Cashew Tofu Stir-Fry

4.80 from 5 votes

This cashew tofu stir-fry is inspired by my favourite Chinese take-out. Packed with roasted cashews, aromatic scallions, ginger, garlic, bell pepper, and of course the tofu, everything is cooked down in a sweet, savoury, and spicy sauce that brings everything together. You’re sure to love the different textures and want to scoop over the pieces of cashews and scallions coated in the sauce over your rice!

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Chinese, East Asian

Servings people

Calories 394 kcal

Ingredients

Tofu

17.5 oz extra firm tofu

Sauce

1 tbsp chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp homemade chilli oil , recipe here
3 tbsp room temperature water
1/2 tbsp corn starch or potato starch

For Stir-Frying

2 tbsp neutral oil
3 thin slices ginger
5 cloves garlic , crushed and peeled
1-2 scallions , green and white parts separated
2 dried chiles , optional for extra heat
1 small red bell pepper , seeded and sliced
1/2 cup roasted cashews
Sesame oil to finish (optional)

To Serve

Steamed rice

Instructions

Prepare your tofu: press your tofu to drain out excess water. Slice the tofu into 1-inch slabs before slicing into squares and having these to make triangles. You can also of course slice the tofu into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes or any shape of your choice.
Cook the tofu: I placed my tofu on a lined air-fryer basket (I used parchment paper). Spray the tofu with a generous amount of oil. I left the tofu to air-fry for 20 minutes at 350F or until slightly golden. Don’t air-fry or bake your tofu for too long since these can easily dry out. I prefer air-frying for a more hands-off approach.
You can also pan-fry the tofu over medium heat in a pan with some oil until golden brown and crisp on all sides.
Mix the sauce: In a separate bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients together. Feel free to adjust the sauce to your desired taste.
Prepare the rest of the ingredients. For the scallions, I sliced these at an angle and separated the white and green parts. For the garlic, I simply crushed these and removed the skin. I kept these whole.
Stir-Fry: Heat a large pan or wok over medium high. Add the oil. Stir-fry the white parts of the scallion, ginger, and garlic until aromatic. Add in the bell pepper and dried chiles (if using). Leave everything to slightly brown. Mix in the cashews. You can also lightly toast the cashews if you’d like.
Add in the pan-fried/air-fried fried extra firm tofu.
Give the sauce another mix (to be sure the starch doesn’t stick to the bottom) and then pour over the tofu.
Leave to simmer at medium heat until the sauce starts to boil and thicken from the starch. Mix well and taste the tofu. Season with more soy sauce, as needed. Leave to cook for 1-2 more minutes then turn off the heat.If desired, finish with sesame oil.
Finish with the green onion, for topping. Serve and enjoy hot with some rice.

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