Crispy Tofu with Hoisin Sauce
Posted Jul 11, 2016, Updated Jul 21, 2021
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Crispy Tofu with Hoisin Sauce Recipe! A quick & easy, high-protein meal! Serve with your favorite stir-fried veggies for the perfect dinner. Vegan and gluten-free.
This Crispy Hoisin Tofu Recipe is a quick and easy, high-protein meal that my entire family loves! Everyone, from my meat-and-potatoes husband to my sweet baby girl, loves this crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, hoisin sauce-crusted tofu. Serve with your favorite stir-fried veggies and you have yourself the perfect dinner. Plus this recipe is gluten-free and vegan.
I enjoy tofu immensely…if it is extra-firm and extra well-done. Texture is everything to me…which is why this Crispy Hoisin tofu is one of my favorites. This tofu is perfectly crispy on all sides and crusted with the most delicious combination of spices and hoisin sauce.
Crispy Hoisin Tofu: Ingredients & Substitutions
As always I recommend making this recipe exactly as written. But here are a few possible substitutions.
- Extra Firm Tofu: Personally, I prefer extra firm to every other kid of tofu out there, however you can use whichever firmness your prefer except for silken.
- Spices: Feel free to spice this up however you see fit. I’m feeding little kids so we keep it simple and mild, but you can let your imagination run wild.
- Peanut/Sesame Oil: If you do not have peanut oil or have a peanut allergy in your family, you can substitute another mild-flavored oil (olive, avocado, canola, etc.). However please do not leave out the sesame oil. It imparts a richness of flavor that cannot be achieved without any other oil variety out there.
- Hoisin Sauce: For a gluten-free variety I recommend this gluten-free hoisin sauce.
How to Keep it Crispy
Before you begin cooking the tofu, turn set your oven on to warm. Once the crispy tofu has finished cooking, transfer it to an oven-safe dish and put in the oven while you cook up your veggies. Or use an air frier, like in this air frier tofu.
How do you make tofu crispy?
- Brown the tofu in oil. Begin by cooking the tofu in a mixture of peanut & sesame oil until it’s golden brown on one side.
- Add seasonings. Once your tofu is sufficiently browned on one side, add the seasonings and cook some more, stirring to ensure it is evenly browned.
- Add hoisin sauce. Once all sides of the crispy tofu have reached golden-brown perfection, add the hoisin sauce and cook until it’s nicely crusted and crunchy on the outside. The sauce caramelizes and leaves you with sweet and salty, richly flavored, crispy bites of tofu that you will love so much you won’t want to share.
Serving Suggestions for Crispy Tofu
This tofu is best when served with stir-fried veggies and noodles or rice. However, I recommend that you serve it separately (i.e. do not add it to the veggies you are stir-frying) to preserve the crispiness.
Recipe FAQs
Try these tips:
Brown the tofu in oil. Begin by cooking the tofu in a mixture of peanut & sesame oil until it’s golden brown on one side. Then add seasonings. Once your tofu is sufficiently browned on one side, add the seasonings and cook some more, stirring to ensure it is evenly browned. Then add hoisin sauce. Once all sides of the crispy tofu have reached golden-brown perfection, add the hoisin sauce and cook until it’s nicely crusted and crunchy on the outside.
Yes, it is full of protein and amino acids.
It depends on which hoisin sauce you use however the key ingredient is fermented soybean paste.
More Delicious Recipes
- Asian chicken lettuce wraps are an all-time favorite.
- We make this Asian quinoa salad ALL the time!
- My kids love these sweet and sour meatballs!
- This cashew chicken stir fry is my go-to dinner on busy weeknights.
- Thai slow cooker ground turkey is SO delicious!
- I love this slow cooker teriyaki chicken
- Crispy tofu stir fry with peanut sauce is a great meatless Monday main dish!
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Crispy Tofu with Hoisin Sauce
Ingredients
- 14 oz extra-firm tofu drained
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp powdered ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 TBS peanut oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 TBS hoisin sauce*
Instructions
- Place your tofu in a fine-mesh strainer or colander and rinse. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, powdered ginger, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Cut the tofu into 1” cubes.
- Add peanut oil and sesame oil to a non-stick frying pan and heat over medium heat.
- Add cubed tofu pieces to the pan and stir to coat with oil.
- Cook tofu for 5 minutes or until browned on one side.
- Sprinkle with your seasoning mix and stir until coated.
- Continue cooking until all sides are light-medium brown. (about 10-15 minutes)
- Evenly pour hoisin sauce onto the browned tofu pieces and stir until all your cubes are evenly coated with sauce.
- Cook for 5 more minutes, or until the tofu becomes dark brown and crispy.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately over stir-fried veggies or your favorite rice/noodles!
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
Before you begin cooking the tofu, turn set your oven on to warm. Once the crispy tofu has finished cooking, transfer it to an oven-safe dish and put in the oven while you cook up your veggies. Or use an air frier, like in this air frier tofu.Ingredient Substituions
- Extra Firm Tofu: Personally, I prefer extra firm to every other kid of tofu out there, however you can use whichever firmness your prefer except for silken!
- Spices: Feel free to spice this up however you see fit! I’m feeding little kids so we keep it simple and mild, but you can let your imagination run wild!
- Peanut/Sesame Oil: If you do not have peanut oil or have a peanut allergy in your family, you can substitute another mild-flavored oil (olive, avocado, canola, etc.). However please (pretty please) do not leave out the sesame oil. It imparts a richness of flavor that cannot be achieved without any other oil variety out there!
- Hoisin Sauce: For a gluten-free variety I recommend this gluten-free hoisin sauce!
Storage
Refrigerate this in an air-tight container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Delicious and so easy to make.
Really tasty and easy to make. Thanks!
Smelled, looked and tasted great! I had to turn up the pan to medium-high, to get it to really brown. My family of four gobbled it up.
Im making this and trying tofu for the first time. I love that its vegan as I’m trying to incorporate more veggies in my life. Pairing with stir fry veggies and jasmine rice. Thanks for sharing.
I can’t find gluten free Hoisin sauce. What brand are you using? All of the ones I’ve seen have wheat or a wheat product listed in the ingredients.
I recommend this one! https://amzn.to/2M5BnQ5
Is this recipe vegan or vegetarian? If vegan, I was told at an Asian restaurant that Hoisin sauce was not vegan. Is there a vegan hoisin sauce?
In all my research I have read that hoisin sauce is not made with any animal products! However I would recommend searching it out yourself if you are concerned about it!
This looks and sounds awesome! Do you press the tofu first?
I do drain and press the tofu first usually, but it’s not 100% necessary!
I just finished making this as written. It was very good, but for me, it wasn’t what I call ‘crispy’. As per the directions I cooked the first side to brown over medium heat, added the spices then cooked all sides to golden. Texture on the brown side was tough/chewy, not crisp compared to the golden sides which were firm. I guess I was looking for a crispy texture that would probably only be achieved with a coating of some kind. Now having said that, this was a tasty dish and I will use the method in the future for a firm tofu and will add toasted sesame seeds for added texture. Hoisin is a favorite sauce as is Kecap Manis. I used Hoisin for the dish and Kekap Manis for dipping sauce! Thank you for an excellent method for Tofu.