Crispy Teriyaki Tofu

Teriyaki Tofu is one of my family’s favorite Vegan Asian Food. Once cooked, the tofu’s texture would have its perfect amount of crispiness, with the flavor of Vegan Teriyaki Sauce seeping into the tofu. Teriyaki Chicken is often eaten at Japanese restaurants, but you can easily make it at home with a vegan version, too!

The best way to sever this dish is Teriyaki Tofu Rice Bowl, but can also eat with noodles and some greens salad. This recipe is a Vegan, Gluten-free, and Kid-friendly Meal.

Tofu is a great way for adding protein to a dish, and it’s also pretty affordable. It’s good for you, your grown-ups, and even your kiddos

And the best part here is that I am gonna show you how to make this restaurant-style Vegan Teriyaki Tofu in less than 30 minutes for your easy and quick dinner! All in all, trying this classic Asian recipe is a must!

Ingredients you’ll need

*Please check out the recipe card at the end of this blog post for the full recipe and amounts for each ingredient.

The most important ingredients to make Teriyaki Tofu are obviously tofu and soy sauce. I’ve got a couple of details on which kind of tofu and soy sauce you will need to make this dish and the other ingredients and its substitute that are good for your diet. Here is what you need:

Making Crispy Pan Fried Tofu (less oil)

• Tofu – Both firm and extra-firm Tofu work well in this recipe. However, the tofu still contains a lot of excess water so you need to press it for at least 10 minutes with kitchen towers. Then cut the tofu into cubes or triangles. My family loves the original taste and moist texture of tofu so I cut it into a rectangle slice 0.5 inches thick (watch how I cut it in the video here). So you decide what shape of tofu is the best for you and your family. 
• Seasoning – Combine with garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper (optional, your kids might not like pepper flavor).
• Cornstarch or Potato Starch – This is the secret to make the tofu super crispy texture.
• Vegetable Oil – You can use any Vegetable Oil in your hand.

Making the Vegan Teriyaki Sauce

• Soy Sauce – I generally use light soy sauce which is always available in my kitchen. Make sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce if you want this meal to be entirely gluten-free.
• Garlic – I like the original taste of fresh garlic so I always have it at home. But ground garlic works well too.
• Ginger – It can’t be Teriyaki Sauce without ginger! You can use ground ginger instead of a fresh one. But trust me, fresh ginger will bring your Teriyaki Tofu to the next level as Asian restaurant-style.
• Sweetener – I used light sugar in this recipe but you can use raw unrefined brown sugar or coconut sugar. Honey and maple syrup works well too if you like its flavor.
• Mirin – Mirin is similar to Sake (a traditional alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice in Japan), but has more sugar and lower alcohol content in it. If you don’t have Mirin at home, the next best mirin substitutes are white wine vinegar and rice vinegar. Both are very acidic, so you’ll need to adjust the amount of white wine vinegar or rice vinegar-based on your family’s taste.
• Olive Oil – You can use any Vegetable Oil in your hand.
• White Sesame Seeds – These add great texture and can be a garnish for when you finish the meal, too.
• Garnish – Chopped scallions or coriander are great for this.

Now that’s everything you need, let’s go straight ahead to make our delicious Teriyaki Tofu!

How to make Crispy Teriyaki Recipe – in 4 simple steps

(*Be sure to see the recipe card with a printable version below for full ingredients & instructions!)

• Step 1. Make Vegan Teriyaki Sauce
• Step 2. Press the tofu
• Step 3. Marinate and make the crispy tofu
• Step 4. Add Teriyaki Sauce

Step 1. Make Vegan Teriyaki Sauce

• Add olive oil to the pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, continue adding chopped garlic and slices of ginger and cook until lightly turn brown (but not burn). This step will bring up the flavor of fresh garlic and ginger. 
• Add soy sauce, mirin, sugar to the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring all the while until the sauce thickens.
• Adjust seasoning to taste (Sweeter – add more sugar or maple syrup, Saltier – add more salt, Less salty – you can use Kikkoman Less Salt Soy Sauce which is less sodium, Spicier – add chili sauce or chili powder, I don’t recommend all chili if you cook it for your children)
• Turn off the heat. Let it cool at room temperature before pouring in the clean jar. This recipe is for 4 servings. You can make more and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Step 2. Press the tofu

The goal is to remove any excess water from the tofu so it’s as firm as possible and easy to make the crispy texture. 

I took a tour around and saw many food bloggers using tofu presses or stacking a heavy pot on top of the tofu to remove any excess water. You can do it but this method will take you 30 minutes to just press the tofu.

I will show you the better way to press the tofu using just a couple of kitchen towels in 10 minutes. Save your time and your money. 

You can watch how simple and quick I press my tofu in the video here.

• Cut the tofu into 0.5 inch-thick slices.
• Place the tofu slices on a kitchen tower with other kitchen towers on the top of it.
• Use your hand to lightly press the tofu and help the towers absorb all the excess water from the tofu. 
• Let the tofu rest for 10 minutes and press the tofu by hand every 5 minutes. 
• Now your tofu is ready to cut into the shapes you like such as cubes or triangles.

Step 3. Make Crispy Pan Fried Tofu with less oil

• After tofu is pressed and cut into the shape that you prefer, marinate both sides of the tofu with garlic powder and sea salt to make it more flavorful. 
• Cover all sides of the tofu with cornstarch or potato starch. This is the secret to making the tofu super crispy, you don’t want to skip it.
• Heat vegetable oil in a pan on medium-high heat and when hot, add the tofu and fry until browned and crispy on both sides. Make sure you don’t turn the tofu over when one side is not brown and crispy yet. 

Step 4. Making Teriyaki Tofu

• Clean up your pan to remove all the oil used to fry the tofu before pouring the sauce. 
• Cook in medium-low heat until the sauce absorbs and evenly distributes all sides of the tofu. It will take just around 1 or 2 minutes. So keep a close eye on the tofu, you don’t want to burn it. 
• Turn off the heat and serve warm with rice, noodle or salad!

How to serve Teriyaki Tofu?

Here are some side dishes that go beautifully with this Teriyaki Tofu:

• Serve it over steamed jasmine rice or brown rice for a complete dinner.
• Mixing it with egg-fried rice is also a good option for your family meal. 
• You can serve it with rice vermicelli together with plenty of steamed vegetables such as bok choy, cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, etc.
• Cut the tofu into small cubes and spoon it into individual lettuce cups. You have Teriyaki Tofu Lettuce Wraps, the perfect easy snack or appetizer.

More Top Vegan Recipes

FAQ’s & Pro Tips

How do you make Teriyaki Tofu Recipe in under 30 minutes?

As I’ve mentioned, this Teriyaki Tofu Recipe is healthy, delicious, and super easy to make. 

There are 2 tips that help you cook it faster for your dinner meals. Save your time but still enjoy delicious food.

• Tip 1: Make the Teriyaki Sauce ahead of time. You can make more of the Teriyaki Sauce before and store the sauce in a clean jar. Keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months. 
• Tip 2: Press the tofu just in 10 minutes by using the method that I’ve mentioned in step 2 above.

As you can see, it just takes you 10 minutes to press the tofu, 10 minutes to fry, and 5 minutes more to cook the tofu with teriyaki sauce that you have cooked it the days before. So in just 25 minutes in total, you can cook the best dinner for your family. 

Should you marinate tofu before cooking?

On its own, tofu is neutral-tasting and very mildly flavored. For sure, I recommend you should marinate the tofu before cooking. However, how to marinate the tofu in the best way? 

The answer is it depends on the recipe and the cooking method you use to cook the tofu.

• Steamed method: If you prefer Steamed Tofu, there is no need to marinate the tofu. 
• Quick Stir-fried method: If you are making Stir-fried Marinated Tofu and mushroom, your need to marinate the tofu with marinades such as hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Thai chili sauce, Teriyaki sauce and etc.
• Crispy Tofu: In this recipe, we’re gonna make the Super Crispy Teriyaki Tofu. So I recommend just marinate the tofu with salt and garlic powder (or/and onion powder) to add a little flavor to the tofu before cooking. DO NOT marinate the tofu with Teriyaki Sauce because we want to make a crispy tofu texture. Read more reasons below.

Why don’t I marinate the Tofu with Teriyaki Sauce?

As I mentioned above, it depends on what method and recipe that you use to cook, the tofu needs to marinate or not, and which marinade you should use. There are some reasons why I don’t marinate the tofu with Teriyaki Sauce before frying it.

First of all, the sweetener and liquid content in the Teriyaki Sauce can make the marinated tofu burn easily before getting the crispy texture that you want.

Secondly, drizzling the Teriyaki sauce over the crispy fried tofu (in the last step) will give the tofu the adequate flavor that you might need. 

Thirdly, in this recipe, the tofu is marinated with garlic powder and sea salt on both sides (in step 3 above).

Therefore, you don’t need to marinate with Teriyaki sauce and get rid of the burning when you fry it over medium-high heat.

Is Teriyaki Tofu gluten-free?

Yes, make sure to use gluten-free soy sauce if you want this meal to be entirely gluten-free.

How to store Teriyaki Tofu?

You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

I don’t recommend freezing the leftover tofu. When you freeze it, the amount of water that contains inside the tofu and makes it moister is frozen. After you thaw and reheat the meal, this frozen water will melt and release from the tofu. This is why the tofu gets dry and tough after reheating from the freezer.

Make Vegan Teriyaki Sauce in advance? 

You can make more of the Teriyaki Sauce before and store the sauce in a clean jar. Keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE: You will also love my Vegan Pumpkin Bread, Vegan Coconut Curry and Vegan Filipino Mushroom Adobo.

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TERIYAKI TOFU

Zoe Mai

Teriyaki Tofu is one of my family’s favorite Vegan Asian Foods. Once cooked, the tofu’s texture would have its perfect amount of crispiness, with the flavor of Teriyaki Sauce seeping into the tofu. Cook this restaurant-style recipe in less than 30 mins – easy & quick dinner!

(Vegan – Gluten-free – Kid-friendly)

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

FOR THE TERIYAKI SAUCE

• 100 g Light Soy Sauce
• 40 g Mirin
• 50 g Light Sugar
• 15 g Garlic , chopped
• 20 g Ginger , sliced
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil

FOR CRISPY TOFU

• 300 g Firm or Extra Firm Tofu
• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Sea salt
• 50 g Cornstarch or Potato Starch
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil

GARNISH

• 1 teaspoon White sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon Coriander

Instructions

 

MAKE THE TERIYAKI SAUCE

• Add olive oil to the pan on medium-high heat.
• When the pan is hot, continue adding chopped garlic and slices of ginger and cook until lightly turn brown (but not burn). This step will bring up the flavor of fresh garlic and ginger. 
• Add soy sauce, mirin, sugar to the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring all the while until the sauce thickens.
• Adjust seasoning to taste then turn off the heat.

PRESS THE TOFU

• Cut the tofu into 0.5-inch-thick slices.
• Place the tofu slices on a kitchen tower with other kitchen towers on the top of it.
• Use your hand to lightly press the tofu and help the towers absorb all the excess water from the tofu.
• Let the tofu rest for 10 minutes and press the tofu by hand every 5 minutes. Now your tofu is ready to cut into any shapes you like such as cubes or triangles.

MAKE THE CRISPY TOFU

• After tofu is pressed and cut into the shape that you prefer, marinate both sides of the tofu with garlic powder and sea salt to make it more flavorful.
• Cover all sides of the tofu with cornstarch or potato starch. This is the secret to making the tofu super crispy, you don’t want to skip it.
• Heat vegetable oil in a pan into medium-high heat and when hot, add the tofu and fry until browned and crispy on both sides.

ADD TERIYAKI SAUCE.

• Clean up your pan to remove all the oil used to fry the tofu before pouring the sauce.
• Cook in medium-low heat until the sauce absorbs and evenly distributes all sides of the tofu. It will take just around 1 or 2 minutes. So keep a close eye on the tofu, you don’t want to burn it.
• Turn off the heat and serve warm with rice, noodle or salad!

Watch How to do it

Zoe’s Notes

• Don’t marinate the tofu with Teriyaki Sauce before frying. Read more here
• Make sure you use firm or extra firm tofu for this recipe. 
• Press the tofu before cooking. Read more about how to press the tofu fast and easily here.
• Make Teriyaki Sauce in advance? You can make more of the Teriyaki Sauce before and store the sauce in a clean jar. Keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• Gluten-free? Make sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce if you want this meal to be entirely gluten-free.
• Store: You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freeze:  I don’t recommend freezing the leftover tofu. When you freeze it, the amount of water that contains inside the tofu and makes it moister is frozen. After you thaw and reheat the meal, this frozen water will melt and release from the tofu. This is why the tofu gets dry and tough after reheating from the freezer.

 

MORE VEGAN IDEAS?  Vegan Coconut Curry, Mushroom Adobo, Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Keyword 30-minute dinner, tofu recipes, Vegan dinner, vegan tofu

Enjoy!! xo

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