Orange Tofu

This Crispy Orange Tofu is super delicious, quick and easy, ready in about 30 minutes, and better than take out!

I made a Crispy Tofu recipe a little while back, and as soon as I did, I knew it would be perfect for a bunch of different dishes. And since Orange Chicken was one of my old favorites before going vegan, I thought that it would be a great first recipe to develop!

And I’ve made Vegan Orange Chicken before, but this updated recipe is tastier and easier as there’s a very simple coating for the tofu.

What’s the best tofu for Frying?

I highly recommend Super Firm Tofu as it’s vacuum packed and doesn’t require pressing. It has very little moisture so it will crisp up much easier!

ingredients for Orange Tofu

You can honestly season this however you like! The only thing I’d recommend sticking with is the cornstarch as it helps crisp the tofu up.

• Orange Sauce – For the Orange Sauce, it’s a simple concoction of garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and of course orange juice!
• Seasonings – For frying the tofu, I used nutritional yeast, onion and garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, white and black pepper and soy sauce.
• Cornstarch – For the crispy layer!

how to make Orange Tofu

I like to prep the sauce first and keep it on low. That way I can fry the tofu and then glaze it immediately so it is as crispy as possible.

To make the Orange Sauce, add 1 – 2 Tbsp of oil to a skillet over medium heat. Heat for a minute then add in the minced garlic and ginger along with the red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for one minute.

Then add in the vinegars, soy sauce, sugar and orange juice. Bring to a simmer.

Add in the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine. Heat for a minute or so to activate the cornstarch. The sauce should thicken, if you can part it with a spatula, then it’s good! Otherwise add another cornstarch slurry a teaspoon or so at a time until it’s thickened to your desired consistency.

Keep warm on low, and now we’ll make the Crispy Tofu.

First add a layer of oil to a 12″ skillet. Use a neutral flavored high smoke point oil (Vegetable, Canola, Avocado etc). Heat the oil to 375 F.

While the oil heats up, break your tofu into bite size pieces. This will get you rougher edges than simply cutting the tofu into cubes. These craggier edges will crisp up more!

Then toss the tofu chunks in the soy sauce. After that toss them in the seasonings. Once oil is heated to 375 F, add the tofu chunks and fry for 3 – 5 minutes. Then flip and fry for another 3 – 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Next, toss them in the sauce and coat thoroughly.

Enjoy immediately over rice!

storage

These are best eaten fresh, but I found that eating cold leftovers was good too. They are still a little crispy!

You can also reheat them in the Air Fryer for a few minutes, try 350 F for about 5 – 6 minutes.

can i air-fry or bake these?

For less oil, yes you can use the Air Fryer! Check out my Air Fry Vegan Chick’n Recipe!

Frying Techniques

If you want to see about different techniques, check out my BEST WAYS TO FRY VEGAN CHICKEN post!

other recipes you’ll dig!

• Broccoli Beef
• General Tso Tofu
• Seitan Fried Chick’n
• Air Fried Chick’n

If you made and enjoyed this recipe, please leave a rating & review! It really helps out the blog and it makes my day, thank you!

Orange Tofu

Thee Burger Dude

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Entrees

Cuisine American, Chinese

Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Orange Sauce

• 2 Tbsp Neutral Oil (Canola, Vegetable, Avocado)
• 1 Tbsp Minced Ginger
• 4 Garlic Cloves (Minced)
• 1 – 2 tsp Red Chili Flakes (or to taste)
• 1/4 cup White Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar (unseasoned)
• 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup Orange Juice
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 2 tsp Cornstarch + 2 tsp Water
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil

Crispy Tofu

• 16 oz. Super Firm Tofu
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Cornstarch
• Salt & Pepper

Instructions

 

Orange Sauce

• I like to prep the sauce first and keep it warm on low. That way I can fry the tofu and then glaze it immediately so it is as crispy as possible.
• To make the Orange Sauce, add 1 – 2 Tbsp of oil to a skillet over medium heat. Heat for a minute then add in the minced garlic and ginger along with the red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for one minute.
• Then add in the vinegars, soy sauce, sugar and orange juice. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
• While the sauce simmers, combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl to create a slurry.
• Add in the cornstarch slurry and stir to combine. Heat for a minute or so to activate the cornstarch. The sauce should thicken, if you can part it with a spatula, then it’s good! Otherwise add another cornstarch slurry a teaspoon or so at a time until it’s thickened to your desired consistency.
• Finish with the sesame oil and keep warm on low.

Crispy Tofu

• First add a layer of oil to a 12" skillet. Use a neutral flavored high smoke point oil (Vegetable, Canola, Avocado etc). Heat the oil to 375 F. Keep an eye on the oil so it doesn't burn. You can also do this step after you season the tofu if you'd like as well.
• While the oil heats up, break your tofu into bite size pieces. This will get you rougher edges than simply cutting the tofu into cubes. These craggier edges will crisp up more!
• Then toss the tofu chunks in the soy sauce. After that toss them in the seasonings and cornstarch.
• Once oil is heated to 375 F, add the tofu chunks and fry for 3 – 5 minutes. Then flip and fry for another 3 – 5 minutes or until golden brown.

  Make sure you don't crowd the pan. A block of tofu in a 12" skillet is almost crowding, so you can do it in 2 batches if you are unsure about it!
• Once all tofu is golden brown, add into the skillet with the Orange Sauce. Toss to combine and coat, and enjoy immediately over rice or noodles.

Notes

*I recommend using Super Firm Tofu, the kind that's vacuum packed. If you can only find Extra Firm, you'll need to press it for at least 30 minutes to get rid of the excess water.

Keyword Fried Tofu

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!