Craving takeout-style fried tofu? This is the recipe for you! With just 4 simple ingredients (one of them is salt), you can fry up a batch of the most addictive crispy tofu from the comfort of your own home. Add it to stir fries or dip it in your favorite sauces for a decadent snack.
This is a recipe that I reserve mostly for special occasions, when I’m really craving restaurant-caliber tofu! Frying can seem intimidating to some, but this method is surprisingly quick and easy.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Fried Tofu
- Tofu: Firm or extra-firm are my preference for this recipe, but you can also use super-firm (high protein) tofu.
- Cornstarch: This is what creates that glorious crispy fried coating. You can sub another kind of starch if needed, such as potato, tapioca, or arrowroote.
- Salt & pepper
- Frying oil: Use any kind of neutral oil with a high smoke point that you prefer. Peanut oil is my favorite for frying because it has a buttery flavor and is quite affordable. Corn, vegetable, safflower, etc., will also work, as will a refined (light) olive oil.
How to Make Fried Tofu
- Press tofu and cut or tear into bite sized pieces. Pressing is optional but recommended. If not pressing, at least give the tofu pieces a pat with a clean kitchen towel to dry off the surface.
- Toss the tofu in seasoned cornstarch.
- Preheat oil. Ideally, monitor oil temperature with a thermometer.
- Add tofu and fry for 1-2 minutes to start forming a crust.
- Pull apart any pieces that are sticking together, then continue to fry till crispy (4-6 minutes).
- Remove to a wire rack and season with salt.
Deep Frying Safety Tips
- Make sure the pot is stable and not wobbling on your cooktop.
- Exercise caution when lowering the tofu pieces into the hot oil — it can splatter! I recommend loading several tofu pieces at a time into a metal spider or slotted spoon and carefully shaking them into the oil. This will keep your hands out of the splash zone.
- Make sure any utensils you are using in the oil do not have any water on them, as water will splatter as soon as it touches oil.
- If the oil starts smoking, reduce the heat immediately. Make sure you are using an oil that has a high smoke point such as peanut or vegetable oil. A thermometer can help you to avoid overheating your oil.
FAQ
There’s a good chance your oil isn’t hot enough. I highly recommend using a thermometer to monitor the temperature of your oil so it stays between 350-375°F. Too much extra moisture left in the tofu can also sometimes make the tofu soggy. I recommend using firm or extra-firm tofu and pressing it ahead of time, or at least blotting the surface dry with a clean kitchen towel before tossing in cornstarch.
My personal favorite starches for frying are cornstarch and potato starch — they are cheap, easy to find in stores, and produce a very light and crispy coating. You can also use tapioca starch, but it will have a slight flavor. I usually can’t detect it if I’m serving the fried tofu with sauce. Arrowroot starch is another good option.
Leftover tofu won’t stay crispy. You can crisp it back up in the oven (about 10ish minutes at 350°F) or in the air fryer. In my air fryer it usually takes just 6-8 minutes at 390°F, but all models differ so keep an eye on it. If you microwave leftovers, they’ll be a bit soggy.
No, it’s not required, although I recommend it. If you don’t want to press your tofu, I recommend blotting extra moisture off the surface with a clean kitchen towel after you cut it. Extra moisture in the tofu can cause the oil to splatter and pop more often, so exercise extra caution if you’re working with tofu that has a lot of extra moisture in it.
More Tofu Recipes
- Crispy Tofu with Gochujang Sauce
- Crispy Sesame Crusted Tofu
- Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce
- Grilled Tofu Skewers with Balsamic Marinade
- Sesame Red Pepper Tofu
- Vegan Egg Salad
Best Crispy Fried Tofu
Video
Equipment
- Frying thermometer
- skillet or Dutch oven
- wire rack and cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 1 (14 or 16 ounce) block firm or extra-firm tofu
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to preference
- 1/3 cup cornstarch can sub potato, arrowroot, or tapioca starch; see notes
- 3-4 cups vegetable oil for frying, or more as needed
Instructions
Recommended: Press tofu
- Press: I recommend using your favorite method to press your tofu ahead of time. I typically use a tofu press, but you can also use the salt brine method or a clean kitchen towel and some weight. See notes for tips.
Fry the Tofu
- Cut tofu: Cut the tofu into cubes, or tear into bite-sized pieces.
- Coat tofu with starch: In a mixing bowl, whisk together cornstarch, salt and pepper. Add in the tofu pieces and toss to thoroughly coat. Let the tofu sit in the cornstarch mixture while you heat your vegetable oil.
- Heat oil: In a heavy-bottomed skillet or cast iron pan, heat at least 1" of oil to 400°F. (I highly recommend using a thermometer to ensure the oil is hot enough! If it's not, your tofu will take longer to fry and may not get as crispy. It will also retain more oil.) We want to fry the tofu around 350-375°F, but the oil temperature will drop once we add the tofu.
- Frying prep: While the oil heats, prepare a baking with a wire rack (my preference), or a paper towel-lined plate to place the tofu after frying.
- Add tofu to oil: Add the tofu to the oil — be extremely careful of splattering as you do this! I like to load the tofu pieces into a metal spider and gently shake them into the oil to reduce splashing. Once all the pieces are added, give them a quick stir, and then let them cook undisturbed for 1-2 minutes.
- Fry till crispy: The starch should be forming a crust by this point. If any pieces are sticking together, carefully pull them apart with two forks or tongs. Continue to monitor the oil if you have a thermometer and keep it around 375°F. Fry for another 4-6 minutes, until crispy and slightly golden brown.
- Enjoy: Transfer the fried tofu to your prepared wire rack or paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with extra salt while it's still hot. Check out the notes for some of my recommendations as to how to enjoy fried tofu! Enjoy.
Notes
- Frying oil: Regular vegetable or canola oil, peanut, corn, safflower or sunflower oil are all good options for frying. You can use anything with a fairly neutral flavor and a high smoke point.
- Keeping the tofu warm: If you’re scaling this recipe up or your pan is on the smaller side and you need to fry the tofu in batches, you can keep the cooked tofu warm and crispy on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven until ready to serve.
- Without cornstarch: You can substitute potato starch, arrowroot starch, or tapioca starch if you prefer not to cook with cornstarch. Potato and tapioca starch tend to be a little more sticky while cooking, so the tofu pieces will try to stick together a bit more.
- Reheat leftovers: You can re-crisp any leftover tofu on a tray in the oven, or in an air fryer. Bake or air fry for about 10 minutes at 350°F, or until crispy.
Useful Tools
- Frying thermometer.
- Wire rack and cookie sheet.
- Stainless steel spider.
made this today, I did sprinkle salt and pepper on the tofu itself before dredging in the seasoned flour. and I used rice flour because i didn’t have cornstarch, it came out so crispy and perfect!