Last Updated August 10, 2024

Lightly pan-fried, crispy tofu nuggets tossed in a sweet and salty, sticky sesame sauce and served over rice. Extra delicious when served with hot pepper flakes, green onion, sesame seeds, and broccoli.

This Sticky Sesame Tofu is like Sesame Chicken and General Tso’s Chicken all wrapped up in one. Except it’s tofu, and not chicken, which makes it a vegan recipe. I’m not vegan, I just happen to love tofu. BUT this recipe can also be made with chicken! Simply pan fry it until cooked through, then proceed with the recipe as written.

Some notes about this recipe for making it in Italy vs. US:

The tofu I would get in Italy, seems to come in 380g packages instead of the 400-450gish (14-16oz) like in the States, which means that recipe proportions will be a tiny bit different. The photos you see on this post are when I used the Italian 380g package of tofu, but I used to make half the sauce recipe as written below. If you are using a smaller than 380g block of tofu, you could consider cutting this recipe in half, to keep it more “sticky” and less saucy.
Tofu in Italy also comes in a vacuum-packed container and not in water like in the States. This means the tofu starts out less watery and is easier to dry. Usually one heavy duty napkin or paper towel is sufficient for pressing.

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More Meatless Recipes:

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Taco Salad

Cozy Lentil Curry

Green Tofu and Vegetable Curry

Smooth Potato and Vegetable Soup

Sticky Lemon Tofu

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry

Broccoli Cheddar Pasta

Labor Eggplant Parmesan

White Bean Carrot Burgers

White Bean Potato Soup

Butternut Squash and Sage Pasta

Recipe by Jenny

Sticky Sesame Tofu

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

For the Crispy Tofu

1 box / roughly 400g firm or extra firm tofu, drained
1/2 cup / 60g cornstarch
2 Tbsp / 28g peanut oil or other high-heat oil, plus more as needed

For the Sticky Sesame Sauce

1/2 cup / 120g soy sauce or tamari
6 Tbsp / 90g tomato purée
6 Tbsp / 76g brown sugar, or 6 Tbsp / 120g maple syrup
2 Tbsp / 30g rice vinegar
2 tsp sriracha or 1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp freshly grated ginger or 1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp / 10g cooking oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp / 10g sesame oil

For Serving (optional):

rice
steamed broccoli
avocado, sesame seeds, sliced green onion, lime wedges, red pepper flakes, cilantro

Directions:

Make the Crispy Tofu

Place tofu block between some paper towels and press to absorb extra water. Repeat until tofu feels dry and no more water comes out. You can also do this ahead of time by placing something heavy over the tofu and paper towels, such as a bowl or pot, and leave it for several minutes.
Place corn starch in a medium bowl. Slice tofu into squares and toss in the corn starch until evenly coated.
Pan fry:
Heat oil in a large fry pan and add tofu. Fry for a few minutes until golden, then flip tofu over. You can do this with tongs, or simply sauté/flip the tofu. The second way is faster, but requires a bit more skill and you have less control over which sides of the tofu land down. Add more oil to the pan as needed to get a nice golden crust on the tofu. Remove from heat when done.
OR Bake:
Disperse tofu cubes evenly onto a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400°F / 205°C for about 30 minutes, or until light golden and crispy. Ideally, flip tofu halfway through baking.

Make the Sticky Sesame Sauce:

While tofu is frying or baking, prepare the sauce. In a bowl stir together soy sauce, tomato purée, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sriracha, and ginger.
Heat cooking oil in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until just starting to turn golden, 1-2 minutes.
Add soy sauce mixture and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce just starts to thicken. Stir in sesame oil.
Add tofu to sauce and toss until evenly covered; serve immediately with rice, broccoli, and garnishes, if desired.

Jenny’s Notes:

For the sodium conscious, you may wish to use reduced-sodium soy sauce. If you only have regular soy sauce available, you can replace 1/2 of the soy sauce with water.
If you don’t have rice vinegar, use any vinegar you have on hand.
You can add more sriracha or red pepper flakes if you want it extra spicy, or omit if you don’t like spice.
If not serving all the tofu right away, it’s best to store it separately from the sauce if you wish to keep the tofu crispy.