Crispy Tofu With Honey Sriracha Sauce

The first time that I tried tofu, it was in a bowl of hot and sour soup.  I wasn’t impressed.  Maybe it was just that I didn’t like the soup, which seemed to contain an abundance of enormous onion slices.  Consequently, I didn’t get another bowl of hot and sour or try tofu for another 15 years.

However, a few weeks ago I was struck with a very strong craving for hot and sour soup, and having an amazing Chinese place near our house, I ordered a bowl with my normal #15 combo.  Not only was the soup absolutely AMAZEBALLS, it included little tofu cubes.  And surprise!  The Tart now loves tofu.  I started gleefully pinning recipes and sending links to The Beard.

We’re really trying to go outside of our comfort zones when it comes to picking out the things we plan on writing up.  The Beard’s go-to meal is a couple of sausages, or beans and hot dogs, or Kraft Dinner with sliced hot dogs.  I’ll eat anything remotely like a chicken nugget and/or smothered in hot sauce and bleu cheese, or steak sandwiches.  We’re simple that way.  On the other hand, we spent a few years where we didn’t stray too far off a rotating menu of various meats and potato products.  These days, on his days off, The Beard is in charge of picking what we’re having for dinner.  Sometimes he tells me what he’s picked out, and sometimes, like the other night, he surprises me.  When I came home from work one day last week, he pointed to a plate on the counter, then sent me a link and told me it was the side dish that I was making.

 What We Did to the Tofu

By the time I’d gotten home, The Beard had already drained and pressed the tofu to get most of the fluid out of it.  He started by wrapping the block in a few layers of paper towels and pressing it between two heavy dishes.  When the paper towel would get too wet, he’d replace them with fresh ones.

I sliced the block into 1-inch cubes, then I tossed them in a bowl with 2 tbsp of the cornstarch to get them coated, which will eventually help give the tofu a little crispiness when we fry it.

If needed, add the remaining 1 tbsp of cornstarch to the bowl and toss the cubes some more.  Some of the cubes broke apart, but whatever, they’re all going into the same pan.  They’ll add texture.

Next, whisk together the Sriracha, honey, garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Heat the 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan.  Once it’s hot, add the tofu to the pan and fry it, turning the cubes occasionally to brown them on all sides, but otherwise leaving them alone.

After everything has fried, add the sauce to the pan.  Stir the tofu in the sauce to coat it, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the sauce heats and thickened.  Add the sesame oil, stir, and serve.

So how was it?

We both enjoyed it.  Surprisingly, The Beard ate two helpings, and we split the entire panful between the two of us.  It’s something that I don’t feel guilty eating a bunch of, and it’s definitely better than stuffing my face full of battered and fried chicken.  I really want to make an enormous feast of this, the potstickers, and the General Tso’s cauliflower one night.  We’ll be experimenting and using it in more dishes in the future.

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Honey Sriracha Tofu

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian

Keyword honey, soy sauce, sriracha, tofu

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 14 oz tofu firm
• 2 tbsp Sriracha
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions

1. Drain the tofu and wrap it in paper towels, then sandwich the wrapped block between two plates.  Replace paper towels as needed, 4-5 times, until the tofu is drier.

   

2. Slice the tofu into 1" cubes.  Add tofu and 2 tbsp of the cornstarch to a bowl and dust the tofu to evenly coat it on all sides.  Add the remaining cornstarch as needed.

   

3. Whisk together the Sriracha, honey, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and vinegar.

   

4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in frying pan.  Add the tofu to the hot oil and cook evenly on all sides until it has browned.

   

5. Add the sauce and stir to coat the tofu cubes and cook until the sauce has heated through and thickened, no more than 5 minutes.  Add the sesame oil and serve.

   

The Tart

The Tart likes to eat, cook, and bake things.  She eats to work out, and she works out to be able to eat.