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Crispy vegan popcorn tofu “chicken” bites with a ‘meaty’ texture from frozen then thawed extra firm tofu. These are addicting and great to snack on, best enjoyed with a dipping sauce of your choice. I had mine with a spicy garlic sriracha mayo.
THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS POPCORN TOFU CHICKEN RECIPE
Well first of all, I love snacking and I also loved chicken nuggets growing up. So here we are. This one’s inspired by chicken tenders and chicken nuggets, but wanted the really small bite-sized pieces that you can just throw into your mouth and enjoy.
I froze my block of extra firm tofu (no need to squeeze out water before freezing) since the water inside the tofu expands as it freezes and creates these layers in the tofu to give it an even ‘meatier’ texture, which I love to use for my vegan recipes because of its texture and added bite.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THIS TOFU RECIPE
You can also find the full printable recipe in the recipe card below!
TOFU
- 1.5 lb extra firm tofu , frozen and pressed
- Garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
BATTER
- 1 cup soy milk or other plant based milk, room temp (see recipe notes)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour 90g
- 3 tbsp corn starch 30g
- 1/2-3/4 tsp salt adjust to taste
- 1/2 tsp garlic power
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
COATING
- 1.5 cups panko or Japanese bread crumbs , plus more if needed
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
FOR COOKING
DIPPING SAUCE
- 3 tbsp vegan mayo
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2-3 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce, adjust to taste
- Pinch salt
HOW TO MAKE POPCORN TOFU ‘CHICKEN’
PREPARE THE TOFU
- I froze my block of extra firm tofu. I simply froze it in its packaged. So there’s no need to drain the water. The water inside the tofu will expand as it freezes and create these layers that’ll give the tofu a ‘meatier’ texture.
- To prepare the tofu, make sure to completely thaw the tofu the day before you plan to use it. Squeeze out as much water as you can from the tofu. It’s a sponge at this point so you’ll want to squeeze out all the water so it can absorb the seasonings.
- Carefully break apart the tofu into small chunks. You can also chop this. Be very careful with the tofu since it’s very brittle at this point.
- Once the tofu are in chunks, season it with soy sauce, garlic powder, and pepper. Toss to coat well. Leave to marinate for 10-15 minutes.
BATTER
- Add the vinegar into the soy milk or other plant milk. Allow to curdle for at least 5 minutes. This will create a buttermilk-like consistency.
- In a separate bowl, mix together all the other dry ingredients for the batter.
- Pour the vinegar and milk mixture into the dry mixture.
- Mix until there are no longer any signs of dry flour. The batter will be a bit thinner than pancake batter but should coat the tofu well. Lumps are fine, so don’t over mix.
BREADCRUMBS
- In a large bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, garlic powder and ground pepper.
COATING THE TOFU
- Dip a piece of tofu into the batter. Transfer to the breadcrumbs mixture to coat well.
- Repeat this for the rest of the tofu until all the pieces are coated.
DIPPING SAUCE
- For the sauce, mix everything in a small bowl. Feel free to adjust to your desired taste.
COOKING – DEEP FRYING
- Heat a large pan or wok over medium high heat. Add enough oil to submerge the pieces of tofu.
- Once the oil is hot (you can test out the heat by adding some breadcrumbs – it should immediately sizzle), add the coated tofu. You can do this in batches so as not the overcrowd the pot/pan.
- Fry the tofu for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove the pieces from the oil and place on a cooling rack to drain excess oil.
SERVE AND ENJOY!
- Serve and enjoy while hot with your dipping sauce of choice.
BAKING OPTION
- Heat your oven to 350F. Line your tray with some parchment paper or a silicon mat if you have one. Spray a generous amount of oil on the tofu.
- Bake the tofu or 35-40 minutes or until crisp. Flip halfway through cooking. Note that the pieces will not turn as golden brown throughout compared to when they’re deep fried.
AIR-FRYING OPTION
- You can cook your tofu at 350F for 15-18 minutes, flip halfway through cooking. Note that air-fryer settings can vary so you can try your settings and adjust from there.
MORE VEGAN RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY
- Shredded Tofu ‘Bulgogi’
- Tofu Sisig
- Crispy Wontons
- Filipino Lumpiang Gulay or Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Filipino Spaghetti
- Burger Steaks and Gravy
- Pan-Fried Tofu Cakes
- Tofu ‘McNuggets’
- Crispy Salt and Pepper Tofu
- Maple Hoisin Tofu
- Tofu “Chicken” Teriyaki
Popcorn Tofu ‘Chicken’ (Vegan)
Crispy vegan popcorn tofu “chicken” bites with a ‘meaty’ texture from frozen then thawed extra firm tofu. These are addicting and great to snack on, best enjoyed with a dipping sauce of your choice. I had mine with a spicy garlic sriracha mayo.
Ingredients
Tofu
- 1.5 lb extra firm tofu , frozen and pressed
- Garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
Batter
- 1 cup soy milk or other plant based milk, room temp (see notes)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour 90g
- 3 tbsp corn starch 30g
- 1/2-3/4 tsp salt adjust to taste
- 1/2 tsp garlic power
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
Coating
- 1.5 cups panko or Japanese bread crumbs , plus more if needed
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
For Cooking
Dipping Sauce
- 3 tbsp vegan mayo
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2-3 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce, adjust to taste
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Prepare the Tofu
- I froze my block of extra firm tofu. I simply froze it in its packaged. So there’s no need to drain the water. The water inside the tofu will expand as it freezes and create these layers that’ll give the tofu a ‘meatier’ texture.
- To prepare the tofu, make sure to completely thaw the tofu the day before you plan to use it. Squeeze out as much water as you can from the tofu. It’s a sponge at this point so you’ll want to squeeze out all the water so it can absorb the seasonings.
- Carefully break apart the tofu into small chunks. You can also chop this. Be very careful with the tofu since it’s very brittle at this point.
- Once the tofu are in chunks, season it with soy sauce, garlic powder, and pepper. Toss to coat well. Leave to marinate for 10-15 minutes.
Batter
- Add the vinegar into the soy milk or other plant milk. Allow to curdle for at least 5 minutes. This will create a buttermilk-like consistency.
- In a separate bowl, mix together all the other dry ingredients for the batter.
- Pour the vinegar and milk mixture into the dry mixture.
- Mix until there are no longer any signs of dry flour. The batter will be a bit thinner than pancake batter but should coat the tofu well. Lumps are fine, so don’t over mix.
Breadcrumbs
- In a large bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, garlic powder and ground pepper.
Coating the Tofu
- Dip a piece of tofu into the batter. Transfer to the breadcrumbs mixture to coat well.
- Repeat this for the rest of the tofu until all the pieces are coated.
Dipping Sauce
- For the sauce, mix everything in a small bowl. Feel free to adjust to your desired taste.
Cooking: Deep-Frying
- Heat a large pan or wok over medium high heat. Add enough oil to submerge the pieces of tofu.
- Once the oil is hot (you can test out the heat by adding some breadcrumbs – it should immediately sizzle), add the coated tofu. You can do this in batches so as not the overcrowd the pot/pan.
- Fry the tofu for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove the pieces from the oil and place on a cooling rack to drain excess oil.
- Serve and enjoy while hot with your dipping sauce of choice.
Baking Options
- Heat your oven to 350F. Line your tray with some parchment paper or a silicon mat if you have one. Spray a generous amount of oil on the tofu.
- Bake the tofu or 35-40 minutes or until crisp. Flip halfway through cooking. Note that the pieces will not turn as golden brown throughout compared to when they’re deep fried.
For Air-Frying
- You can cook your tofu at 350F for 15-18 minutes, flip halfway through cooking. Note that air-fryer settings can vary so you can try your settings and adjust from there.
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Notes
BATTER
- Some plant-based milk can be a bit watery. If your batter is a bit too runny, you can add 1 tbsp more flour to the batter, and mix well, to create a thicker consistency.
The batter mixture is a bit thinner than pancake batter consistency, but it should coat the tofu well.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 426kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 1083mg | Potassium: 436mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 256IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 184mg | Iron: 4mg
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Please leave a rating or comment and share a photo on Instagram, and tag me @thefoodietakesflight or use #thefoodietakesflight 🙂
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This Post Has 4 Comments
Well explained each step. I will try this today. Thanks for sharing.
Hope you like it! ◡̈
Unfortunately had the oil a bit too hot and burnt the first few to a crisp. The rest came out fantastic. That said, it’s not really enough soy sauce to soak that amount of tofu, it’s more of a light coating (though I don’t mind my tofu tasting like tofu, or slightly like soy sauce). The seasoning, despite seeming to be generous (I used some pretty strong granulated garlic and a bunch of white pepper), was mostly undetectable. I’d up the amount of seasoning next time and maybe even use some Chinese five spice, but overall really crispy and the inside was great. Breading was also fantastic, great idea to curdle the milk. We ate this with a gochujang mayo minus the garlic.
Thanks so much for the feedback Lauren! Much appreciated ◡̈