My vegan sweet and sour tofu is the perfect side to a warm bowl of rice for your meatless Mondays and I bet the meat lovers will love this vegan delicacy too!
It’s been long since I posted my last tofu recipe even though we are regular consumers of tofu as I love this vegan alternative to paneer i.e cottage cheese.
So today I have come with my sweet and sour tofu recipe which is one of the most frequent tofu recipes in my household.
Sweet and sour tofu with a hint of spicy kick is an ultimate combination with white rice and being an avid rice lover, I am always game for it.
Like any other stir fry dish, this stir fried sweet and sour tofu is an insanely easy dish to make which comes around in less than 30 minutes and has endless customizable options.
You can choose the veggies you like to pair with your sweet and sour tofu stir fry; I chose the easy one out which is nothing but bell pepper.
Bell pepper is my bestie when it comes to stir fry recipe. I love the peppery touch it adds to the sauce without being much overpowering and same goes with this dish of sweet and sour tofu.
I used green and red bell peppers, red being my most favorite one; but you can use whichever you have handy. If you don’t like bell peppers, nothing to worry.
Use broccoli or French beans or carrots or baby corn and the list is practically endless. You only need to adjust the cooking time according to the veggie you are using and you will be rewarded with your signature version of sweet and sour tofu!
I love such dishes because every time I can present almost a new dish on the dinner table using the same recipe! Now how cool is that!
Tofu has gained a lot of popularity thanks to the rise of vegan population. Even when I wasn’t very clear about veganism, which was before my blogging years, I was already fond of tofu.
Firm tofu is quite easily available here in India, silken tofu packets are mostly imported. I love the firm tofu as we can use them in the stir fry recipes like this sweet and sour tofu.
Silken tofu is mostly used in salads or soups but I am yet to explore more on that route. For now, I am super pleased with my sweet and sour tofu recipe which is primarily dominated by sweet chili sauce which adds the right amount of sweetness mixed with spiciness.
The sour part is contributed by good old vinegar; I suggest to use either distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, other varieties may alter the real taste of this Chinese inspired sweet and sour tofu stir fry.
I have recently shared my restaurant style palak paneer recipe in my other blog which, I suggest, you must take a look at.
In case you want to try an Indian curry recipe with tofu, you can use my palak paneer recipe by substituting paneer with tofu and it will taste just as awesome. I have many other tofu recipes in this blog and thankfully my readers have loved them immensely.
If you are new to my blog and have reached here while searching for vegan tofu recipes, you must take a look at my earlier Chinese stir fried tofu recipe which was mainly flavored with ginger & garlic and the quintessential soy sauce.
But if you love the conflict of sweetness, tartness and the kick of heat, then this sweet and sour tofu stir fry is just for you! Enjoy!
- Firm tofu – 200 gms
- Red bell pepper – 1
- Green bell pepper – 1
- Onion – 1, large
- Sweet chilli sauce – ¼ cup
- Soy sauce – 2 tsp (if using dark soy, then 1 tsp will be enough)
- Distilled white vinegar – 1 tsp (or you can substitute with apple cider vinegar)
- Corn flour – ½ cup + 1 tsp
- Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Freshly chopped cilantro to garnish
- Cut the bell peppers into 1-inch cubes and thickly slice the onion. Set them aside.
- Drain all the water out from tofu block and pat it dry using a kitchen towel. Cut the tofu into cubes of length 1 inch.
- Take a shallow plate and sprinkle half a cup of corn flour on it. Add half teaspoon of salt and mix well.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. Now coat each tofu cubes with the corn flour on all sides, dust off the excess and then tip it into the hot oil.
- Fry the tofu cubes on medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until they turn golden brown on each side. Take them out and set aside on a plate.
- Once all the tofu cubes are fried, remove excess oil retaining only 1 teaspoon in the frying pan.
- Add the chopped bell pepper and sliced onion to the frying pan and sauté them on high flame for 5 minutes.
- Mix sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl along with a cup of water. Add the prepared sauce to the frying pan and stir well. Let is come to a boil.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of corn flour with 2 tablespoons of water to prepare a slurry. Once the sauce comes to a boil, add the slurry to the sauce; it will thicken immediately.
- Drop the fried tofu cubes to the frying pan and stir carefully to mix everything well. Let the sauce boil until it comes to your desired consistency.
- Remove the sweet and sour tofu from heat, sprinkle freshly chopped cilantro and serve warm with plain white rice. Enjoy!
Liked the recipe? Let us know!