After being at the beach for a few days, I came home starving for real food! So I threw together this Garlic Panko Tofu and my wife loved it!
Trust me, I did NOT feel like cooking after 2 days of being a beach bum. But it was either skip a recipe this week or come up with something new, pretty quickly, as my grandson's birthday was the very next day and I KNEW I'd be busy.
So I found some leftover rice in the fridge, made a simple sauce, and began microwaving a bag of frozen veggies. As I was pressing my tofu I thought, "I wonder how crispy I could get this if I used Panko Bread Crumbs and air-fried it" ??
This is the result.
I won't go as far as to say it was "crunchy", because I think that's virtually impossible without frying it in oil. But the texture WAS chewier, and the panko did add a bit of crispiness to the tofu. And it was delicious!
I added the tofu to my pan where I had begun sauteing my veggies with a little onion, mushrooms, and lots of garlic.
And then I added my sauce, which is a combination of my favorite flavors in a stir fry.... soy sauce for saltiness, rice vinegar for a little tanginess, maple syrup for sweetness, a little mirin for some extra sweet & tang, and just a few teaspoons of my new favorite chile, Gochugaru, which is a granulated chile powder made from Korean chiles.
No worries - if my wife likes it - it's not that spicy.
All in all, we were very happy to be eating our own oil-free food again. It was very easy to make, didn't take any time at all, and it was super delicious.
I hope you give it a try!
Garlic Panko Tofu
To make this dish, get your rice started - unless you have some leftover rice in the refrigerator as I did. White or brown - whatever you like or have in the pantry.
Or you could also serve this on noodles if that's your thing. Or potatoes! Yum!
Next, drain a 12oz package of extra-firm tofu and cut it into 2 slabs. Wrap them in paper towels and weigh them down with something heavy to remove as much moisture as you can. I use 2 cutting boards and a small kettlebell weight. Press for 30 minutes replacing the wet paper towels occasionally.
Meanwhile, let's make our sauce. Simply add all the sauce ingredients to a small measuring cup and whisk until smooth.
Now is also a good time to microwave one of those 10 oz bags of frozen veggies that steam in the bag. I used broccoli and cauliflower. Don't cook it the entire time it says on the package. Reduce the time by a minute as we will finish cooking it in the pan.
Drain the bag of veggies and chop along with ¼ of red onion, 2 scallions, and 6 or 7 little cloves of garlic (or 3 or 4 BIG cloves).
A huge pet peeve of mine is breaking open a head of garlic and finding tons of tiny little cloves. I like the kind where the entire head is just one clove lol.
With the veggies chopped, I also opened a 6 oz can of sliced mushrooms which I rinsed and drained. I know - canned mushrooms? Hey, I was out of fresh and yes you mushroom haters can just leave them out.
Back to our tofu.
Cut your slabs of tofu into ½" to ¾" cubes. I like to add them to a gallon-sized ziplock baggie as it makes mixing the spices a lot easier. Add 2 teaspoon of low-sodium soy sauce and seal. Gently flip the bag end-over-end until the tofu is evenly coated.
Next, whisk all the spices together (including the panko) and add them to the bag. Again, flip the bag end-over-end until the tofu is evenly coated.
Now you can either air-fry at 400° F for 10 minutes or you can probably bake it if you don't own an air-fryer using the convection setting if you can. Be sure to shake or flip occasionally.
Finally, our stir fry.
In a large skillet saute the onions, scallions, and garlic. Toss in the mushroom if you want and the chopped bag of veggies you already cooked. Stir that altogether over medium heat and add your sauce. It will begin to thicken immediately.
Add your freshly air-fried tofu and stir to make sure everything is evenly coated with that delicious sauce.
Once coated, remove it from the heat and serve over rice. I topped mine with toasted sesame seeds, green onion tops, and a little dash of sriracha.
Deeeeeelicious.
Hope all you mom's out there have the HAPPIEST of MOTHER'S DAYs and I will see you next week.
Garlic Panko Tofu
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 servings 1x
- Category: Stir Fry, Main
- Method: Air Fryer, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
After being at the beach for a few days, I came home starving for real food! So I threw together this Garlic Panko Tofu and my wife loved it!
Ingredients
Tofu
- 12 oz package of extra-firm tofu
- 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbs Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Sauce
- 4 Tbs maple syrup
- 3 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbs rice vinegar
- 4 tsp mirin
- 2 tsp gochugaru
- 1 Tbs corn starch
Veggies
- 10 oz package of frozen veggies
- ¼ red onion, diced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
Garnish
- Serve over starch of your choice, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Scallion tops, chopped
- Sriracha
Instructions
- Prepare rice or pasta
- Press tofu for 30 minutes
- Whisk together sauce ingredients
- Microwave frozen veggies and chop
- Chop remaining veggies
- Cut tofu into cubes. Add to ziplock along with 2 teaspoon soy sauce and gently toss to coat
- Whisk remaining tofu spices including the panko and add to bag. Again - gently toss to coat.
- Air fry tofu for 10 minutes at 400° F.
- Saute onions, scallions, and garlic until softened and aromatic
- Add mushrooms and cooked frozen veggies and stir
- Add sauce
- Add air-fried tofu and stir to ensure everything is evenly coated
- Serve over rice or noodles
Notes
Tips and Donations Are Always Helpful and Greatly Appreciated!
Inspired by Joanne Molinaro, The Korean Vegan, Kkanpoon Tofu
Beth
Thank you for another awesome recipe Chuck! After living in Southern California for ten years then another 15 in SPOKANE WA, I am back in small town PA. I miss the food options in larger cities. It’s nice to have recipes of things like we had there.
Susan
Can this be made in a seasoned carbon steel wok?
Milu
You had me @ Crispy Tofu!!! There's nothing more to say...lol
I'm going to give gouchugaru a try 🙂
Cyndi
If you don't have an air fryer can you bake the tofu? (at what temp and for how long?)
Chuck Underwood
I answer that in the blog post.
Cruznv
New convection oven owner here🥴. Is the convection oven cook time the same as your recommended Air fryer time?
Chuck Underwood
I think so - should be good. Try it!
Kathy
Can any chili powder be subbed for the gochugaru? Also, note that the gochugaru does not appear to be in your Amazon affiliate store (or if it is maybe I just could not find it).
Chuck Underwood
Gochugaru is not just to add heat, it adds a lot of flavor too. So different chile will affect the flavor. I do have it in my Amazon Store under "Spices & Food Items I Buy" - very first one is Mother In Laws Gochugaru.
Suzy
I don't see a spot to add the Panko either. I thought I saw "stove top" directions up there too. I don't have a microwave or an air fryer. I can just steam the veggies, but can the tofu be baked?
Chuck Underwood
I added the stovetop method because a part of this recipe is cooked in a pan on the stove. In the detailed part of the blog post I mention you can bake the tofu if you want.
Pam
When do you add the panko bread crumbs?
Chuck Underwood
I made it clearer - sorry.
Whisk remaining tofu spices including the panko and add to bag. Again - gently toss to coat.
Kim
This looks so good. I do love an occasional tofu meal out with the crispy oil, and surprisingly the best I have had in the Pacific NW is at Khao Neow food truck at Wallowa Lake, OR.