Teriyaki Tofu with a crisp coating but wobbly, oozy center- the trick is to use the right type of tofu- coated in a deliciously savory teriyaki sauce. It's delicious with a bowl of rice and perfect for weeknight dinners. (I have shown you how to make your own teriyaki sauce, but you can also use shop-bought.)
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⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- Homemade teriyaki tofu is a simple but delicious dish: the basic teriyaki sauce 照り焼きのたれ only requires 4 ingredients (but I use 2 extra optional ones to give it more oomph) and gos well with lots of side dishes!
- Quick and easy enough for a weeknight dinner: All the ingredients can be found in the regular grocery store, so no special trips to the Asian market required. You can even batch make the teriyaki sauce for meal prep, and pair it with pasta, salmon, mushroom teriyaki, baked teriyaki chicken thighs or meatballs! (Click through for the respective recipes.)
- Budget-friendly: Serve with a bowl of white or brown rice and some stir-fried bok choy, spicy mango cucumber salad or 1 of these teriyaki side dishes, and you get something just as good as a Japanese restaurant but so much cheaper! (For an authentic Japanese meal, use sushi rice not jasmine rice.)
🥘 Ingredients
You will only need a few simple ingredients:
- Chinese tofu: I like to use Chinese tofu as it is firm enough to pan-fry but still very soft when you bite through the crisp exterior. Do NOT use silken tofu as it'll be VERY difficult, almost impossible, to fry! In a pinch, you can use firm tofu, but you won't get the same delightfully oozy interior that you will with Chinese tofu.
- cornflour: coating the tofu in cornflour before frying makes for a wonderfully crispy tofu. Alternatively, potato starch works too.
- sesame seeds, lightly toasted: white or black work though I find white sesame seeds make the dish more appealing. You can also add a drizzle of sesame oil if you wish.
- green onions: this adds a burst of freshness to the pan-fried teriyaki tofu recipe
For the homemade teriyaki sauce (which goes well with pan-fried salmon and other protein!):
- light soy sauce: I recommend using low-sodium soy sauce because the sauce can taste a bit salty if you simmer for too long. If you're on a gluten-free diet, you can use coconut aminos or 1 of these light soya sauce alternatives. Do not use dark soy or sweet soy instead.
- sake: you can also use soju as a substitute
- mirin: when I don't have mirin, I substitute with all soju/ sake and add extra sugar to compensate for the lack of sweetness
- white sugar: I don't recommend brown sugar or maple syrup as I prefer the cleaner taste of white, but if you have no choice, it won't ruin the recipe.
- minced garlic: fresh garlic is 1 of the 2 optional ingredients I add to the basic teriyaki sauce. If you don't have garlic, omit it instead of using garlic powder.
- white rice vinegar: vinegar is the 2nd optional ingredient. A burst of acidity makes the sauce better but it won't ruin the recipe if you don't have it. I have tried substituting with the juice from 1 small calamansi lime and it worked very well too.
Note: you can also use store-bought sauce if you prefer but it's less healthy and more expensive!
📖 Variations & Substitutes
- Teriyaki anything: this is a great recipe as the same sauce can be used to coat baked chicken wings (click through to learn how to make them as crispy as deep-fried ones), pan-fried salmon, udon noodles etc
- Alternatively, you can coat fried tofu with salted egg sauce instead.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
1a. Gently cut all the tofu into 1-inch cubes.
1b. Put the cornflour in a small bowl, followed by the tofu cubes. Turn them round till every side is coated with cornflour then shake off any excess.
Do this for all the cubes.
2a. Using medium-high heat, fry all the tofu cubes till all sides are golden brown.
2b. Place the fried tofu on a paper towel to soak excess oil.
Note: Make sure you place them in a single layer in the frying pan, and not too close to each other.
Tip: for crispy teriyaki tofu, the oil needs to be hot enough before you add the tofu. To test if the oil is hot enough, you can use a food thermometer (180C/ 356F) OR insert a wooden chopstick into the hot oil. When you see bubbles around the chopstick, the oil is hot enough.
3a. Whilst the tofu cubes are cooling, pour the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar into a wok and stir-fry over medium heat till the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has thickened. (2-3 minutes but not too long or the sauce will be salty.)
3b. If using: Add the minced garlic and stir-fry till fragrant then add the vinegar or lime juice.
4a. Taste the sauce- it should be a bit saltier than normal if you're eating it with rice. If too salty, add a bit of water and mix well.
4b. Toss the fried tofu in the teriyaki sauce till well coated.
4c. Serve with rice, a drizzle of sesame oil and maybe miso soup!
🥡 How to Store
Ideally, store the pan-fried tofu and teriyaki sauce separately in an airtight container in the fridge. (If not, the tofu will lose its crisp exterior after being soaked in the sauce.)
The sauce keeps for up to a week without the garlic and for 3 days with the garlic added.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: Some recipes recommend using a tofu press to squeeze water out of the block of tofu. This will make the tofu firmer and easier to work with BUT the texture will not be as nice. If it is your first time frying tofu and you're intimidated by the wriggly tofu, you may find squeezing the excess water out helpful (or buy extra-firm tofu.)
Tip #2: Keep paper towels on hand to remove the excess oil after pan-frying the tofu pieces.
🥗 Other Japanese Recipes
Enjoyed this easy Tofu Teriyaki Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you're a tofu lover, please consider supporting it by buying me a coffee! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
Teriyaki Tofu
Equipment
- Knife and cutting board
- Small bowl
- Wok or frying pan
Ingredients
For the crispy tofu
- 1 14 oz block of tofu (about 396g- don't worry if your tofu is bigger/ smaller- just adjust the quantity of the other ingredients accordingly.) Cut into 1-inch cubes. I like to use Chinese tofu as it is firm enough to pan-fry but still very soft when you bite through the crisp exterior. Do NOT use silken tofu as it'll be VERY difficult, almost impossible, to fry! In a pinch, you can use firm tofu, but you won't get the same delightfully oozy interior that you will with Chinese tofu.
- 1-2 Tablespoons cornflour Substitute: potato starch
- ½ Tablespoon sesame seeds lightly toasted: white or black work though I find white sesame seeds make the dish more appealing.
- ½ sprig green onions Optional
- a drizzle of sesame oil Optional
For the sauce
- 5 Tablespoons low-sodium light soy sauce if you're on a gluten-free diet, you can use coconut aminos or 1 of these light soya sauce alternatives. Do not use dark soy or sweet soy instead.
- 2½ Tablespoons sake Substitute: soju or mirin
- 2½ Tablespoons mirin Substitute: soju or sake + sugar
- 1¼ Tablespoons white sugar I don't recommend brown sugar or maple syrup as I prefer the cleaner taste of white, but if you have no choice, it won't ruin the recipe.
- 3 cloves garlic: peeled and minced, optional
- ½-1 Tablespoon white rice vinegar or to taste, optional, substitute: juice from 1 calamansi lime
Instructions
Frying the tofu
- Cut all the tofu into 1-inch cubes. Handle the tofu gently so it doesn't break.
- Put the cornflour in a small bowl, followed by the tofu cubes. Turn them round till every side is coated with cornflour then shake off any excess.Do this for all the cubes.
- Using medium-high heat, fry all the tofu cubes till all sides are golden brown. Note: Make sure you place them in a single layer in the frying pan, and not too close to each other.For crispy teriyaki tofu, the oil needs to be hot enough before you add the tofu. To test if the oil is hot enough, you can use a food thermometer (180C/ 356F) OR insert a wooden chopstick into the hot oil. When you see bubbles around the chopstick, the oil is hot enough.
- Place the fried tofu on a paper towel to soak excess oil.
For the sauce
- If using the 2 optional ingredients: Add the minced garlic, stir-fry briefly then add the vinegar or lime juice.
- Taste to check the sauce is not too salty (if it is, add a bit of water and mix well.) Toss the fried tofu in the teriyaki sauce till well coated.Serve with rice, a drizzle of sesame oil and maybe miso soup!
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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d chew says
love this, especially the crispness of the teriyaki tofu. had it together with the mango cucumber salad.