Teriyaki Tofu with Pak Choi

Teriyaki tofu, easy, vegan, and delicious, this recipe takes just 20 minutes to cook and features a bit of chilli and crisp pak choi.

Sticky Crispy Tofu

Tofu gets a bit of a bad rap and not least from me in the past. However, in recent years it has become more of a feature on my table.

I use it in everything from my Chinese hot and sour soup to Vietnamese fried tofu and in my Korean-influenced gochujang tofu stew to my Japanese-influenced tofu katsu curry and vegan tofu noodle stir salad.

I even have sweet and sour tofu and salt and pepper tofu that both play with similar fakeway ideas as this recipe.

This vegan teriyaki tofu recipe sees it coated in cornflour and shallow fried until crispy.

Then we fry off some fresh pak choi so that it retains a nice crisp texture, add a little chilli and then pour over a from-scratch teriyaki sauce.

Seriously never buy teriyaki sauce, you likely have all of the ingredients at home! I make variants of it all the time for recipes like my teriyaki meatballs, teriyaki mushrooms and duck donburi.

When done we just add some sesame seeds and a few chopped spring onions and we are done. All in under 20 minutes… and it tastes fantastic.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tofu should I use?

I recommend using extra firm tofu in this foxy little teriyaki dish.

If you can not get your hands on extra firm tofu then you can use firm but you may want to press it overnight. Simply wrap it in some kitchen paper and place it between two small baking sheets then place a tin or two on top.

What chilli should I use?

Be pragmatic and choose something that you can handle the heat of and like the taste of.

I usually remove the seeds as it helps with the look of this dish but you can leave them in.

Is pak choi and bok choi the same thing?

Yup! bok choi, pak choi and pok choi are all the same thing, as are all of the variants spelt choy!

Can I cook the pak choi longer?

Of course! I like my vegetables in the main to have a little texture left in them.

If you like yours a little softer then feel free to cook it longer.

If you are planning to serve this teriyaki tofu recipe with rice, pop the pak choi in the boiling water for the rice before you add the rice. Cook it for 4- 5 minutes and then refresh in cold water.

After that cook it exactly as I say in the recipe.

Serving Suggestions

I’m quite happy with this crispy teriyaki tofu served with some simply boiled or steamed white rice for a light meal.

Adding a little pickled daikon on the side adds a great secondary flavour profile too.

I am aware that there are many of you out there that are not so keen on pak choi.

If you are one of those people, this works just as well with my asparagus stir fry or broccoli stir fry recipes.

if you wanted to serve it with noodles rather than rice then these quick and simple peanut noodles or my soba noodle salad would both be great options.

Equipment Used

I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Stovetop.
• 30cm or 12″ frying pan or skillet.
• Mixing bowl.
• Kicthen knife.
• Chopping board.
• Weighing scales and measuring spoons.
• Thermometer for measuring oil temperature, I use a sugar thermometer.
• Kitchen tongs or a spatula.
• Stirring and serving spoons.
• Kitchen paper.