Honey Sesame Tofu is the perfect dinner for meatless Monday or vegetarians. The tofu is fried crispy and then tossed in a delicious sweet sauce!
Another tofu recipe! This time we are making Honey Sesame Tofu! I am all about posting recipes for tofu that will make people LIKE tofu. So many people say, “I don’t like tofu because the texture is weird…”, but I bet 99% of the people who say that, haven’t had tofu cooked properly, and if they did learn to cook it right, they would love it. Tofu is one of those foods that takes on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked in; so if you make a delicious sauce, that is what the tofu tastes like- bada bing, bada boom! This Honey Sesame Tofu is crispy, sweet, a little spicy, and just delicious.
For this Honey Sesame Tofu, you can cook the tofu using the dry frying method, baking, or frying. I ended up baking it, so that is how I will show in the recipe below. If you want more breading on the tofu, follow the frying process I use for my General Tso’s Tofu – it works very well.
Don’t forget the most important thing while preparing the tofu – you MUST drain out all the extra liquid:
- cut the tofu block in half long wise (so you have the full size block, but now it’s only ½ inch thick or so, you want to make it skinnier when you cut it)
- place a folded clean kitchen towel on the counter
- place the 2 tofu halves next to each other on top of the towel
- top tofu with another clean folded kitchen towel
- Place something heavy on top of the towel – a cast iron skillet, a heavy cutting board with skillet on top, a bunch of books
- Allow to press/drain for at LEAST 20 minutes, the longer the better
After it's drained for at least 20 minutes, you are ready to get cooking! Don't forget to PIN this recipe to save it for later!!!
- 1 block extra firm tofu , drained (see post for instructions)
- 1 TBS low sodium soy sauce + 1 TBS
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 TBS honey + 1 TBS
- 2 teaspoon Oyster sauce (look for vegetarian oyster sauce if you want to keep this vegetarian)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt/salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 TBS rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon corn starch
- 2 TBS sesame seeds
- 3 green onions , chopped
-
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a non-stick baking sheet with oil or use a silicone mat.
-
In a medium bowl, stir together the 1 TBS soy sauce, red pepper flakes, 3 TBS honey, oyster sauce, salt, pepper, rice wine vinegar, and oil. Cut tofu into ½-inch cubes. Gently add/stir tofu cubes into sauce. Cover, and marinate at least 15 minutes.
-
Place the tofu on the baking sheet in a single layer (reserve marinade). Spray tops with olive oil (I use the Misto) and bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn tofu, and bake until the tofu turns golden brown, about 20 minutes more or until develops a nice crisp crust.
-
Add additional soy sauce and honey ( 1 TBS each) to the marinade bowl. Add corn starch; whisk to combine.
-
In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the marinade. Place the tofu cubes into the skillet as well, and stir to coat. Bring the sauce up to a quick boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. After a few minutes the sauce will thicken; stir to coat tofu. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions and serve immediately.
If you would rather fry tofu (a bit fast than baking), see link above in post for General Tso's tofu.
Serve over rice or quinoa!
Like tofu as much as I do? Check out these other recipes from Domestic Superhero:
You can also connect with me here:
Thanks for visiting!
- Allyson
Amy
The ingredients list does not display ginger, garlic powder, or red pepper, but the instructions say to add them...
Allyson
Wow, thank you for pointing that out. I have NO idea how that line got in there, I just took it out and disregard. The ingredient list and directions should now reflect the correct recipe. Sorry about that!
monica
Hi,how many calories a serving is this dish?
Allyson
Not sure, but you can plug it into an app like my fitness pal and calculate the nutritional info!
Ben
Love it? Only thing is that I have no marinade left and I have too add more of everything
Lainie H
I made a second batch while the tofu was baking. It was the perfect amount. We used the remains of the sauce left in the bowl after mixing it all together and tossed it with broccoli to make it even a healthier dinner.
Sara
This recipe is DIVINE!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Allyson
So happy you love it!
Megan
This is not vegetarian. Oyster sauce is made with oysters.
Allyson
Hi Megan, You are so right, but if you don't eat fish, then you can easily purchase a vegetarian oyester sauce which is made from mushrooms! You should be bale to find it in the international aisle at your grocery store, or an Asian market! Here is an example. Enjoy!
Gemma
what if you cant eat mushrooms either
Allyson
Maybe sub teriyaki sauce? I can't say really because I've never tried that but I would assume it would work out.
leahjodurfey
How many servings does this make?
Allyson
About 4 servings 🙂
Lainie H.
with the one block of tofu, I barely had enough for 3 servings. I would definitely double all elements of the recipe next time.
susandorville
I found the sauce a little strong. What could I do to tone it down a little? I loved the tofu flavor.
Allyson
How about a little rice vinegar to the sauce, or even water! I Would add it into the sauce mixture, then add it to the tofu.
Meredith Youngson
Cant wait to make these little guys! Those flavours sound DIVINE.
Allyson
Let me know how you like them! This is a staple at my house!
Kim
Hi! I can't seem to find Rice Wine Vinegar. Would I be able to use Rice Vinegar instead?
Allyson
Yes, it's the same!
Andrea
I found this to be much too sweet, recommend using less honey.
Kiki
I tried this out and it was really good!! Thanks for the amazing recipe and idea. But i'm not sure if it's just my honey but the honey taste seemed to be a tad out of place. Do you think i could substitute it with sugar instead?
Allyson
You could definitely try sugar or maybe agave would be a better substitute. Also, make sure your honey isn't out of date, because it definitely gets funky after a while! Thanks for sharing!
Abby
I just made this for dinner! Wanted to share a vegan fish sauce with you. It adds great flavor while staying veg http://tofunafysh.com/.
Allyson
Thank you for the tip!
Susan
I would like to make this for a potluck at work, should I keep the sauce separate?
Allyson
The sauce might congeal a little as it cools. I would sauce it and then reheat at the potluck if that option is available.
Susan
Thanks, I'll try that.
Jaime
This has been our favorite recipe for the past couple months! I make a mix of steamed broccoli and carrots to add to the bowl, and it’s amazing - we literally eat it once a week! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Allyson
Hey!!! That is amazing to hear! Have you tried the general tso's tofu? Also one of my favs!
Lainie H.
This was a real crowd pleaser but I would make 2 changes and 1 addition.
1. I would double both the sauce and the amount of tofu. One block only made 3 servings that were pretty small.
2. I would double the marinade. There was not enough left over to mix after cooking the tofu. Doubling the sauce made for a perfect amount.
3. I added broccoli to the little bit of sauce that was left and it added another nutritious dimension to the dinner.
Allyson
Happy that you loved it, and I agree I love doubling and having extra too!
Rachel Rex
how much is a block of tofu?
Allyson
It's about 14 ounces!
Susie Flores
Just tried this. So so so good.
Leisha
I followed the recipe to a T but it turned out really tough and flavorless. This was my first time cooking with tofu. Any idea where I went wrong? Possibly drained it better? I’m welcome to any tips!
Allyson
Oh no!!! I dont like the way that sounds! I can't be sure what went wrong since I am not there, but it shouldnt be tough or flavorless. Did you drain it? how long?
Kay
My tofu also didn't get crispy but became very tough and umpleasantly hard and chewy. Sauce was delicipus though. I followed the recipe exactly. Used the baking method, but took it out of the oven after 30 minutes rather than 40 minutes, as it was starting to burnd. Drained the tofu for a couple of hours before preparing. What could I have done wrong?
Kristina Salko
Thanks for the delicious recipe! My family has NEVER had tofu. We are all carnivores except during Lent when we can't eat meat on Fridays :). I was getting tired (although it had just started) of the same old cheese pizza, grilled cheese, soups and beans. I'll totally admit it.... we all judged tofu before we tried it. Being hesitant and having 3 kids with totally different likes I told them we were all going to give it a go and it would either be delicious or we may not want to eat it. Everyone ate every last bite AND I kept the leftovers for myself and even enjoyed it reheated. The only thing I did differently from your recipe was pan fry the tofu. It's going to be on our regular rotation now... in fact we are having tofu crumble tacos tomorrow!!!
Allyson
KRISTINA!!!! This is sooooo amazing, I absolutely LOVE to hear this!!! YAY!!! You will definitely HAVE to try out my other tofu recipes, because they are ALL delicious! I actually ay everyone should try the General Tso's Tofu first, so try that one next 🙂 Enjoy!!!
sarah
hi there. if i am going to fry the tofu, do you suggest you marinade it first, or just do the cornstarch and fry it then coat it with the sauce and saute???
Allyson
I wouldn't marinate it, just follow the directions as written 🙂
Nigel Hoath
We like picante so the only change I made was to add a finely chopped very strong fresh chilli to the sauce. And as others have suggested doubled the sauce ingredients.
Came out rich and tangy. Next time I-ll make it as one dish of a few - including milder dishes to contrast. I think mangetout with bean sprouts, and coconuk rice would go well. 4 or 5 pieces of tufo withy the sauce would be enough for me.
So Allyson thanks for your creation. I'm looking forward to trying a few more.
Amanda Wilson
I did this yesterday evening. I doubled everything and then did another double lot with chicken breast instead of tofu (I'm not the biggest fan of tofu, but my daughter is vegetarian/vegan). It was amazing on both.
Although I did the same amount of marinade for both, after soaking for the 15 minutes the tofu had soaked up more so even topping it up afterwards there wasn't the same amount available . Next time I'll try adding 2 Tbsp of the honey and the vinegar afterwards and see how that goes. I think I'll try frying the tofu next time as well - it was really well done when it came out of the oven. We'll DEFINITELY be having this again 🙂
Allyson
Thank you for the amazing review and tips!!! Glad you loved it as much as we do!