Everyone needs a couple of quick and tasty tofu recipes in their repertoire, and Sriracha Tofu is a great one to have. I always have a block of tofu in the fridge and the sauce ingredients in my pantry. Tofu is economical, packed with protein, and can be easily supercharged with flavor. My Sriracha Tofu is nice and crispy, and it has an irresistibly sweet and spicy sauce. It’s also very fast and easy, making it an ideal recipe to serve as part of a plant based feast, or to serve with other dishes and rice as a complete meal.

Our house always has multiple meal times throughout the day. Between work, school hours, and different activities, we all need some meals that are tasty and quick. I like to have a bunch of different things in the fridge, ready to grab and go. This Sriracha tofu is perfect for that because it tastes great hot, at room temperature, or even cold. The sweet and spicy flavor always hits the spot. Let me walk you through how easy this crave worthy tofu is to prepare.

It Starts With Sauce

The sauce for Sriracha Tofu is absolutely addictive. And so easy! Just mix toasted sesame oil for nutty richness, soy sauce for tangy depth, sriracha for smoky heat, and mirin and honey which provide a touch of sweetness. (You can sub agave for the honey if you want it to be vegan) Just mix it all together and set aside. If you really want to level up, use my Homemade Sriracha!

Prep Veggies

To keep this simple, I only add onion, garlic, and scallions to my Sriracha Tofu. They add flavor, body, and a little color to the dish.

Crisp Tofu

When people claim to not like tofu, they usually say it’s a “textural thing”. That is easily remedied though. For this recipe I start with medium firm tofu, which already isn’t mushy like soft or silken tofu is. When medium firm tofu is pan fried, it gets a delightfully crispy exterior, with a pleasantly chewy interior. You could also substitute firm tofu if you prefer.

The first trick to getting the tofu to fry up to a nice golden brown is to eliminate some water so it doesn’t steam in the pan. I press the tofu between sheets of paper towels to eliminate any extra water but you could also use kitchen or hand towels too. Use a little pressure but not so much that you squash the pieces of tofu. This process will allow the tofu to crisp up in the heat and reduce splattering when the tofu hits the oil in the pan.

The second trick to getting tofu crispy is to use enough heat and leave it alone. You need the heat to build up around the tofu to create a nice crunchy crust. Moving it around constantly will hinder that, so keep your hands to yourself and let the pan do the work :) Cook one side for 2-3 minutes and then check one piece to make sure it’s ready. When it has a nice golden color, flip the tofu carefully to the other side and do the waiting game again for a couple of minutes before removing it from the pan.

Once you remove the tofu, you should still have some oil left in the pan to sauté the onions. But if your pan looks a little dry, then add another tablespoon of oil before continuing.

The sauce will thicken a bit as you let it simmer and then it’s time to add the scallions, toss, and serve!

Sriracha Tofu is amazing as part of a meatless spread alongside Crispy Shiitake and Braised Burdock. Or just serve with Coconut Rice for a complete meal. Try it tonight and take a moment to rate and comment on the recipe; we love hearing from you! And don’t forget to tag us in  your pics @funkyasiankitchen.

Sriracha Tofu

★★★★★ 5 from 1 review

• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 Minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: small plates
• Cuisine: Pan-Asian

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Ingredients

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Sauce:

• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons mirin
• 2 teaspoons honey*
• 4 teaspoons sriracha
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

Tofu:

• 1 package medium firm tofu
• ½ large onion
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 4–5 tablespoons neutral oil
• 2 scallions

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Instructions

1. Stir the soy sauce, mirin, honey, sriracha, and sesame oil together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Peel and trim the onion and then finely dice. Set aside.
3. Trim the scallions and slice finely on an angle. Set aside.
4. Open the package of tofu and drain it. Cut the tofu in half lengthwise and then across the tofu 8 times to create 16 equal squares. Place 4 sheets of paper towels (double layered) on a plate and place the tofu on the paper. Place another couple sheets of paper on top of the tofu. Press down gently on the paper towels to eliminate moisture from the tofu. Set aside.
5. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and swirl it around the pan to evenly coat the surface with oil.
6. Gently place the tofu in the pan  in one even layer. Cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes. Flip the tofu carefully (it should be a nice, crisp golden brown) and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. 
7. Take the tofu out of the pan with a pair of tongs or chopsticks and set it aside in a bowl. Put the pan back on the stove without washing it out and heat it for a couple minutes over medium high heat.
8. If the pan looks dry, add 1 Tablespoon of neutral oil and then add the onions to the pan and stir fry for 3-5 minutes, moving the onion around regularly, until it has softened and started to lightly brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
9. Pour the sauce into the pan and add the fried tofu. Stir the tofu into the sauce to coat the pieces and continue to cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce has reduced.
10. Add the scallions to the pan and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

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Notes

*to make this vegan, sub an equal amount of agave syrup for the honey

Keywords: asian vegan, tofu, sweet and spicy, sriracha, plant based

I think it’s safe to say that Sriracha has become as American as Tabasco. In fact, that iconic red rooster bottle is one of the most successful food products in history. So much so that the Huy Fong factory in California makes over 20 million bottles of the stuff a year. And what’s not to love? A heat that’s not too hot, a little tangy and a little sweet, with a thick texture more like ketchup than a runny hot sauce….Sriracha is pretty much perfect.

But knowing that anything can be improved upon, and that homemade almost always tastes better, I set out to make my own. And wow! Homemade Sriracha is amazing! In just 15 minutes you can have your own homemade sriracha, and it is more vibrant than anything you could ever buy at the store.

Some Like It Hot!

For one of the world’s most famous hot sauces, Sriracha is surprisingly not that spicy. It actually clocks in pretty low on the Scoville scale, which is a way to measure heat level. Sriracha is at around 2200 Scoville units. For comparison, tabasco is almost twice as hot, at 3800 Scoville units. This may be one of the reasons why Sriracha is so versatile. It’s got more going for it than just heat.

One reason I like making my own homemade sriracha is that I can control the heat level. I can use peppers that I know to pack more heat, or I can remove the seeds if I want it a little less hot. You do you-if you want more flavor than heat, seek out milder red peppers like Anaheim chilis and remove their seeds. If you want real tongue tingling spice, throw in a scotch bonnet or two, and leave in the seeds.

One thing I would definitely recommend is that you use gloves while handling the peppers. You don’t want to find out why the hard way…

Let’s Get Cooking!

Now it’s time to take your homemade sriracha off the heat, and blend. You can do this one of two ways. You can either use an immersion blender; in which case be certain not to turn it on until is submerged in the liquid, or you and your kitchen will be covered in sriracha. Regular standing blenders work great too, though here again you need to be careful.  Make sure you don’t fill it over the max fill line, or the steam could blow the lid off, and again you will be covered in hot sriracha. Personally I love immersion blenders, but I find a high powdered blender better here at pulverizing the mixture. And I take out the cover for the feed hole (which reduces the pressure of the steam) and put a kitchen towel on top of the hole for extra precaution.

Time To Strain Out the Seeds

Once it’s blended, I strain it through a medium sieve to ensure it’s as smooth as possible. Do not use very fine sieves as the sauce is quite thick and you will trap most of the sauce. Just put a mesh strainer over a bowl, and push the sauce through. The strainer will catch any unblended seeds or chunks of chili. And then it’s ready to be jarred, where it can last in the fridge up to three weeks.

I Put This on Everything!

Seriously, everything. It’s great in Sriracha Honey Wings. Or to add a jolt of flavorful heat to Perfect Fried eggs. Pour some all over a noodle bowl, like our Lemongrass Chicken one or add zing to a Salmon Poke. Any place you’d like some sweet, tangy heat!

Can’t wait to see all the ways you find to use Homemade Sriracha. Leave a comment below and tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen.

Homemade Sriracha

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

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• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 large cloves garlic
• medium shallot
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 cup fresh whole red chilies stemmed and coarsely chopped, use whatever chile you like from medium to extra spicy 
• ⅓ cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

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Instructions

1. Heat garlic and shallot in oil over medium heat until light brown and softened, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Add ketchup and chilies and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to medium low, partially cover with a lid, and simmer for 3 mins. Stir once in a while to keep the thick sauce from burning.
3. Add vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and salt and simmer, again covering with the lid, for another 5 mins. Again stir a couple of times to keep the sauce cooking evenly.
4. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender or very carefully in a standard blender. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
5. If using a standard blender, remove the cover of the feed tube and put a damp kitchen towel on top. Start at low and blend for 30 seconds, moving up to high to get a completely smooth mixture. 
6. Push the sauce through a medium sieve to remove any fine particles and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

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Notes

* I recommend using a standard blender, especially if it is high powered, like a vitamix or a blendtec. If you use an immersion blender, blend the sauce well, taking extra time to make sure the sauce is as smooth as possible.

*Use a medium mesh sieve. Do not use a strainer with a very fine mesh as it will be almost impossible to push through the sauce. If you don’t mind the slightly coarse texture and the seeds, you could also just use the sauce as is without straining out the seeds.