Sweet and Sour Tofu Recipe (Vegan)
This Sweet and Sour Tofu is one of my favourite comfort foods ever of my favourite takeout! The tofu is crisp with a perfect texture and the sweet and sour sauce is unbelievably delicious! It comes together quickly and tastes amazing as meal prep too!
I’ve been making this sweet and sour sauce since the beginning of ‘Jessiker Bakes’. The first version of JITK, and where I started experimenting with savoury dishes. 10 years later (the sauce was always vegan) I’ve modified it a bit, made the entire dish vegan, and I am finally re-sharing it! I can’t count how many times I’ve made this but it is our #1 go to COMFORT meal.
None of my local Asian restaurants make sweet and sour tofu. Which is a bummer, but also motivation to make my own. Let me tell you – it is INCREDIBLE! The first time I made it for a blog recipe, Gav and I finished it all that night. I say that with pride. It embodies all the flavours you would expect from a sweet and sour sauce – sweet, tangy, umami filled and so rich in colour and flavour. It comes with my favourite usual add-ins of bell peppers, onions and pineapples, and of course, crispy tofu.
How to Make Tofu Crispy
After years of making tofu, I’m proud to say we know how to make it perfectly crispy. The short answer is: cornstarch. I go into full detail in my How to Cook Tofu 101 blog post, and I highly recommend that you read it. Cornstarch crisps up the tofu while wicking out any excess liquid. It’s also gluten free so works well for that.
My second tip is to always, always press your tofu. I also say it in my how to cook tofu 101 blog post, it’s not tofu’s job to have flavour. It’s up to us to season it, in fact, I’m glad it barely has a flavour. It takes on anything you want it to. Removing the liquid from tofu allows it space to absorb all the flavour you want it to have. Those two, plus a nice hot pan to crisp it up in will create perfect tofu for this dish and beyond!
Can’t have tofu?
If you’re allergic to soy, this recipe works perfectly on cauliflower too! Just bread it and crisp it up like in my orange cauliflower dish, then finish it like I do in this recipe in the pan. You could also do this on mushrooms or tempeh.
Related Recipes
- General Tso Tofu
- Sweet and Sticky Orange Cauliflower Bites
- Orange Air Fryer Tofu
- Easy Baked Tofu
- Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry
Sweet and Sour Tofu Recipe (Vegan)
Ingredients
Crispy Tofu
- 1 16 ounce block of firm or extra firm tofu, pressed, and torn into 1 to 2 inch pieces*
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten free if needed, or liquid aminos or tamari
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup oil for frying
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar, I use cane sugar, you can use brown or any granulated
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup vinegar, preferably rice or white
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten free if needed, or liquid aminos or tamari
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped/cubed pineapple
- 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish
- chopped scallion, for garnish
Instructions
Crispy Tofu
- In a medium-sized bowl place the pressed and torn tofu pieces. Add the soy sauce and toss to coat. Add in the garlic powder, sea salt, ground black pepper and cornstarch and toss to thoroughly combine, ensuring all the tofu pieces are covered with the seasonings and the cornstarch.
- Heat a pan or wok over medium-high heat, and add the oil. When hot, add the tofu and toss to crisp up on all sides until the tofu is cooked and crisped on all sides, about 5 to 8 minutes. Feel free to do this in batches if desired. Remove tofu pieces and set aside.
Sweet and Sour Sauce + Putting it All Together
- In the same pan, lower the heat to over medium-high heat, and add in the onions, pineapples and bell peppers.
- Saute until the onions are translucent and the pineapples are slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, water, soy sauce, and garlic powder for the sweet and sour sauce and stir together until fully combined.
- Pour in the sauce over the veggies. Bring to a slight boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened up. Add back in the crisped up tofu, and stir to combine. Taste test and add more sugar or soy sauce if you desire. Remove from heat until needed.
- Remove from heat and top with sesame seeds and chopped scallions. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Good Lord! This is much easier than the way I do it by marinating overnight. I have a pound of extra firm on hand…so will give it a whirl. I like the crispy idea. Mine definitely hasn’t been … ever!
Hi Jessica,
I made the sweet and sour tofu tonight. It was the best tofu we’ve had and I’ve tried many over the last 20 years – absolutely loved it and can hardly wait to make it again. I only had broccoli, red pepper and red onions so used them for the stir fry. Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Linda
Hi
Can I just check…. It says 116ozs tofu?…. I am thinking that may be an error? .. and assuming it’s 16?…anyway, This sounds amazing as my stir fried, or even baked supposedly crispy tofu never is… despite using cornflour….
Thank you
Hi Carole! Thanks so much for trying this recipe it’s actually 1 (one) 16 oz block. I hope this helps!
This is the first meal I’ve made using tofu and it did not disappoint! Super quick and easy to make and it was delicious!!
This recipe was delicious, and family approved from kids age 5-1. Appreciated that it’s all familiar ingredients that are staples in our house so I can count on it for a week night meal without having to make a stop at the store. We will definitely be adding this to our weekly rotation!
This recipe was finger liking AMAZING! As soon as I started mixing the sauce, I started to salivate. The pineapple in this recipe is genius, luckily I had a ton in my freezer to use up! Will make this again and again, thank you Jessica!!
Adding this to our recipe book. 10/10! Thanks Jessica!
This was wonderful! I think I finally nailed crispy tofu thanks to your pointers! My meat eating husband loved it! A plus it is also gf! Thank you for sharing!
I just made this and it was delicious! I loved that the coating for the tofu was so flavorful. I will definitely be making this again! This was as good, if not better than, the sweet and sour dishes that I have had in restaurants in the past. Thanks!
As soon as this recipe arrived in my inbox, I knew I had to make it right away. Thankfully I doubled the recipe as not all of it made it to the serving bowl (opps) & I can hardly wait for left overs tomorrow! Way better than any take out. I could literally eat this every day. Its the perfect combo of all flavours. And the pineapple, peppers and red onions were the perfect addition.
Ok I made this for dinner last night and I am STILL thinking about it. The perfect blend of sweet and sour and the method for cooking the tofu with cornstarch has literally changed my life! I’m so excited to make this again and to use this tofu method for future recipes! I didn’t have pineapple so I subbed in some cherry tomatoes but otherwise all of these ingredients were just waiting to be used in my pantry – so convenient and easy!
Thank you for this new staple recipe that’s going to live in my weeknight dinner rotation!