Sometimes I wonder why it takes me so long to discover such easy and delicious recipes. Back in the day, I used to enjoy teriyaki chicken, but since going vegan I seemed to forget about that. Then the other day, it struck me: why haven't I veganized this dish? So I did just that, by simply swapping out a few ingredients (mainly tofu for chicken), and let me tell you, this easy sticky teriyaki tofu is a new household fave!
The key to making teriyaki tofu irresistibly delicious is to prepare the tofu correctly. First the tofu is pressed. This removes excess water and gives the tofu a more chewy meaty texture.
Then the tofu is torn into chunks. THIS IS KEY. I discovered the idea of tearing tofu into chunks (as opposed to cutting it into cubes) when I made my baked tofu bites recipe. When tofu is torn, the shape of the pieces are random and the surface is textured. This is the key to making tofu have chicken-like vibes. The random sizes mean that some pieces are chewier than others, while some pieces are more juicy. The the textured surface not only makes for an amazing mouth-feel, but it also helps hold the sauce on better. Trust me when I say, that tearing tofu is a game changer.
Then for the pièce de résistance, the sauce. The tofu is coated in a sticky, sweet, salty, tangy, garlicy, gingery, every perfect flavour sauce. Sprinkled with green onions and sesame seeds, I can predict that this dish will become a go-to staple for many.
Oh and did I mention that this recipe only takes about 10 minutes of cook time!? Yeah, it keeps getting better and better.
How to Make Easy Sticky Teriyaki Tofu:
First you will need to prepare the tofu. Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 30 minutes to 1 hour. I love using my Tofuture tofu press (as seen above), but you can also follow these instructions for a DIY tofu pressing method.
Pressing the tofu squeezes excess water out so that the tofu can suck up more of the marinade and also will make the texture a bit chewier.
In a bowl or measuring cup, mix together the teriyaki tofu sauce ingredients: the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Set aside.
Once the tofu is pressed, remove the tofu and pat dry, then use your fingers to tear into chunks about 1" in size. Some chunks will be bigger and others will be smaller and that's perfect! Tearing the tofu will make for the best chicken-like texture and also helps grip the sauce better.
Add the tofu to a medium bowl, and sprinkle over the cornstarch. Toss well to coat.
Heat the light oil over medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan. Once hot, add the tofu, and cook for about 5 minutes, flipping as needed until the tofu is lightly browned all over.
Pour all of the teriyaki sauce into the pan with the tofu, and cook for another 2- 3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
Serve the tofu or rice if or noodles (if desired) and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. See how sticky delicious that is!!! YUM!
I love this easy sticky teriyaki tofu is delicious served on rice with a side of broccoli or another green. It's also great served with rice noodles or in a lettuce wrap. Trust me when I say, that this tofu dish is so scrumptious, you're going to find any excuse to make this again and again.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Easy Sticky Teriyaki Tofu
Ingredients
For the tofu:
- 1 block (12 oz) extra-firm tofu, (see step 1 for prep)
For the sauce:
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup soy sauce, (gluten-free if preffered)
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 inch fresh ginger (1 tablespoon), minced
- 3 cloves garlic,, minced
To cook the tofu:
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon light oil, (such as canola or vegetable)
- 4 green onions,, chopped
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- To prep the tofu: Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 30 minutes to 1 hour. I love using my Tofuture tofu press, but you can also follow these instructions for a DIY tofu pressing method. Pressing the tofu squeezes excess water out so that the tofu can suck up more of the marinade and also will make the texture a bit chewier.
- In a bowl or measuring cup, mix together the sauce ingredients: the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Set aside.
- Once the tofu is pressed, remove the tofu and pat dry, then use your fingers to tear into chunks about 1" in size. Some chunks will be bigger and others will be smaller and that's perfect! Tearing the tofu will make for the best chicken-like texture and also helps grip the sauce better. Add the tofu to a medium bowl, and sprinkle over the cornstarch. Toss well to coat.
- Heat the light oil over medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan. Once hot, add the tofu, and cook for about 5 minutes, flipping as needed until the tofu is lightly browned all over.
- Pour all of the sauce mixture into the pan with the tofu, and cook for another 2- 3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Serve the tofu with rice or noodles (if desired) and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Saraswati says
This is a delicious recipe and easy to make. However, my tofu had a soft texture instead of a chewy one. I pressed the extra-firm tofu in my Tofuture press for about 45 minutes and it took longer than 5 minutes to get a good brown color when cooking it prior to adding the sauce. I'll try it again and press the tofu longer and see if I can achieve a firmer texture. Thanks for the great recipe!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Thanks for your sharing your experience! It does often firm up once it cools, so I hope you enjoy it more the next time you try it.
ShannaVegana says
If you freeze tofu and thaw it out. Then repeat, so freeze thaw freeze thaw, it changes the texture to be much more like chicken. Check out Mary’s Test Kitchen fried chicken video.
Nick says
Made as per the recipe and it was absolutely delicious Sam.
Many thanks for another one of your masterpieces!
Gina Bisaillon says
Why would you need to use extra firm tofu if you're going to be pressing it?
Laura R says
So good! Way too good to be so quick. Serious yum.
Marie Abbott says
I love to eat healthy and I am passionate about animals. However, I find that most of these recipes are high in both sodium and fat. For example, this Easy Sticky Teriyaki has Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 822mg. Are their recipes that are healthier?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Marie, my recipes are not health-focused, they are flavor focused. There are many blogs that have health-focused recipes, I suggest you try looking at those blogs. Enjoy!
Joan says
Hello Marie, I think the nutrition calculator is off. Unless I’m missing something I calculated the fat grams to be 10.2 gms. per serving as the recipe is written. Personally I cut the oil and just used broth to sauté. Excellent! The sodium calculator appears to be correct but I used low sodium soy sauce which was an easy and still delicious swap.
Jodi says
Love this recipe! Simple and a weekly staple.
Gail says
Hi Sam,
I am so happy that I have found you. I have been vegan for two years and am trying to help my husband transition. We started with Meatless Mondays and your recipes have been a blessing to me. Some weeks he has more than one meatless day (he doesn't always know and I don't tell). Your recipes are so amazing the ultimate carnivore doesn't know that it's not me. I had to double this recipe to make sure there was enough.
Thank you so much for all that you do.
Brigitte says
Hi Sam ,
I want to make the recipe I watched your video and you don’t coat the tofu with cornstarch . Can I skip this and just add some cornstarch to the sauce ? If yes how much would you add ? Or it’s better to just coat the tofu with cornstarch . Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Brigitte, I haven't made a video for this recipe yet so you must have seen a different tofu technique/recipe I was demonstrating. I recommend you follow the recipe as written for best results 🙂
Christina says
Delicious and toddler approved! Can’t believe how quick and easy this was to make. We served it on top of the veggie fries rice from the Fuss Free Vegan cookbook. Thanks Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Christina! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Deserae says
This is my favorite extra firm tofu recipe so far!! SOOO YUMMY!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! So happy you love it Deserae!