Orange Tofu (Crispy, Sticky)
This orange tofu recipe is another delicious vegan alternative to the popular Chinese take-out, orange chicken. Choosing tofu is the easiest and cheapest protein if you want to make a copycat at home. It is sticky, crispy, sweet, and zesty. You'll love it as much as I do.
Servings 4 servings
Calories 547kcal
Equipment
- our Cast-iron Skillet by UnoCasa
- Non-stick frying pan (10.5 inch / 26 cm)
- TofuBud (pressing tofu in 15 minutes)
- Simple tofu press
Ingredients
- 16 oz Firm tofu
Wet batter
- ½ cup Dairy-free milk
- ⅓ cup Chickpea flour
- ⅔ cup White rice flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Black pepper
- ½ tsp Garlic powder
Dry batter
- ⅔ cup White rice flour or all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp Corn starch
Instructions
Prepare the batters
- Wet batter → Take a shallow bowl and mix dairy-free milk, chickpea flour, white rice flour, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper with a whisk. It should have a texture of a thick pancake batter, slow-flowing but not too dense. In time, the flour may thicken the batter a bit, so add 1 tsp of water to thin it again.
- Dry batter → Take another shallow bowl and mix white rice flour, corn starch, salt, and black pepper with a spoon.
Bread and fry tofu
- Press tofu, then cut into ½ inch cubes.
- Have both wet batter and dry mix in two separate shallow bowls.
- Dip the tofu cubes first in the wet batter. Coat them evenly. I found it is easier to use your fingers to do that instead of using a fork or spatula.
- Transfer gently the coated tofu cubes to the dry mix. Sprinkle the top and pat them gently. Make sure the mix sticks to them evenly.
- Take a pot and add enough oil to cover the cubes. Heat it over medium/high heat. You can test whether it is hot enough by dropping a bit of coating in it. If it sizzles, you are good to go.
- Stir them occasionally. It will take 3-4 minutes to fry them. Once the tofu cubes are nicely browned, take them out to a rack to drip the excess oil.
Prepare the orange sauce
- Peel and mince ginger and garlic. Wash and grate some orange zest.
- Take a small bowl and mix corn starch, orange juice (100%), orange zest, cane sugar, soy sauce, sriracha (or other chili paste), and white rice vinegar.
- Take a saucepan and heat it over medium heat. Add oil and minced garlic, ginger and saute them for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the mixture from the small bowl and mix well. Cook it for a couple of minutes until the corn starch is activated and the sauce starts to thicken.
- Add molasses and stir well. Your sauce is ready now!
Serve it immediately
- I recommend doing the coating per serving especially if you don't have a large enough pan or skillet.
- Take ¼ of the orange sauce and add it to a warm skillet or pan. Add 1 serving of fried tofu cubes and mix well. Serve it on steamed or cooked rice.
Video
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