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This mouth-watering Crispy Pan-Fried Sesame Tofu recipe combines savoury, sweet and tangy flavours. It’s all made directly in one pan in just 25 minutes and has 24 grams of protein per serving.
I am completely obsessed with this recipe! It’s become a standard weeknight meal in our house. SOOOOO good!!
Notes From My Kitchen
If you’ve been hanging around Choosing Chia for a while you know I’m a big fan of tofu recipes for quick and simple weeknight dinners. From Gochujang Tofu to my Easy Tofu Stir Fry, tofu is perfect for a protein-packed vegetarian meal.
When you’re looking for a vegetarian recipe that is packed with protein, ready in under 30 minutes and tastes delicious, Sesame Tofu is the way to go.
Many people think tofu is bland, but the truth is tofu is absolutely delicious when cooked properly and takes on amazing flavour from any sauce you add to it. I tested this recipe 5 times to get it just right with the perfect balance of sweet, salty and savoury. The tofu comes out crispy and is coated in the perfect sticky sauce.
Recipe Highlights
- Packed with flavour: Each cube of tofu is perfectly coated in a delicious sesame sauce and is crispy on the outside while still being soft on the inside. For another flavour-packed tofu dish also try my Sticky Tofu recipe.
- Ready in under 30 minutes: Perfect recipe for those busier weeknights when you don’t have a lot of time on your hands for dinner.
- High in protein: Just one small serving of this tofu has 12 grams of protein to keep you feeling full!
Key Ingredients
- Tofu: Extra firm or firm tofu work best. Save the soft tofu for my Vegetarian Mapo Tofu or my Korean Tofu Soup.
- Cornstarch: creates the crispy coating on the tofu and thickens the sauce.
*Full recipe ingredients and instructions are below in the recipe card.
How To Make Pan-Fried Sesame Tofu
Step 1: Drain the tofu and press out as much liquid as possible between two paper towels. Cut the tofu into cubes then toss in a bowl with cornstarch to evenly coat.
Step 2: Heat some oil in a pan on medium-high heat, then add half the scallions and sauté for a couple of minutes, then add tofu cubes cooking for 2-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Don’t rush this process, otherwise, the tofu won’t become crispy.
Step 3: Prepare the sesame stir-fry sauce by mixing the sauce ingredients together. Make sure to start by mixing the cornstarch and cold water together, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. This will prevent the cornstarch from becoming clumpy.
Step 4: Add the sauce to the pan of tofu and toss to evenly coat. Add the remaining scallions and sesame seeds. Serve right away so enjoy the tofu while it’s crispy!
Jess’s Tips
- Press out the liquid: paper towels are all you need with extra-firm tofu, so there’s no need for a tofu press.
- Use enough oil: tofu has almost no fat, so you need enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan for it to crisp up.
- Give the cubes space: use a large pan so the cubes aren’t touching. Crowded tofu steams instead of crisping.
- Be patient: let each side cook for 2 to 3 minutes before flipping. Rushing is the main reason tofu turns out soggy.
- Use a non-stick pan: tofu loves to stick, and a non-stick pan makes flipping much easier.
- Start your rice first: that way it’s ready as soon as the tofu is done. I love jasmine rice with this.
- Want to add veggies? Broccoli, bok choy, red peppers, snow peas, mushrooms or baby corn all work. Cook them in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes first, set them aside, then toss them back in with the sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but it won’t get crispy and may break apart when you toss it in the sauce. It still tastes delicious. For crispy tofu, stick with firm or extra-firm!
It’s best to press as much liquid as possible out of the tofu before pan-frying to get the tofu extra crispy, but if you prefer not to you can skip this step.
Try These Tofu Recipes Next!
If you tried this Crispy Pan-Fried Sesame Tofu or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!
Crispy Pan-Fried Sesame Tofu
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings
- Category: Main
- Method: Pan-Fry
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Crispy Pan-Fried Sesame Tofu is packed with sesame flavour and ready in under 30 minutes and has 24 grams of protein per serving!
Ingredients
Stir Fry
- 1 pack extra-firm tofu
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Sesame sauce
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce, gluten-free if needed)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Drain the tofu, and press it between two paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible.
- Cut the tofu into cubes and toss in a bowl with the cornstarch.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a pan on medium-high heat then add half of the sliced green onions and all of the tofu cubes. Let the tofu cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- While the tofu is cooking, prepare the sauce by mixing the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Once the tofu is crispy on all sides, lower the heat to low and pour the sauce, sesame seeds and remaining green onions into the pan.
- Mix together until the tofu is evenly coated and served.
- Serve immediately. Optionally top with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Press out as much liquid as possible with paper towels; extra-firm tofu doesn’t need a tofu press.
- Use enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan so the tofu can crisp up.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan, or the tofu will steam instead of crisp.
- Let each side cook for 2 to 3 minutes before flipping.
- A non-stick pan keeps the tofu from sticking.
- Add any veggies you love to make it more veggie-packed.
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat in a skillet to bring back some of the crispiness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of the reicpe
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 13g
- Sodium: 400mg
- Fat: 15g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 24g
How much is one pack of tofu??????
Hi Katherine, a standard size pack of tofu is about 350-400 grams, or 14 oz.
I am addicted to this recipe. Really was like in a restaurant. Delicious thank you
So happy you loved it! 🙂
Fantastic!! I used an orange pepper, celery and cashews (had on hand). Really simple, quick and delicious! Serves 2-3 I think though, not 4! ?Thank-you
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This recipe made my first time making tofu a success! So crispy and the sauce was amazing. I topped mine with sriracha and hot honey ?
Yay! So happy it was successful 🙂
This is one of the very best recipes I’ve tried in a long time. We added lots of veggies and served it to a very diverse group–vegetarians and meat eaters–and everyone gobbled it down. Next time I would double or triple the recipe. Absolutely a five-star winner!
So happy you loved the recipe! Thank you for the review 🙂
I feel like this should be a recipe that has a huge amount of ratings because it’s that good. I made it for dinner last night and it was amazing 🙂 I did do a few things differently that I think really made the difference-
1) So instead of putting cornstarch on the tofu directly, i put it into a large bowl and starting dipping each tofu in it. it stuck perfectly and got extremely crispy yet soft.
2) I liked soy sauce more than tahini. but it was a bit bland so I added a bit of chili flakes and some sweet and sour sauce and it was perfect.
3) I let the sauce stay in the pan with the tofu for a minute, stirring constantly. That really thickened up the sauce.
4) Instead of green onions I chopped up cilantro and it was just as good(even better?!)
Anyways, thank you so much for this amazing recipe and I look forward to making this again!
Hi Niki, so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Sounds delicious with your changes too 🙂
Love this recipe. Will definitely be making it often
So glad you enjoyed it Lisa!
This recipe is terrific. I did make a couple substitutions. I used chopped Vidalia onions since I didn’t have scallions. I used powdered ginger as well. It didn’t matter. It was delicious. If you want an animal protein as well, add some cooked chicken to the recipe (about a cup for the single portion) and maybe add a chopped sweet red bell pepper. One thing I would change is to increase the amount of ingredients for the sauce. I’d love to have a bit more of it with my entrée.
So happy you enjoyed the recipe! It’s such a great dish that can be easily customized so you can add whatever you like to it 🙂
Easy and Delicious! Served it with rice and added some broccoli as suggested in the post for some extra nutrition.
Thanks Jay! Glad you enjoyed!
Fantabulous! I added more scallions, leeks, mushrooms, and, at the end some frozen kale. Served over rice.
Hi Jill! Happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂