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  • Jeeca Jeeca
  • - June 12, 2021
  • - 9:14 am

Tofu in Spicy Garlic Sauce (Szechuan Yu Xiang-Inspired)

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Crispy pieces of tofu with a spicy garlic sauce—the pieces of tofu are like sponges and absorb all the flavours of the sauce, that’s a delicate balance of salty, spicy, and sweet.

A plate with Tofu in Spicy Garlic Sauce and a pair of wooden chopsticks

YU XIANG (FISH FRAGRANCE)

The sauce is inspired by Szechuan Yu Xiang 鱼香, also known as fish fragrance (but doesn’t actually contain any seafood), which is a sauce used to cook meat or vegetables in.

Yu Xiang dishes usually have some ground meat like pork added to it for extra texture but I opted for just plain tofu for this dish.

This sauce is comprised of a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, doubanjiang, chili, black vinegar or Chinkiang vinegar that’s cooked with ginger, garlic, scallions, and chili. This dish is packed with very bold flavours with a nice kick of heat.

A plate with Tofu in Spicy Garlic Sauce and a pair of wooden chopsticks

HOW TO ENJOY

Mix the tofu well in the sauce to make sure it really absorbs the flavours!

You can enjoy this as a hearty main, a side, or as an appetiser.

Serve it with some rice. You can also have this with noodles and scoop over that sauce to coat your noodles in.

THE SAUCE

The sauce is a delicious balance of sweet, salty, spicy and that little bit of fruitiness from the black vinegar.

  • soy sauce
  • Chinese black vinegar or Chinkiang vinegar
  • doubanjiang
  • sesame oil
  • water
  • sugar or more, adjust to desired sweetness

You can easily adjust the sauce to your desired taste.

PREPARING THE TOFU

Dry the tofu. I wrap the tofu in towels and place a plate on top of it until excess liquid is absorbed by the towels. You can also opt to use a tofu press.

Extra firm tofu wrapped with a cotton towel and pressed down with a wooden board

Once dry, cut into 1-inch strips or cubes (any shape is fine!)

Sliced thick strips of extra firm tofu

COOKING THE TOFU

You can either:

  • Deep fry your tofu
  • Pan-fry your tofu in shallow oil
  • Bake or air-fry your tofu

It’s really up to you how you want to cook your tofu as long as you get it nice golden brown and crisp. I deep-fried mine.

DEEP-FRYING THE TOFU

I deep-fried mine in neutral oil (I used vegetable oil) since I love the juiciness of tofu when deep-fried. But you can of course just pan-fry to bake these with less oil. This is just my personal preference since I love fried food!

Heat a large pan or wok over high heat. Add enough oil to coat the surface of the pan or complete submerge the tofu. You can opt to deep-fry or pan-fry your tofu until crisp. If you’re looking to use less oil, you can opt to bake or air-fry your tofu and just spray/brush some oil to coat the tofu.

A large wok filled with neutral cooking oil over a gas range

When the oil is hot, add in the tofu. The tofu should immediately sizzle when you add them in the oil.

Sliced thick strips of extra firm tofu submerged in sizzling hot oil

Leave the tofu to cook over medium high until golden brown, around 4 to 5 minutes. You may beed to flip them over if you’re pan-frying them. Repeat until all the sides are golden brown and crisp.

Crispy golden brown thick strips of extra firm tofu in the wok

Remove the tofu from the oil then set aside. Drain the excess oil form the pan.

I have this oil container with a strainer on top that I use to store my oil. Since tofu are very neutral, I can still use this oil for another 1-2 times.

Transfer your tofu to a bowl.

COOKING DOWN THE AROMATICS AND SPICE

For the chili powder, I actually used gochugaru or Korean chili powder. It’s not as hot as other chilli powders and has this bright red hue.

WHAT TO DO:

In the same pan/wok or a smaller sauce pan, heat 2 tbsp neutral oil over medium high heat.

Once hot, sauté the ginger and garlic.

Once aromatic, around 1 minute, add in the chili flakes/powder and mix into the oil.

Pour in the sauce and then leave to simmer to a boil.

Once it boils, add in the chopped scallions.

POUR THE SAUCE ONTO THE TOFU

Turn off the heat and immediately pour the spicy garlic sauce over your tofu while it’s still hot. Finish your tofu with more chopped scallions and chopped cilantro.

Crispy extra firm tofu strips with spicy garlic sauce poured over

SERVE AND ENJOY

Mix well and allow the tofu to soak in the sauce and the spicy garlic flavours. This is one of those dishes that gets better the longer it sits in the sauce!

Enjoy your tofu wit rice or noodles! I also love using the excess sauce to pour over some boiled noodles.

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!

[mv_video doNotAutoplayNorOptimizePlacement=”false” doNotOptimizePlacement=”false” jsonLd=”true” key=”fuhmad9gvcvh5f3hxouq” ratio=”16:9″ thumbnail=”https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/v1605528344/wbhbiplcekrnpepkzooh.jpg” title=”Easy Braised Tofu” volume=”70″]
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Tofu with Spicy Garlic Sauce (Szechuan Yu Xiang-Inspired)

5 from 10 votes
Crispy pieces of tofu in a spicy garlic sauce—the pieces of tofu are like sponges and absorb all the flavours of the sauce, that’s a delicate balance of salty, spicy, and a hint of sweetness.
The sauce is inspired by Szechuan yuxiang 鱼香, also known as fish fragrance (but doesn’t actually contain any seafood), which is a sauce used to cook meat or vegetables in.
This sauce comprised of a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, doubanjiang, chili, black vinegar or Chinkiang vinegar that’s cooked with ginger, garlic, scallions, and chili. This dish is packed with very bold flavours with a nice kick of heat.
Print Recipe Pin this Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Sauces, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian, Chinese, Sichuan, Szechuan
Servings 3
Calories 220 kcal

Ingredients
  

Tofu

  • 550 g extra firm tofu
  • Neutral oil

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar or Chinkiang vinegar, adjust to desired acidity (see notes)
  • 1/2 – 1 tbsp doubanjiang adjust to taste (see notes)
  • 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar or more, adjust to desired sweetness

Stir-Frying

  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 1-3 tsp chili powder or flakes adjust according to desired spice level (I used gochugaru) see notes
  • 2 tsp minced ginger
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 scallion sliced

To Finish

  • Chopped scallions for garnish
  • Chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions
 

  • You can see the step-by-step images on how to prepare this dish in the blog post above.
  • Dry the tofu. I wrap the tofu in towels and place a plate on top of it until excess liquid is absorbed by the towels. You can also opt to use a tofu press. Once dry, cut into 1-inch strips or cubes (any shape is fine!)
  • Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
  • Heat a large pan or wok over high heat. Add enough oil to coat the surface of the pan or complete submerge the tofu. You can opt to deep-fry or pan-fry your tofu until crisp. If you’re looking to use less oil, you can opt to bake or air-fry your tofu and just spray/brush some oil to coat the tofu.
  • When the oil is hot, add in the tofu. The tofu should immediately sizzle when you add them in the oil.
  • Leave the tofu to cook over medium high until golden brown, around 4 to 5 minutes. You may beed to flip them over if you’re pan-frying them. Repeat until all the sides are golden brown and crisp.
  • Remove the tofu from the oil then set aside. Drain the excess oil form the pan. I have this oil container with a strainer on top that I use to store my oil. Since tofu are very neutral, I can still use this oil for another 1-2 times. Transfer your tofu to a bowl.
  • In the same pan/wok or a smaller sauce pan, heat 2 tbsp neutral oil over medium high heat. Once hot, sauté the ginger and garlic. Once aromatic, around 1 minute, add in the chili flakes/powder and mix into the oil. Pour in the sauce and then leave to simmer to a boil. Once it boils, add in the chopped scallions.
  • Turn off the heat and immediately pour the sizzling hot sauce over your tofu. Finish your tofu with more chopped scallions and chopped cilantro. Mix well and allow the tofu to soak in the sauce and the flavours.
  • Enjoy your tofu wit rice or noodles! I also love using the excess sauce to pour over some boiled noodles.

WATCH Video

Notes

Doubanjiang or Chili Broad Bean Paste

  • If you don’t have access to doubanjiang you can add some doenjang (Korean soy bean paste) or even some miso paste to give this dish that unique saltiness from a fermented bean paste. You’ll of course need to add a bit more chili to add to the spice that miso paste and doenjang lack.
  • Sriracha can be a great addition too!
 

Chili Powder/Flakes

  • I used gochugaru or Korean chili powder for this recipe. It’s not as hot as other chiles and has a bright red hue. I added 1/2 tbsp chili powder but you can adjust according to your heat tolerance and desired spice.
 

Chinese Black Vinegar

  • Chinese black vinegar has a very distinct somewhat fruity flavour that’s unlike other vinegar. Though if you don’t have access to Chinese black vinegar, you can do away with rice vinegar or even sushi vinegar and just adjust to your taste.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 787mg | Potassium: 319mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 3mg
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 3 Comments

  1. Sarah 14 Jun 2021 Reply

    5 stars
    Soooo goood!!!???

  2. Jeni 25 Aug 2022 Reply

    5 stars
    All your recipes are so flavorful! Since finding your blog, I’ve been really enjoying cooking and eating food. Thank you for blessing us with your creativity! Even with just a few staple ingredients, I can recreate almost all of them. For this one, I used doenjang and some sriracha and it was way too dank!

    1. Jeeca 25 Aug 2022 Reply

      I can imagine good how this tastes with both doenjang and sriracha! An amazing combo! And thank you so much Jeni ◡̈

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Noodles The Foodie Takes Flight

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I’m Jeeca, a food content creator and recipe developer passionate about creating easy yet tasty and flavour-packed vegan recipes. I share a lot of Asian recipes inspired by my travels and those I grew up enjoying.

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