Better than take out sweet and sour tofu! The tofu is crispy and chewy and coated in a sticky homemade sweet and sour sauce.
The sauce only requires a handful of ingredients and comes together really quickly. Perfect for when your craving Chinese food and want to make it at home!
The sweetness comes from sugar and pineapple juice and the sourness comes from rice vinegar mixed with some soy sauce and spices.
This sauce is perfect with any mix of veggies or vegan protein and for this recipe we are using tofu.
You want to make sure you buy a firm or extra firm tofu and squeeze out any excess water.
Once you’ve done that it’s time to tear it into chunks. The great thing about tearing the tofu instead of cutting it is that it has more edges for crisping up!
To make this tofu crispy we are coating it in cornflour and then frying it. It is a really easy way to get tofu with that tasty crispy coating.
It takes your tofu to another level and it perfect for the sauce to cling to! You want to make sure all the edges of the tofu is fully coated in the flour before frying.
What you’ll need for sweet and sour sauce:
- Pineapple juice (from a tin)
- Brown sugar
- Rice vinegar
- Ketchup
- Soy Sauce
- Cornflour
- Water
It’s important to use the pineapple juice from a tin of pineapple slices/chunks and not pineapple juice from a carton as it won’t have the same consistency.
If you can’t get hold of any rice vinegar you can swap it for apple cider vinegar.
To make the sauce:
Simply add all the ingredients minus the cornflour and water to a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer.
In a cup mix together the cornflour and water. Then add to the sauce, continuously whisking so no lumps form. It will start to thicken. It only needs a few minutes.
Take off the heat and leave whilst you prepare the tofu!
What you’ll need for the crispy tofu:
- Firm/extra firm tofu
- Garlic powder
- Ground ginger
- Cornflour
Slice the block of tofu in half and then into six strips. Now you can use your hands to break each strip into about four or five chunks.
If you find that too tricky you can score a line with the knife first before breaking up, or just cut into cubes.
It should make around 30-35 pieces. Place them in a bowl and add the cornflour, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper.
Toss well so all the pieces are completely coated. Heat a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat.
Place the tofu in, if the pan isn’t large enough for all the pieces then do it in two rounds, don’t overcrowd the pan.
Fry for around 10 minutes, tossing occasionally until they are crispy and golden all over.
Pour 3/4 of the sauce on top, stir and let it gently bubble and the sauce heat up.
I like to leave a bit of the sauce to pour on top when I serve it, but that’s up to you!
Serve with rice and enjoy! You can add any veggies you like to this – onions, peppers, broccoli would be delicious!
For more tofu recipes you may enjoy these:
As always if you make this vegan sweet and sour tofu be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram – I’d love to see you all there!
Sweet and Sour Tofu
This better than take out vegan sweet and sour tofu will cure all your cravings! With crispy tofu drenched in a homemade sticky sweet and sour sauce!
Ingredients
Sauce
- 3/4 cup pineapple juice, from a tin*
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar/apple cider vinegar
- 2 heaped tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1.5 tbsp water
Tofu
- 450g / 1 lb firm tofu
- 1/3 cup cornflour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place all the sauce ingredients apart from the cornflour and water in a saucepan on medium heat. Whisk and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Mix the cornflour and water in a bowl then add the slurry to the sauce, continuing to whisk it all together. The sauce will thicken a bit, give it a minute or two and then turn off the heat.
- Slice the block of tofu in half and then into six strips. Now you can use your hands to break each strip into about four or five chunks inch chunks. If you find that too tricky you can score a line with the knife first before breaking up, or just cut into cubes. It doesn't really matter what size you make the chunks, just make sure they are roughly the same size.
- Place the tofu chunks into a bowl with the cornflour, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. Toss well so all the edges of the tofu is fully coated in the flour. If you need to add a little more cornflour then do so.
- Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the tofu and fry for around 10 minutes, flipping occasionally, until golden brown and crispy. If your pan isn't big enough you can do it in two rounds, careful not to overcrowd the pan.
- Pour over the majority of the sauce, stir the tofu and leave to heat through for a minute.
- Serve with rice or veggies and pour over the remaining sauce. I like to top with some sesame seeds and chopped spring onion!
Notes
You want to use the juice from a tin of pineapple slices/chunks, not fresh pineapple juice fro a carton.
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Caroline
Thursday 1st of September 2022
Thank you for the awesome and easy recipe! I’m so booking this and favoriting it! Definitely going try to make this as a regular from now on. 😋😋😋 I’ve been craving for sweet and sour chicken for years and the only one that was the closest aside from yours is the restaurant in Rochester. But that’s almost two hours drive, so I figured I could find a recipe and yours was one of them.
I did notice it took time For the sauce to thicken and did heat up little higher and it did the trick.
Other than that, delicious!
Lina
Friday 24th of September 2021
Looking forward to making this. Just wanted to see if I can use cornstarch instead of corn flour. Thank you for this recipe!
Tamsin
Saturday 25th of September 2021
Hi Lina, yes that will work fine! It's just to thicken the sauce, arrowroot would also work :) Tamsin xo
Annie
Wednesday 7th of April 2021
Absolutely delicious!! Better than takeaway and so easy to put together. Great recipe ?
jennifer
Monday 15th of March 2021
I will make this this week and want to know can we swap the brown sugar for coconut sugar? Will it change it too much? Anyone try? Thank you.
Tamsin
Tuesday 16th of March 2021
Hi Jennifer, it should be fine but it will have a different flavour and might be quite coconutty. I can't say for sure as I haven't tried it, let me know if you try it, Tamsin xo
Lesley Adams
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
Super easy to make, and I’m not a brilliant cook. I probably make this once a week now because it’s so quick and tasty. Only small thing I’ve done is put half the amount of sugar in - for my taste buds this works better. Great recipe and feels like a treat!
Tamsin
Thursday 11th of February 2021
Hi Lesley, thanks for your comment. So glad you enjoyed it :) It really does feel like a treat, we usually have it instead of a Friday night takeaway! Tamsin xo