The Best Crispy Tofu With Honey Soy Glaze

Listen, I know tofu doesn’t get the best reputation, but just hear me out on this one — THIS crispy tofu recipe is the one to change your mind!

Not only is this crispy tofu just insanely tasty, it’s easy too! You’re going to want to put this sauce on everything!

• 16 Ounces Extra Firm Tofu
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon of Cornstarch
• 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil (or another neutral oil with a high smoking point)
• 1/3 Cup Minced Shallot
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce or Tamari
• Drizzle of Honey or Agave
• Chives, Green Onions, or Cilantro, for garnish

While the steps here are easy, they are also quite thorough and following them exactly will result in perfectly crispy bites of tofu!

When you open your tofu, you’ll notice there is quite a lot of liquid. Drain out what you can before pressing the remaining liquid out.

Slice the block in half so you have two thinner pieces of tofu.

Using a kitchen towel, wrap the pieces of tofu tightly, then place a heavy item on top and let them sit for 30 minutes to an hour.

When the excess water has been pressed out of the tofu, cut the blocks into roughly 16 1-inch pieces.

Take the tofu cubes and sprinkle the tablespoon of cornstarch over all of the sides of the tofu. I find this easiest to do with a sifter, but sprinkling works just fine.

Also sprinkle with the onion and garlic powder

I highly recommend using a stainless steel pan for the frying process, however, a non stick will still work. The result might be a little bit less crispy.

Allow the stainless pan to heat up, then add 2 tablespoons of oil to the hot pain. On medium to high heat, place each cube of tofu in the pan and allow it to sizzle and crisp on each side. Roughly 5 minutes per side.

Once each side of each tofu cube is crispy and golden, remove each cube and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

Turn the pan heat down to low (with oil still remaining in the bottom). Add the minced shallot and sauté lightly before adding the minced garlic. Let these cook and get fully translucent and slightly crispy.

In a separate measuring cup, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and mix that with 1 tablespoon of water to create a slurry, ensuring no clumps.

Add soy sauce to the pan to deglaze, and mix in the cornstarch slurry. Keep the sauce on medium heat until the sauce becomes thick.

Add your tofu to a plate or serving dish and pour the sauce over the top. Garnish with green onions or chopped chives.

Drizzle with honey at the very end!

This recipe is easily adaptable, but thankfully the ingredients are already straightforward!

As far as the tofu, I wouldn’t recommend changing that. Definitely do not use anything other than Extra Firm Tofu. The only alternative I could potentially see working here is tempeh or seitan. Otherwise, stick with the tofu!

If you don’t have cornstarch, any other starch should work, as well as just all-purpose flour!

Feel free to add some fun to the seasonings and mix it up! However, I would advise against seasoning the tofu with salt. The use of soy sauce will add enough salt that the tofu shouldn’t need any extra.

I used low-sodium soy sauce, but tamari or coconut aminos will work just as well for a gluten-free option!

For a fully vegan option, replace the honey (which is not vegan) with agave!

Full Recipe: