Join my newsletter and get my free cookbook

Lowly Food

Sweet And Sour Baked Tofu

sweet and sour tofu profile

This amazing sweet and sour tofu recipe has it all. Crispy tofu, a sumptuous sauce and it’s super easy. An absolute winner of a recipe.

This recipe is proof that you don’t need any fancy equipment to create quality crispy tofu. Just a plain old oven will work fine. Using my method the baked tofu comes out super crunchy and delicious.

The sweet and sour sauce is the perfect dressing for the crispy cubes of tofu. The sauce is rich and thick. Once coated the baked tofu turns super sticky whilst still retaining that all important crunchiness.

All in all, I’m in love with this sweet and sour tofu and I think you will be too. It’s perfect to enjoy when you’re craving a greasy takeout but want something with a little bit more flavour.

How to make sweet and sour tofu

Preheat your oven to 200°c/390°f (fan oven).

Take the 400g block of firm tofu and press all of the water out of it. Leave the tofu to sit in the tofu press for at least 10 minutes to ensure as much moisture has been removed as possible.

(If you don’t have a tofu press you can wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel and place a baking tray over the top. Then place whatever heavy items you have lying round in the kitchen. You can use cans, bags of sugar, whatever you have available.)

Once you’re tofu has been pressed, slice the block into 1cm thick cubes. Add the cubes to a mixing bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon of flour1 tablespoon cornflour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss the tofu to ensure that the flour evenly covers the blocks.

Next pour 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil onto a large baking tray and place into the oven for 5 minutes. Once the oil is nice and hot, pour the tofu on the baking tray and toss the blocks in the oil before placing back in the oven for 30 -35 minutes until golden brown. Halfway through cooking turn the tofu to ensure even browning on all sides.

baked tofu on baking tray

Whilst the tofu is in the oven cook the sweet and sour sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and toss in 4 cloves of diced garlic and 1 diced red chilli. Fry for around 3 minutes until the garlic is soft.

frying garlic and chilli in pan

Now pour in the juice of 2 limes, 1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar and the 1 tablespoon of cornflour slurry. Cook until the sauce has thickened into a gloopy paste.

sweet and sour sauce before cooking

Pour in 200ml of vegetable stock and stir to combine. Then cook vigorously for 5 minutes until the sauce has become wonderfully thick.

pouring stock into sweet and sour sauce

Toss the sweet and sour sauce with the tofu and serve immediately. The tofu goes well with rice or noodles. I like to garnish the dish with some freshly sliced spring onions and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

sweet and sour tofu eating with chopsticks

Other sauces for baked tofu

This crispy baked tofu goes so great with sticky sauces. You don’t just have to have it with this recipe for sweet and sour tofu. There’s a ton of other sticky sauces that you can make to spoon over your crunchy tofu.

holding baked tofu piece with sauce on

The key ingredient to these sauces is cornflour and sugar. The cornflour thickens the sauce so that it’s wonderfully thick and smooth. Then the sugar makes the wickedly sticky. You can make a ton of delicious sauces with this cornflour sugar combo.

sweet and sour sauce in pan close up

The steps to create the sauce are the same with every variant. First fry your aromatics (usually garlic and chilli) in vegetable then add in all the other sauce ingredients and cook into a thick paste. Then add 200ml of stock and simmer until you reach the desired sauce consistency.

Here’s a few sauce ideas to get you started:

  • Spiced orange tofu – A citrussy and fragrant sauce that’s delicious with rice. Uses 4 cloves garlic, juice from one orange, 2 whole cloves, 1 star anise, 1 tablespoon cornflour, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.
  • Hoisin glazed tofu – A sweet and thick sauce that utterly irresistible. Uses 4 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon of miso paste, 1 tablespoon cornflour and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
  • Spicy Chinese five spice tofu – A hot and sticky sauce that’s perfect for spice lovers. Uses 4 cloves garlic, 2 green chillies, 1 teaspoon of chinese five spice, 1 tablespoon cornflour and 2 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.

If you like this sweet and sour tofu you’ll love…

sweet and sour tofu on table

Sweet And Sour Baked Tofu

This amazing sweet and sour tofu recipe has it all. Crispy tofu, a sumptuous sauce and it's super easy. An absolute winner of a recipe.
sweet and sour tofu profile
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Tofu Pressing Time 10 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 2
Course Main Course

This meal is around 86% less polluting than the average UK meal.

Eating this recipe will save around 2.53 KG CO2e per person.

That’s equivalent to the emissions produced driving 20.88 KM in a modern car.

How do I calculate this?

Ingredients

Crispy Tofu

  • 400 g Firm Tofu
  • 1 Tablespoon Flour
  • 1 Tablespoon Cornflour
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Sweet And Sour Sauce

  • 4 Cloves Garlic (finely diced)
  • 1 Red Chilli (finely diced)
  • 2 Limes (juiced)
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Cornflour (mixed with 1 tablespoon of water to form a slurry)
  • 200 ml Vegetable Stock
  • 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 200°c/390°f (fan oven).
  • Take the 400g block of firm tofu and press all of the water out of it. Leave the tofu to sit in the tofu press for at least 10 minutes to ensure as much moisture has been removed as possible. (If you don't have a tofu press you can wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel and place a baking tray over the top. Then place whatever heavy items you have lying round in the kitchen. You can use cans, bags of sugar, whatever you have available.)
  • Once you're tofu has been pressed, slice the block into 1cm thick cubes. Add the cubes to a mixing bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon cornflour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss the tofu to ensure that the flour evenly covers the blocks.
  • Next pour 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil onto a large baking tray and place into the oven for 5 minutes. Once the oil is nice and hot, pour the tofu on the baking tray and toss the blocks in the oil before placing back in the oven for 30 -35 minutes until golden brown. Halfway through cooking turn the tofu to ensure even browning on all sides.
  • Whilst the tofu is in the oven cook the sweet and sour sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and toss in 4 cloves of diced garlic and 1 diced red chilli. Fry for around 3 minutes until the garlic is soft.
  • Now pour in the juice of 2 limes, 1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar and the 1 tablespoon of cornflour slurry. Cook until the sauce has thickened into a gloopy paste.
  • Pour in 200ml of vegetable stock and stir to combine. Then cook vigorously for 5 minutes until the sauce has become wonderfully thick.
  • Toss the sweet and sour sauce with the tofu and serve immediately. The tofu goes well with rice or noodles. I like to garnish the dish with some freshly sliced spring onions and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Hi i'm Hugo

I started Lowly to help more people discover sustainable food. Planet-friendly food doesn’t have to be bland and boring. My recipes celebrate how diverse and flavourful it truly is.

Read More

Related recipes

Leave a Reply