Spicy honey chili tofu features crispy pieces of tofu in a from scratch sticky, vegan honey sauce. It’s a one-pan 30 minute dish that’s delicious served over rice or noodles.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

For the Tofu

  • 14 oz firm or extra firm tofu (pressed for 15 minutes)
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch (or use tapioca starch)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

For the Sauce

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons spring onion whites (, use greens for garnish)
  • 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (or sriracha sauce or other Asian chile sauce)
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce (, use tamari for gluten-free)
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons apple juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/4 cup cubed onion
  • 1/2 green bell pepper (cubed)
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch (mixed with 3/4 cup water, or use tapioca starch)

For Garnish

  • green onion and sesame seeds

Method

  1. Press at the tofu if you haven’t already for 15 minutes, then cube it and add to a bowl. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, and black pepper, and toss well. Mix the baking powder into 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch, then sprinkle it all over the tofu and toss well. If the mixture still has a lot of liquid, add more cornstarch, 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, and add a teaspoon of the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the coated tofu and cook until golden on most of the edges, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the tofu from the skillet.
  3. Add 1 teaspoon of oil to the same skillet. Once oil is hot, add the ginger, garlic, and green onion, and cook for half a minute. Then, add all of the sauces and the apple juice along with the salt and white pepper. Mix well, and bring to a boil.
  4. Mix the cornstarch in the water and add that to the skillet and bring that to a boil. Now, add the onion and pepper and simmer for 2 minutes, then add in the tofu, tossing to coat. Switch off the heat, garnish and serve over rice, noodles, quinoa or in lettuce wraps.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.