Easy Braised Tofu Recipe | Cook Click N Devour!!! (2024)

Braised tofu is a delicious Chinese side dish with sweet and spicy flavors. This restaurant style tofu side dish is vegan and very easy to make at home.

If you have firm tofu handy, this tofu dish gets ready in minutes. A perfect side dish with sesame noodles, fried rice, noodles, pho and also a wonderful snack!

I am big fan of Asian dishes and anything with sweet and spicy sauce , I am game. I have had this braised tofu dish many times in our local Chinese restaurant.

Perfectly done tofu with slightly crispy edges and melt in mouth texture, braised in super flavorful sauce along with onions, what’ not to love 🙂

I also like to throw in lots of sesame seeds for that crunch and flavor.

You can alter this recipe to totally suit your taste buds. We like it slightly dry so I have used less sauce here. You can easily increase the amount of sauce and make super saucy braised tofu too.

As I have mentioned in this tofu stir fry recipe, when I first tasted tofu it did not go very well. Apparently I had tasted it from a wrong place.

But when I had perfectly done tofu, it all changed. Quickly I also started to experiment with tofu recipes and this braised tofu recipe is our top favorite at home.

This is also a popular Korean tofu recipe. It is basically a side dish where pan fried crispy tofu slabs are braised quickly in a sweet and spicy sauce along with some onions.

It tastes so good when served hot along with Asian mains like fried rice, noodles or on its own as snack with a side of hot sauce.

This Braised Tofu Is

Quick, easy and simple to make

made with no special ingredients

Vegan

Flavorful & delicious

Perfect side dish for Asian recipes.

Ingredients For Braised Tofu

Tofu– There are many varieties of tofu available in stores. For this recipe you can use firm tofu or silken tofu. I have made braised tofu with both the varieties and prefer firm tofu here. You can press the tofu if you prefer but for this recipe I don’t do that step.

Rinse the tofu block very well and cut into thick slabs. Rinse again and wipe excess water using a clean kitchen towel. Set aside for few minutes.

Ingredients For The Sauce– The sauce we use for braising tofu is a super simple one. Instead of mixing the ingredients for the sauce separately, I prefer to add the ingredients one by one in hot oil. This method increases the flavor and taste of the sauce.

The sauce for this tofu recipe is a mix of dark and light soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar chili flakes.

Other Ingredients– The other ingredients we need here are the regulars in Asian cuisine. Toasted sesame oil, minced ginger garlic, scallion greens or green onions and sesame seeds.

Optional Ingredients- Along with tofu you can add few other ingredients like cubed onion, cubed bell peppers, mushrooms, bamboo shoots. Saute these after ginger garlic and proceed with the recipe.

Step By Step Method

Preparing tofu

If your tofu block is refrigerated thaw it for few minutes. Rinse the block of tofu in cold running water thoroughly. Wipe off with a clean kitchen towel. Cut into 1/4 inch thick slabs or cubes.

Heat a flat cast iron pan or wok with 2 tablespoons oil. Place the tofu cubes and set the flame to medium high. Gently fry the tofu cubes from all sides until golden brown and crispy.

Remove to a paper towel and set aside until use.

How to make braised tofu

Now let’s prepare the sauce for braising the tofu.

Heat 2 tablespoons toasted oil in a wok. I used the same oil and pan used for frying tofu.

Add minced ginger garlic and sesame seeds. Saute in high heat for a minute.

Add chili flake, cubed onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add 3/4 cup water and let it sizzle.

Now add soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and salt to taste. Let the sauce bubble and thicken for 2 minutes.

Add the pan fried tofu cubes and braise quickly for 2 minutes.

Add scallion greens and mix. Serve braised tofu warm.

Recipe Notes & Tips

To make the recipe with more sauce– Just increase water by another 1/4 cup and stir in 2 teaspoons of corn flour slurry (2 teaspoons corn four mixed in 1 tablespoon cold water) and let the sauce simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Adjust the seasoning to your taste– feel free to vary the quantity of sauces to your taste. You can also add 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, hot sauce or siracha sauce for more flavor.

Storage– This recipe tastes best when served immedietly. I do not recommend making this ahead.

Serving Suggestions– Braised tofu is a perfect side dish for Asian mains like Chinese fried rice, schezwan noodles etc. You can also serve this snack.

I hope you will try this braised tofu recipe and enjoy as much as we did. Please give a star rating★in the recipe card below. Follow us onPinterest,Instagram,Facebook for more recipes and ideas