Sweet chilli sauce has always been one of my favourites. It's sweet, it's spicy, it's sticky - all the best adjectives. I use it for all sorts of things (it's bizarrely good on quesadillas!), but one thing it goes especially well with is tofu - hence, this sticky sweet chilli tofu!
Let's face it, tofu doesn't exactly have a huge amount of flavour on its own, so it needs a bold flavour to bring it to life, and sweet chilli sauce is perfect. You can use it as a stir fry sauce on its own if you're feeling ultra lazy (this is me 90% of the time), or you can add a few more flavours for a slightly more interesting dinner. This time I added some garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and some red chilli for a little more heat.
As usual, make sure you cook the tofu in a pan without the sauce first until it's nice and crispy. This is what gives it a bit of bite - otherwise, tofu can sometimes be a bit bleh. I really can't think of another word to describe the texture of tofu that hasn't been cooked properly, but I'm sure you all know what I mean. It's like there's nothing whatsoever between your teeth. Cooking it until it's crispy gives you something to chew on!
This time I cut my tofu into little triangles because I thought it would look pretty. To be honest though, I think it works better if you cut it into cubes like I did here - that way, you get more crispy edges, and it's also easier to make sure it gets crispy alllll over rather than just on the two big flat faces. It's totally up to you, but next time I'll be cutting it into cubes again.
What can I say, I tried to be different and interesting and in the end I just wanted plain old squares (insert sad emoji).
When the tofu triangles or cubes or whatever are golden brown and have crisped up nicely on the edges, you can add your sauce. You want to reduce it until it's thick and sticky (yum).
I also added a load of stir fried veggies. You can use any kind - I was lazy and used a pre-chopped bag of cabbage, carrot, mushrooms, beansprouts and red onion. It's way quicker, way easier, and way cheaper than buying each vegetable separately, so I feel absolutely no shame (in fact, quite the opposite, it's a pretty clever thing to do). Just fry them all up for a couple of minutes, and mix them in with your sticky sweet chilli tofu.
Serve some rice or noodles on the side and voilà! (or whatever the less French, more Thai equivalent is)
Sticky sweet chilli tofu
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 200 g firm tofu (~ 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 75 ml sweet chilli sauce (~ ¼ cup)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ small mild red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 300 g mixed vegetables, chopped (~ 3 cups chopped)
- To serve: fresh coriander (cilantro), spring onions
Instructions
- Start by pressing the tofu if you want to (I sometimes don't bother). If you don't have a tofu press, just sandwich it between two clean tea towels and place a few heavy books or pans on top, and leave for 30 minutes.
- Cut the tofu into triangles or cubes. Heat the oil in a frying pan, and add the tofu. Cook over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, turning regularly, until the tofu is golden brown and crispy all over.
- Meanwhile, combine the sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, chopped chilli, garlic and ginger in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and mix well.
- Add the sauce to the crispy tofu, and allow to cook for another 5 minutes or so, stirring regularly, until the sauce has become thick and sticky.
- Stir fry the vegetables in a separate pan, then serve with the sweet chilli tofu, topped with fresh coriander and some chopped spring onions.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above includes vegetables, but not rice / noodles.
If you've only used half your block of tofu, use the other half to make tofu bacon BLTs!
Milena says
looks very tasty!
The London Mum says
Delicious! I love tofu- a massive fan of it. But never cook it myself bees it never comes out right when I do it at home. I'm gonna give this a whirl1 x
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
The trick is to cook it until it's really crispy before you add any sauce! :)
Cathy Glynn says
I am probably one of the only people you will know who hasn't tried tofu. But this recipe does look delicious and I suppose you could substitute with meat if you like. I do love sweet chilli sauce though x
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
You could use whatever protein you fancy :) You should give tofu a go at least once though!
Kacie Morgan says
I'm not a big fan of tofu, but I would love to try this recipe with fish or prawn!
Mark says
Tofu with various vegetables topped with sweet chili sauce- that is so mouth-watering! I would also add some soup as a starter.
Laura H says
Ooh this looks so yum! I'm trying to use tofu more as a meat substitute so I'll have to try this out :) I didn't realise I could make that sort of sticky sauce myself at home!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Absolutely, you just need to cook it down until it reduces and gets nice and thick! :)
Helen at Casa Costello says
There's not many people can make Tofu look interesting but you manage it! I take your point about cubes v's triangles (but the triangles looks super pretty). I must try Sweet Chilli Sauce on Quesadillas. Thanks for the tip.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Ooh you must, it works strangely well!
Nadine-Johanna Stewart says
This looks great. I am not a fan of tofu on it's own but I love spicy things and might even give this a try one day (When I remember to get the ingredients :D )