This honey sesame pan-fried tofu is an easy crunchy, sweet, and protein-heavy meal for a meatless Mondays.
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Tofu is incredibly versatile. Unfortunately, it can get a bad reputation for tasting sponge-like or flavorless, which can be true if not prepped properly! While flavorless on its own, firm tofu takes up anything you impart on it.
What type of tofu should I use?
When pan-frying, deep-frying or baking tofu, it's important to use firm or extra firm tofu. Both firm or extra firm tofu has a lower moisture content and a denser texture. You cannot use soft tofu because these will break apart too easily when pan-frying.
How should I prepare my tofu?
The tofu preparation is critical to the final texture and flavor of the dish. Especially if you want the tofu to absorb the marinade, you will need to press the tofu. This means removing as much liquid content as possible.
My favorite way of preparing tofu is by freezing the tofu block overnight. By freezing the tofu, the liquid becomes ice crystals, which makes the tofu more porous, allowing more of the marinade to be absorbed.
The next steps is thawing. You can thaw the tofu in the fridge afterwards but this will take a much longer time. I let it sit in a bath of warm water or even briefly microwave the tofu for 30 seconds. Once defrosted, press the tofu between two heavy plates to remove the rest of the liquid.
Is this necessary? No! If you don't have time to freeze and thaw tofu, simply press the tofu between two heavy plates for 15 minutes to remove as much liquid as possible. If you have tofu often, it might even make sense to get a tofu press.
Ingredients
- Firm or extra firm tofu: You must use firm tofu and not soft or silken tofu.
- Cornstarch: Use a couple tablespoons of cornstarch to coat the tofu so they are crispier when pan-fried and help the honey sesame sauce to better adhere to each cube of tofu.
- Honey
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce
- Chili bean sauce: Called douban jiang (豆瓣酱), you should be able to find these at any Asian grocery store in the sauces aisle. This sauce will add a bit of a kick, but should be much milder when mixed with the honey, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
- Garlic
- White roasted sesame seeds
- Scallions
Instructions
- Prepare the firm tofu overnight if you can, which means freezing the tofu, defrosting, and then pressing for 15 minutes.
- Once pressed, slice the tofu into even 1 inch cubes.
- Toss the cubes in cornstarch.
- Prepare the marinade by mixing honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, and chili bean sauce in a bowl.
- Oil a pan, and once hot, toss in the tofu. Cook the tofu evenly on each side so they are all crispy over medium heat. This will usually take about 3 minutes per side.
- Pour the marinade over the tofu and gently stir-fry so each tofu piece is evenly covered.
- Add sesame seeds and chopped scallions, and stir for 30 seconds.
- Serve over rice.
Other Asian tofu recipes
Fan of tofu and looking for more vegetarian friendly tofu recipes? Check out some of my other favorites below:
- Cold Silken Tofu with Chili Soy Sauce
- Crispy Baked Tofu Nuggets (Vegan)
- Tofu Katsu with Curry (Vegan)
- Gochujang Baked Tofu (Vegan)
📖 Recipe
Honey Sesame Pan-Fried Tofu
Ingredients
- 14 oz firm tofu
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon chili bean sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- 1 stalk scallion
Instructions
Prepare Tofu
- Freeze tofu overnight. If not freezing overnight, skip to step 3 in the tofu preparation section.
- Next day, defrost the tofu. Either let sit in a warm bath of water or microwave for 30 second intervals until fully defrosted.
- Wrap tofu in a paper towels and press between two heavy plates to remove remaining liquid.
- Once pressed, slice the tofu into even 1 inch cubes.
Pan-Fry Tofu
- Toss the cubes in cornstarch.
- Prepare the marinade by mixing honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, water, minced garlic, and chili bean sauce in a bowl.
- Oil pan, and once hot, toss in the tofu. Cook the tofu evenly on each side so they are all crispy over medium heat. This will usually take about 3 minutes per side. Don't toss the tofu but let each side crisp up before moving onto another side.
- Pour the marinade over the tofu and gently stir-fry so each tofu piece is evenly covered. Let tofu simmer in the sauce for about 1 minute.
- Add sesame seeds and chopped scallions, and stir for 30 seconds.
- Serve over rice.
Jerika says
This Honey Sesame Pan-Fried Tofu is perfect for my rice! Yum!:)
Lucas says
Thank you very much for this wonderful recipe!
The instructions you made are easy to follow. I will make this for dinner tonight
Jere Cassidy says
Great recipe and your instructions are so easy to follow. I didn't know you could freeze tofu so that was a great tip.
Cate Hall says
Fantastic. Better than most Asian restaurants' tofu ii have tried. Permanently on my dinner rotation menu now. And my family, who dislike tofu on principal, also loved it. No leftovers. Thanks!
Nora says
It turned out perfectly! Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Natalie says
This is a must try recipe! We enjoyed it, thanks.
Amanda says
So delicous and easy!
Peggy says
Thanks for this delicious recipe. My family loved it!
Rob says
This turned out delicious and both the vegetarian and non-vegetarians in my house loved it!
Pam says
The only tofu recipe that my daughter will eat!
Agnieszka says
I can't get enough of this tofu! It's so delicious and my whole family loves it.
Toni says
This is really good!!
Amy says
I've been using tofu more these days. This recipe was delicious.
Swathi says
Sesame pan fired tofu looks delicious. I need to try it.
Amy says
Was great for a mid-week meal! Thanks
Jacqui | thesimplesprinkle.com says
This tofu turns out to be just as described: crunchy, sweet and so wholesome! I used agave instead of honey and it worked out great. Thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe
Emily Flint says
Loved the flavors!
Sue says
Tofu is so delicious when it has a crunchy coating like this!
Bernice says
Amazing! I just had to give this tofu recipe a try...and it was a huge hit!
Addie says
So crispy and delicious!
Peter says
I've read so much about douban jiang sauce and I finally tried it. It was the perfect amount of spice, and really made the honey sesame pop!
Jeannie says
I did use maple syrup instead of honey and enjoyed the flavors. Lovr tofu and Im glad this is an easy recipe.0
Melinda says
This is now my go-to tofu recipe, freezing it is a good step, somehow that helps make it extra crispy on the outside. Love the flavor combination too!!
Genevieve says
This honey sesame fried tofu looks amazing! Such a refreshing recipe!