Sweet Sticky Honey Tofu (vegan version included)

Today I am going to share with you my all time favourite recipe – Sweet Sticky Honey Tofu.

When I was living in China a few years back I was in love with their sweet and sour pork (and I never thought I could like pork..), so once I stopped eating meat I knew I had to recreate this. And you can make this tofu dish vegan as well! Very tasty, quick and does not require A LOT of ingredients.

Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 2 big portions

Ingredients:

• 400g firm tofu
• 6 tbsp Hoisin sauce (available in Chinese Foods section in all supermarkets!)
• 4 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Honey (vegan version: date syrup or golden syrup)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp Sesame seeds (optional)

First of all, you must press tofu so it is not smushy and gets a bit more firm. Place it on a clean towel, cover the whole tofu brick with a towel, place a chopping board on top and put something semi-heavy. As you can see from the pictures, I’ve put a pot and a big jar of cashews on top. It shouldn’t be too heavy because we want tofu to stay in a block “shape”. Let it sit like this for 15-20min.

1. While waiting for the tofu, make a sticky sauce – mix hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey (or vegan option) and finely chopped garlic. Set it aside.

2. Once tofu is firm (it shouldn’t be too damp), cut it into small cubes. It should be a bit smaller than a bite size. This way the yummy sauce will cover it fully.

3. On a separate plate or bowl put cornflour (or cornstarch). Put the tofu in the plate/bowl and make sure it gets fully covered in cornflour.

4. Heat the frying pan with sesame oil, place tofu cubes and fry it for 5minutes or until all of the tofu turns golden.

5. Reduce the heat and pour the sauce into the pan. Mix the tofu and make sure every piece is covered. Fry it for 2-3 minutes until it gets sticky.

Finally sprinkle some sesame seeds, fry everything for another minute and that’s it! Serve it with spirulized vegetables, rice or noodles.

I promise you, even the biggest tofu haters will be impressed and ask for more!

Do you like tofu? What is your favourite tofu dish?