean paste (doubanjiang) with yellow bean paste (taucu, 豆酱), and omit the Sichuan chili oil. In this case, you can add two teaspoons of oyster sauce to enhance the flavor. All these ingredients are available at Asian grocery stores. Alternatively, add some sriracha and honey to prepare the crispy honey sriracha tofu. 

Yield: 24 cubes

Spicy Crispy Tofu (脆皮豆腐)

Print

You can turn soft and tender tofu into a crispy delicacy. This spicy crispy tofu recipe with spicy sauce is heavenly.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

The tofu:

• 400g medium firm tofu
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt

The sauce:

• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp chili bean paste
• 2 tsp chili oil (Lau Gan Ma)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 tbsp water

Instructions

1. Place the tofu on a flat surface and put a cutting board on top of it. Then, place a heavy on the cutting board and leave it for half an hour to press out the excess water from the tofu. (You can skip this step if you purchase the pre-pressed tofu).
2. Cut the block of tofu into small cubes of about 1 inch in length. 
3. Remove the excess water by putting the tofu cubes on a few paper towels in a single layer. 
4. Add three tablespoons of cornstarch starch and 1/4 tsp salt and gently toss the tofu to ensure they are evenly coated. 
5. Heat some peanut oil in a non-stick pan to about 180 degrees Celsius. Pan-fry in the hot oil over medium-high heat and pan-fry until golden brown. 
6. Combine the wine, light soy sauce, chili bean paste, chili oil, sugar, and water.
7. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan. Saute the chopped ginger and garlic until automatic.
8. Add the sauce mixture into a pan and bring it to a simmer. Simmer the sauce until it turns into a thick sauce. 
9. Place the tofu on a serving plate. Add a dollop of thick sauce on top of each tofu cube. 
10. Garnish with chopped spring onions to serve. 

Recommended Products

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  Lao Gan Ma Laoganma Fried Chili in Oil Value Pack - 730g
• 
  LKK Chili Bean Sauce 8 Oz

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 28Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 42mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 19/12/2022