This recipe is my vegan alternative to the Chinese takeaway dish, sweet and sour pork, using tofu instead of the meat.
Tofu is such a versatile ingredient. I consider it as blank canvas as it can be adapted into various cuisines and dishes. The secret to cooking good tofu is to get rid of the excess water, which will help achieve a crispy outside.
In this recipe, the tofu is cooked together with some mushrooms and bell pepper and then tossed in a vegan sweet and sour sauce. The measurement amounts for the sauce below are just for guidance. Some of you might prefer it sweeter, others may prefer it to be more sour… so I suggest tasting it before adding to the pan to adjust according to your taste.
This is a quick, simple and tasty dish that is ideal for a weeknight dinner. It can be served with noodles, rice or a simple green salad. I recommend serving it immediately to enjoy the crispiness on the tofu. Any leftovers would still be delicious however, the tofu will loose its crispy outside as it would absorb more liquid from the sauce (which is not necessarily a bad thing!).
Vegan Sweet & Sour Tofu
Crispy tofu cubes with udon noodles dunked in a vegan sweet & sour sauce
Ingredients
- 300g firm tofu
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 red bell peppers
- 150g mushrooms
- 1 large spring onion
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
For the sauce:
- 2 tsp tamarind paste
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 tbsp water
Directions
- Drain the tofu and wrap in kitchen towel to remove excess water. Make sure it is dry as much as possible.
- In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved. Taste and adjust according to your liking.
- Cut the tofu into bit-sized cubes and dust with cornstarch until all sides are well coated. Chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large frying pan, heat the vegetable oil. Fry the tofu until golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate.
- Add the vegetables to the pan and cook until the peppers have slightly softened and all vegetables have a slight golden colour.
- Return tofu to the pan, add the sauce and mix everything together.
- Serve immediately with rice or noodles.
