Celebrating national Chinese Takeout Day (November 5th) by making one of my favorites at home…Sticky Sesame Garlic Tofu! The vegetarian Chinese dish of my dreams and ready in the time it takes to pick up takeout! Marinated tofu gets a nice crunch from baking in the oven without having to fry, making it lighter and healthier than the classic, then gets bathed in a delish thick sesame garlic sauce. I love to serve it with broccoli and coconut jasmine rice or cauliflower fried rice. Sorry takeout but this a tough one to beat!
To make it first drain the tofu, slice into 1/2 thick pieces, lay flat on paper towels on baking sheet, cover top with more paper towels and a tea towel. Place heavy pan on top and let sit for about 15 minutes while you make the sauce. While tofu is pressing I prepare a marinade of sesame oil, soy sauce, chili paste and mirin rice wine by mixing all ingredients together in a flat dish. Then in a separate container I prepare the sesame honey garlic sauce by mixing honey, soy, fresh grated garlic and ginger, and a small amount of rice wine vinegar, mirin, and optional splash of oyster sauce and set aside. The pressed tofu then gets soaked in the marinade and dusted with cornstarch. From here tofu can either be baked in the oven or pan fried on the stove until crispy. Then the steamed broccoli gets added along with the sesame honey garlic sauce and cooked until the sauce forms a nice sticky coating on the tofu and broccoli.
My picks to serve this with are coconut jasmine rice or cauliflower fried rice! Delicious! I promise you won’t miss the takeout and you’ll feel amazing for lightening it up without sacrificing flavor.
Servings: 4 people
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbs Cornstarch
- 1 Block Extra Firm Tofu, drained, sliced and pressed to absorb liquid
- 2 Cups Broccoli Florets, steamed
- 2 Green Onions, (sliced green parts only)
For Marinade:
- 2 Tbs Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbs Mirin Rice Wine
- 1 Tbs Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
For Sticky Garlic Sesame Sauce:
- 2 Tbs Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbs Mirin
- 1 Tbs Oyster Sauce (optional)
- 1/4-1/3 Cup Honey
- 2 Cloves Garlic, grated or minced
- 1 tsp Grated Fresh Ginger, or 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 2 tsp Sesame Seeds
- 1/2 tsp chili paste, (optional)
Coconut Jasmine Rice:
- 1 Cup Brown Jasmine Rice
- 1 Cup Light Coconut Milk
- 1 Cup Water
- 1/2 tsp Salt and/or vegetable bouillon base
Directions:
For Tofu:
- Drain the tofu, slice into 1/2 thick pieces, lay flat on paper towels on baking sheet, cover top with more paper towel and tea towel. Place heavy pan on top and let sit for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare marinade by mixing all ingredients together in a flat dish and prepare sticky sesame garlic sauce in a separate bowl. Remove tofu from paper towels and place in container with marinade, flipping each piece so both sides are covered and let sit a few minutes. When ready to cook, remove from marinade and dust both sides of tofu with cornstarch. Place tofu on silicone lined baking sheets or in pan heated to medium with sesame oil if doing pan fry method.
- For oven method bake at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes per side. Remove, let cool a moment, then cut into chunks. Heat up reserved sesame garlice sauce in pan on medium low. Add tofu and broccoli and toss to coat and let cook a couple minutes until all gets coated by the sauce. Add more sesame seeds and sprinkle with green onions.
- For stove method cook both sides until crisped then remove and slice into chunks. Toss back in pan with the reserved sesame garlic sauce and steamed broccoli for a couple minutes until sauce warms through and gets sticky, coating everything well. Sprinkle with more sesame seeds and green onions. Serve with Coconut Brown Jasmine Rice or Cauliflower Fried Rice.
For Coconut Brown Jasmine Rice:
- Bring water and coconut milk to boil with salt and or boullion. Add rice, stir, cover and turn down to simmer approximately 35-40 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
Enjoy this recipe or have questions? Feel free to leave a comment!
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