Sweet and Sour Tofu

No-fuss pineapple sweet and sour sauce with crispy, oil-free tofu and quick-stirred peppers and onions make a decadent, healthier, better-than takeout meal.

The minute I learned to make crispy baked tofu, there was no doubt in my mind that sweet and sour tofu was one of the dances on the card. I’ve been a big sweet and sour fan since I was a kid, but of course, back then it was all about the deep-fried, oily, kind. What a treat to discover that I can get all the indescribable indulgence of sweet and sour sauce smothering every corner of my plate without choosing flavor over ‘what’s good for you’. And what’s good for me? Another helping of this, please!

Do a little dance, make a little sweet and sour tofu

Cooking is a bit like dancing. There are sequential movements, timing, and a bit of creative interpretation. When good dancers perform, it might appear that they are making it up as they go, but we’ve all seen enough Dancing with the Stars to know that planning and practice are involved. When you cook a dish – even a simple one. You start by planning out the timing of each event so each element of the meal is done at precisely the right time. Then you jump in, laugh as you go, and take the turns as they come.

Step one: Tofu

Ever since I discovered tofu, I’ve been using it regularly and as much as I love (I mean love) tofu bacon, you cannot live on that alone people. And although one of the many marvelous attributes of this blocked bean curd (tofu) is its love of a good marinade, there are times, like with Indian curry sauce, that only crispy will do.

When it comes to cooking, I rarely settle, so when I want crispy tofu, I want it without a lot of time investment, and I want it oil-free. Tall order? Not so much once you learn a few techniques:

Press

I use firm tofu, so your results may vary if you use extra firm (silken tofu won’t work for this). Even the ‘firm’ kind contains moisture, so I always press it. I used to accomplish this by placing it on a plate, adding a chopping board (for flatness) over the top, and weighing it down. Hey, good use of those dusty hand weights I’m always tripping over.

And then, by sheer coincidence, I was at a veggie festival in Utrecht and found a great little press. I’ve nearly worn the thing out at this point, but unless you know you are a confirmed tofu lover, my suggestion is that you use the old school method before investing in any new kitchen gadget. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve invested in some kitchen thing that was going to be a ‘life-saver’ only to have it shoved in the back of the cupboard never to be seen again.

Pressing tips

Since you never cook tofu as an entire block, why press it that way? I prefer to slice it in quarters. That helps even out the pressing and you’ll be done quicker. Allow about 20 minutes. Be sure to wash your tofu before pressing to get rid of the accumulated coagulant that was used to make it. 

Dice and toss

For crispy tofu, as soon as you’ve pressed, you’ll want to cut the quarters into bite-sized pieces. You can make small cubes or strips. The firmness and bake time of the pieces will be impacted by the size. I usually settle on strips that are about 1-inch length and width and ½ - ¼ inch depth. That’s a personal preference. As you experiment with the sizes, you’ll discover what works best for you. Good thing, that no matter the size, it will still taste great.

I like a 2-toss for crispy tofu. Mindful that this would be sweet and sour tofu, I tossed it in a little lemon juice and tamari and then added 2 teaspoons of arrowroot (the magic stuff). Sometimes if I’m making something like tomato curry with tofu, I’ll add a bit of extra curry powder or cayenne pepper. This time though, I went to basics. Sometimes, that’s the best way forward.

Bake it crispy

Place your tofu pieces on a baking tray and bake it in a 400⁰ F (200⁰C) oven for 20 minutes until it’s crispy, but not too hard. If it sounds simple, it is, but there are a few things to keep in mind to make help your tofu come out even better.

Amazing arrowroot is a wonderful thickening agent for gravies and sauces and it’s a great crisper-upper for tofu. Arrowroot is inherently starchy and when it gets moist, it can get sticky. No, your lips won’t stick together when you eat gravy, but your tofu pieces will stick together you get them too close together on the baking tray. To minimize the sticky factor, line your baking tray with parchment paper and separate the pieces so they don’t touch. As you bake them and they begin browning, the arrowroot will work its magic and the pieces will crisp up. They may stick a bit when you turn them, hence the parchment paper.  

Step 2: Sweet and sour sauce

In terms of sauces, this one is labeled 'easy'! You need about 10 minutes tops for this to come together. Seriously, you'll add the pineapple juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and date paste to a saucepan and give it a minute to heat. You’ll use that magic arrowroot power again, this time dissolved in ½ cup of water before adding it to the sauce. A few whisks and 5 minutes later, it’s all over but dipping the spoon in to taste it.

Here’s a flexible move. You can even make this sauce while the tofu is pressing. Just turn it off and allow it to sit. Just give it a quick stir before you add it to the veggies and tofu and then heat it from there if it needs to. 

Step 3: Veggies

Personally, just a huge pile of crispy tofu swimming in sauce sounds pretty appealing but adding a few bell peppers (ideally different colors) along with sliced onion tops this dish off. The variety of peppers doesn’t just provide color, but there are distinct flavors between them. Green peppers can be a bit sharper and slightly bitter and sour, whereas the red taste sweeter.

Although I stuck to peppers for my sweet and sour version, you could easily substitute any veggie you like. Dare I suggest you could go so far as to add frozen? Yep. It can easily be done. I stir-fried the peppers for about 3 minutes, just enough to keep them crispy. Be sure to heat your pan or wok to medium-high before you add any of the veggies. This helps to keep them from sticking when you are cooking without oil. 

Step 4: Rice

Although I saved this step for the end, rice is probably the ingredient you want to plan for first. Different rice (or other grain), different cooking times. I used Basmati rice which took about 20 minutes. But the timing is all about what the package tells you on the back. The good news?  Rice also likes sitting, covered for up to 30 minutes. That’s a bit of timing relief so the only dodging and weaving you need to do regard your creative dance moves.  

Final thoughts

Planning for the elements of cooking helps to reduce the stress of pans twirling around us, but let’s not get so hung up on the hustle that we don’t enjoy the music and the dance. You can always keep the rice covered, turn the sauce off until you are ready to use it. There’s always time to let the music take you for one more twist or slide. Just working up an appetite. Peace.

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