Here’s a tasty and easy tofu stir-fry packed with a delicious juicy bite from the pineapple and that extra crunch from some cashews.
The sauce for this Pineapple Cashew Tofu Stir-Fry is a delicate balance of fruitiness, tangy, savoury, and tiny bit of spice.
This is perfect to satisfy those takeaway cravings! Not only is this pineapple cashew tofu stir-fry so tasty, but it's really simple to put together.
This is also perfect for a satisfying weeknight dinner. Serve your tofu stir-fry with a warm bow of steamed rice for a hearty meal.
INGREDIENTS
For this recipe, you'll need:
- Extra firm tofu
- Cashews
- Pineapple chunks
- Bell pepper
- Scallions
- Garlic
- Onion
- Ginger
- Pineapple Stir-Fry Sauce (recipe below!)
PINEAPPLE CHUNKS
The pineapple for this tofu stir-fry adds some tartness and juiciness to this recipe. Plus, they're so juicy!
I used canned pineapple chunks and also used the juice/light syrup for the sauce.
CASHEWS
The cashews add that nice crunch and bite to this tofu stir-fry. They're also delicious toasted!
THE SAUCE
The sauce for this Pineapple Cashew Tofu Stir-Fry is a delicate balance of fruitiness, tangy, savoury, and tiny of spice
For the sauce, you'll need:
- Pineapple juice or liquid from the canned pineapple chunks
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Sriracha or other chili sauce for extra heat
- Ground white pepper
- Shaoxing wine or other rice wine
- Sesame oil
- Cane sugar or coconut sugar, to sweeten
- Corn starch
TOFU
For the tofu, I used extra firm tofu.
I sliced the tofu diagonally into large squares before cutting them in half to form 1” thick squares. From there, you can half the squares to make triangles. You can also slice them into 1-inch cubes.
It's really up to you what shape you'd like.
Heat a large non-stick pan over high heat. Add in around ¼ cup of oil. Note that this will depend on the size of your pan. A thin later of oil to cover the surface of the pan is good. Leave the oil to heat up.
Once the oil is hot, add in the sliced tofu. Sprinkle some salt over the tofu.
PAN-FRY THE TOFU UNTIL CRISP AND GOLDEN BROWN
Set the tofu aside afterwards.
STIR-FRYING
- You can remove some oil from the same pan and leave 2 tbsp for stir-frying
- In the same frying pan, add in the onions. Sauté until tender over high heat, around 1 minute.
- Add in the bell pepper and onion then cook until tender, around 2 minutes.
- Add in the cashews and pineapple into the pan. Leave untouched for 3-4 minutes over high heat to toast and lightly brown on one side. Mix and then leave the other side to brown for another 3-4 minutes.
- Afterwards, give the sauce good mix again to prevent the starch from sticking to the bottom. Over medium heat, pour in the sauce to the pan.
Immediately mix well.
- Add in the tofu.
Mix everything into the sauce to coat evenly. Taste the tofu and feel free to season with some salt and pepper, to taste.
Enjoy this while hot!
This is perfect with some rice or noodles.
Find the recipe for this Pineapple Cashew Tofu Stir-Fry down below.
If you try out this recipe, I’d appreciate if you leave a rating or simply click on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on my recipe card!
You can also check out my other tofu recipes here or down below:
You can also check out my other vegan tofu recipes here or down below:
Check out my tips on how to store tofu!
Pineapple Cashew Tofu Stir-Fry
Ingredients
Tofu
- 500 g extra firm tofu
- Pinch salt
- Neutral oil for frying
Pineapple Stir-Fry Sauce
- 2/3 cup pineapple juice or liquid from the can see notes
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or to taste (sub tamari for gluten-free)
- 1/2 tbsp sriracha or other chili sauce
- Dash ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or other rice wine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp cane sugar or coconut sugar, adjust according to desired sweetness
- 1 tbsp corn starch
Stir-Fry
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 medium red onion sliced
- 1/4- inch slice of ginger diced
- 4 cloves garlic minved
- 1 small red bell pepper sliced
- 1 small green bell pepper sliced
- 1/2 cup roasted cashews plain or lightly salted
- 1 1/2 cup pineapple chunks see notes
- 2 scallions sliced
- Salt to taste
To Finish
- Chopped scallions
- Steamed rice
Instructions
Tofu
- Drain excess water out of the tofu. I usually do this by wrapping them with some paper towels and placing a plate on top of them but you can also opt to use a tofu press.
- Slice the tofu diagonally into large squares before cutting them in half to form 1” thick squares. From there, you can half the squares to make triangles. You can also slice them into 1-inch cubes.
Sauce
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl or measuring cup. Feel free to adjust the measurements according to your desired sweetness and sourness. Set aside.
Cooking the Tofu
- Heat a large non-stick pan over high heat. Add in around ¼ cup of oil. Note that this will depend on the size of your pan. A thin later of oil to cover the surface of the pan is good. Leave the oil to heat up.
- Once the oil is hot, add in the sliced tofu. Sprinkle some salt over the tofu.
- Pan fry the tofu over medium high heat on each side until golden brown and crisp, around 8-10 minutes total. Flip them halfway to crisp the other side.
- You may need to fry them in 2-3 batches depending on the size of your frying pan. Remove the tofu from the pan then set aside.
Stir-Frying
- You can remove some oil from the same pan and leave 2 tbsp for stir-frying
- In the same frying pan, add in the onions. Sauté until tender over high heat, around 1 minute.
- Add in the bell pepper and cook until tender, around 2 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and ginger then and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the cashews and pineapple into the pan along with the scallions. Leave untouched for 3-4 minutes over medium to medium high heat to toast and lightly brown on one side. Mix and then leave the other side to brown for another 3-4 minutes.
- Afterwards, give the sauce good mix again to prevent the starch from sticking to the bottom. Over medium heat, pour in the sauce to the pan.
- Immediately mix well.
- Add in the crispy tofu pieces and immediately coat well in the sauce. The sauce will have thickened into a glaze.
- Taste the tofu and season with more salt, if needed. Mix well and then serve immediately while hot.
- Garnish with some chopped scallions, if desired. Enjoy with some rice.
WATCH Video
Notes
Pineapple chunks and juice
- I used 1 (432g) can of pineapple chunks in extra light syrup. The net weight of the pineapple chunks from the can is 270g.
- Feel free to use other pineapple chunks and juice of your choice and just adjust the flavour of the sauce (sweetness and sourness) to your liking.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
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Made this tonight, and it was soo good! Also, I just love your clear instructions for the recipe! Once I had everything prepped, it was super easy to put together! Thank you for this wonderful recipe, and I can’t wait to make it again for guests!
Thanks so much Tasha 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight, and it was great! The sauce is perfect and the ingredients are perfect together. Even better, I have 2 portions left for my hubby and me to enjoy for dinner tomorrow! I will definitely make this again! It’s fast, easy and delicious!
Thanks so much Carolyn! happy you guys enjoyed !! 🙂
Another brilliant recipe! So tasty and really loved the texture of the tofu being cooked like this. Sauce was delicious, another recipe I will be making again 🙂 x
Thanks so much Susan, happy you liked it!! ◡̈
It was delicious! I would like it a bit more saucy. Thanks for a great recipe.
Also, in the ingredients, I did not see cashews
Hi Rita, glad you liked it. Thanks for pointing that out! Let me edit the recipe 🙂
What alternatives are there to the Shaoxing wine or other rice wine? Alcohol free please. Can’t wait to try this
Hi Sally! You can skip the rice wine. You can add vegetable broth instead but even without, it’s fine ◡̈