Tofu katsu with chilli sauce

Tofu katsu with chilli sauce

tofu katsu with chilli sauce cover image

I admit that today’s snack is a little naughty. Cubes of firm tofu, seasoned, coated in breadcrumbs (hence the name “tofu katsu”) and shallow-fried until golden.

Man, they are crispy and absolutely irresistible – especially when dipped into a bowl of sweet chilli sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting you should have fried tofu every day, but hey, it’s Friday, it’s been a long week and I think we all deserve a little treat.

You can enjoy them with some cold beer, sprinkle therm over a stir-fry, or cut tofu into slices rather than cubes and stuff them into a bánh mi sandwich.

Whatever you decide, make sure you fry these little golden nuggets directly before consumption as they taste best still warm. And stay vigilant as you place them on a paper towel to blot as there are bound to be self-proclaimed food tasters appearing out of nowhere.

cubing tofu

tofu katsu with chilli sauce-closeup

tofu katsu with chilli sauce

tofu katsu cross section

tofu katsu with chilli sauce aligned

makes
24 pieces
PREP
20 min
COOKING
15 min
makes
24 pieces
PREPARATION
20 min
COOKING
15 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 200 g firm tofu
  • soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • ½ cup aquafaba / chickpea brine (from one tin of chickpeas)
  • ½-1 cup breadcrumbs
  • sunflower or canola oil, for frying
  • sweet chilli sauce, to serve
METHOD
  1. First, we need to ‘press’ the tofu in order to get rid of the excess moisture and make it absorb flavours better. Wrap your tofu in a piece of paper towel, place it on a plate and weigh it down with something heavy (like a can of coconut milk, for example). Once paper towel becomes wet, change it for a new one. Repeat a few times until paper towel stays almost dry.
  2. Once tofu has been pressed, cut the block in half to end up with two 50% thinner blocks. Cut each block into 12 even pieces. Pour some soy sauce into a large, shallow bowl and tip all tofu cubes into it. Pour enough soy sauce to at least half-immerse the tofu. Leave it to marinate for 30 mins, then flip the tofu pieces over and keep in soy sauce for another 30 mins.
  3. Prepare three large plates, one with plain flour, another with chickpea brine and the third one with breadcrumbs.
  4. Coat each tofu square in flour, then in chickpea brine and finally in breadcrumbs. Make sure you press each side of the cube into the flour and breadcrumbs well to achieve an even coating on all sides.
  5. Pour 1 cm of oil into a small frying pan and heat it up slowly (on low-medium heat). To test it, drop a few breadcrumbs in. If the oil sizzles when the breadcrumbs hit its surface it is ready for frying. Alternatively, you can measure the oil’s temperature – it should reach about 175° C / 350° F. Pop a few tofu pieces into the oil but do not overcrowd the pan. Fry them on each side for about 2-3 minutes (until that side turns nicely golden) and then turn them over using BBQ tongs. Once the first batch is ready, spread the tofu on a piece of paper towel to blot excess fat and start frying another batch. Continue until you’ve fried all the tofu. Enjoy straight away with a side of sweet chilli sauce.
SHARE
NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
20
1%
sugars
0 g
0%
fats
1 g
1%
saturates
0 g
0%
proteins
1 g
3%
carbs
2 g
1%
*per piece
How would you rate this recipe?
This is a test string

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

5.0
3 reviews, 15 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
thank you for sharing! next time i will make it without the soy sauce marination -- it made it too salty for my preference. thanks again for the recipe :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks for your feedback, dd. I hope you enjoyed them despite the saltiness x Ania
Jenny:
Hello, I know this might sound strange, but what kind of breadcrumbs do you use? Brand/type?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Jenny,
    I used panko (Japanese style) breadcrumbs, but I cannot tell you the brand as it was when I lived in Greece. Ania
Cynthia:
Ania, these look great wtih the aquafaba... I think they could be baked in the oven on parchment, avoiding oil altogether?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Cynthia. I personally like to use a bit of oil when baking these as otherwise they'll be dry, but of course you can use none if you wish. Ania
mailoha:
hi! do u hav a recipe for sweet and sour tofu? or general tso tofu? thanks!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi,
    No, I don't, I'm afraid, but this one might hit the spot :) Ania
Amy:
Hi! Would these keep for the next day?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Amy,
    Yes, I have not doubt they would BUT as with most fried foods, they won't taste as nice as when they are freshly made and hot out of the pan.
    Hope that helps,
    Ania
My daughter just saw the pictures of these and said, can I have those now?! So I just made them for breakfast :) So yummy!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, she must have a good taste in food;) - so pleased you guys liked them!!
Eleonora:
Hi! Did you make the chilly sauce yourself or did you buy it? Thanks, love your website!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Eleonora,
    I bought the chilli sauce. Thank you, so pleased to hear it!
Daphne:
Any substitute for chickpeas brine? For example: egg replacer powder, flaxseed meal? :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Daphne, I haven't really tried either of the things you mention but perhaps thickened water and cornflour mixture (skip regular flour then) would work.
    Rowena:
    have you thought of trying a chia 'egg' 1 tbsp of chia seeds with 3tbsp of water, mix and wait 20 minutes then dip tofu in it then breadcrumbs et.
      Ania
      Ania:
      Hi Rowena,
      I'm familiar with chia egg, but I haven't tried it in this context. I'm pretty sure it would work fine though :)
DON'T MISS A SINGLE RECIPE
Join our mailing list and we we will let you know when we publish a new recipe. You'll receive our DELIGHTFUL DESSERTS E-BOOK as a thank you for supporting us.