This savory and sticky sesame tofu is a great alternative to ordering takeout! It's a fast and delicious meal you can make any night of the week.
Sesame chicken is a classic Chinese-American takeout dish and this vegan version absolutely hits the mark. Sesame tofu is a well-balanced dish that has a delicious mix of sweet and savory. It’s not quite as sweet as orange tofu but not as spicy as something like General Tso’s.
Sesame tofu is a great meal to have in your back pocket when you need something fast and easy for dinner. All you have to do is crisp up your tofu (which can be easily done in the air fryer or oven), whip up a quick sauce, toss in your tofu, and you’re ready to dig in!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Sesame Tofu
For the Crispy Tofu
- Tofu. Firm or extra-firm recommended.
- Oil. Any neutral oil will work — I tend to use light olive oil.
- Seasoning. Onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Cornstarch. To help the tofu crisp up. Potato starch can be substituted.
For the Sesame Sauce
- Vegetable oil. To sauté the fresh aromatics. Any neutral oil works, but I especially love peanut oil for this application. (Not toasted peanut oil.)
- Fresh garlic and scallions. Key flavors for Asian-inspired recipes! Use as much garlic as your heart desires.
- Soy sauce. The savory backbone for our sauce.
- Ketchup, brown sugar, rice vinegar. This combo adds sweetness and a little bit of tang to round out the flavors.
- Toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds. It’s in the name of the recipe, so of course we’re gonna double up on sesame!
- Cornstarch. To thicken the sauce and give it that addictive, sticky texture you’d expect from takeout.
How to Make Sticky Sesame Tofu
Step 1 — Press & Coat the Tofu
Press out extra moisture from the tofu, then cut or tear into pieces.
Step 2 — Cook the Crispy Tofu
Toss tofu with oil, seasonings, and cornstarch (or potato starch). Bake or air fry the tofu until crispy.
Step 3 — Mix the Sauce Ingredients
Prep your fresh aromatics & whisk together ingredients for the sauce.
Step 4 — Cook the Sauce
Sauté the aromatics, then add the sauce ingredients and cook to thicken.
Step 5 — Put It All Together
Toss the crispy tofu in the sauce, add scallions and sesame seeds, and serve.
👩🍳 Sarah’s Recipe Notes 📝
- Don’t skip pressing your tofu! For the best texture, make sure to press your tofu for at least 10-15 minutes. This will help to firm it up and get extra crispy in the oven/air fryer, which is key if you want this to taste more like the fried tofu that comes in takeout dishes!
- Toast your sesame seeds. If you buy your sesame seeds raw, give them a quick toast to bring out their nutty flavor. Add sesame seeds to a small frying pan and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until they turn fragrant and golden brown. Remove them from the pan immediately (they can go from golden brown to burnt very quickly). You can usually find already-toasted sesame seeds in stores.
- Add fresh aromatics to a cold pan. It’s easy to burn fresh garlic and scallions if you add them to a pan that’s already very hot! I recommend letting them heat up along with the oil and the pan, so they can cook more evenly without burning.
Sticky Sesame Tofu
This savory and sticky sesame tofu is a great alternative to ordering takeout! It's a fast and delicious meal you can make any night of the week.
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Equipment
- mixing bowl
- Tofu press optional
- Air fryer
Ingredients
Crispy Tofu
- 1 (14 or 16 oz) block firm or extra-firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- black pepper to preference
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 green onion chopped, whites and greens separated
Instructions
Make the Crispy Tofu
- Drain the block of tofu and use your favorite method to press out the excess moisture for at least 15 minutes. I like to use my tofu press.
- Cut the tofu into cubes or tear it into bite-sized pieces and add them to a bowl.
- Drizzle vegetable oil over the tofu pieces. Sprinkle on salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper (to preference). Toss to evenly coat.The tofu can be a bit delicate, so a flexible rubber spatula can be helpful to gently toss without the tofu crumbling too much. Alternatively, if you have a container with a lid, you can gently shake to coat.
- Sprinkle the cornstarch (or potato starch) over the seasoned tofu. Again, gently toss or shake to coat.
Oven Instructions for Crispy Tofu
- Preheat oven to 425°F. (You can do this while pressing your tofu.)
- Arrange the coated tofu pieces on a baking sheet in one layer so they aren't touching. (You can line your baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat for easier cleanup, but it isn't strictly necessary.)
- Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven and give the tofu pieces a toss. Bake for another 15-20 minutes. Exact time can vary based on your particular oven, as well as how long you pressed your tofu. (It will brown a bit faster if you pressed it very thoroughly.) Keep an eye on it and add extra time as needed, in 1-2 minute increments, until the tofu is golden brown and crispy.
Air Fryer Instructions for Crispy Tofu
- If needed, spray or brush the bottom of your air fryer basket with oil to help prevent sticking (I usually skip this step because mine is nonstick).
- Transfer the tofu pieces into the basket of your air fryer. (You can spray or lightly brush the bottom of the basket with oil if it isn't nonstick.) It's best if you can keep the pieces in one layer with just a little bit of space in between them (so they don't stick together), but it's okay if they overlap a little.
- Air fry for 18-20 minutes at 400°F, or until golden brown and crispy. Give the air fryer basket a shake at around the 8 minute mark. Then give it another shake after 5 more minutes. This will help the tofu to brown and crisp evenly.
- An important note: Each model of air fryer will work a little differently. The first time you make this recipe, I recommend checking on the tofu periodically as it cooks, just to make sure it doesn't overly brown. The tofu may also cook a little faster if you pressed it longer. More excess moisture = longer cook time. Feel free to add extra cook time (1-2 minutes at a time) to achieve the perfect level of crispiness.
Make the Sesame Tofu
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and cornstarch.
- Add vegetable oil to a skillet. Add the minced garlic and the white parts of the green onions *before* turning on the heat. (This will help to prevent the garlic from burning.)
- Place the pan over medium heat. Once it begins to sizzle, sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until the whites of the green onions are turning translucent and the mixture is very fragrant.
- Give the sauce mixture another whisk to redistribute the cornstarch, then pour the mixture into the pan with the scallions and garlic. It should begin to simmer almost immediately. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes, and the sauce should thicken up.
- Add the crispy tofu, the green parts of the scallions, and the toasted sesame seeds. Toss to coat, and serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?We’d love for you to leave a review on the website! You can also share a photo on IG and tag @sarahsvegankitchen_ or #sarahsvegankitchen.
Another absolutely incredible tofu recipe from Sarah! Tastes just like takeout and really easy to make. Thank you!
Delicious, i’ve tried many of your recipes and they all come out so good. thanks!
Really enjoyed this recipe, thank you 🙂
Hi Sarah, in your video you mention the chili paste ” adding the sauce to the veg and chili paste” paraphrasing. Was chili paste left out of the recipe list. Pls and Thanks! Appreciate all your hard work.
It’s just an optional add-in for us spicy-loving folks!
WOW wow wow! I have never been good at cooking Asian dishes – but this was amazing – I was shocked how easy and quick and delicious this was!!!! Thanks for posting this Sarah x
Very delicious recipe. Make sure to serve with rice and steamed vegetables! The tofu is so rich that it really needs a nice light compliment such as broccoli, which can also be used to mop up any leftover sauce.
I usually don’t leave reviews but this was so dang good!!!!!
Absolutely delicious! One of the best tofu recipes I’ve tried.
I added some green beans to the tofu and it tasted exactly like takeout! It maybe doesn’t need both the garlic powder and minced garlic, but it’s great either way.
Really great recipe that works. Impressed with your recipes so far.
This recipe is great, I’ve made it twice and think it will make it onto the semi-regular rotation at our place! Easy to adapt the sauce slightly to taste/mood as well. Love it!
This was fabulous! I used the AF method and was amazed how crispy the tofu was. The flavor of the sauce was spot on. This will be in weekly rotation.
This recipe is perfection. Thank you so much!
Hi Sarah,
Would love to try this recipe. If i have two blocks of tofu, do I double all the said ingredients as well?
Yep, go for it!
Unless I missed reading it, how many servings does this make? I’m on a CKD diet and have to severely limit sodium, potassium, phosphorous and calcium, and somewhat limit protein. My doctor has advised me that high quality plant-based protein is what I should be looking for, like tofu or eggs. If nutrition is not given, I have to calculate it out and divide by servings. I was hoping vegan recipes might fill the bill. I don’t like many of the “kidney friendly” recipes I’ve come across.
This was delicious! It was exactly what my partner and I needed to remind ourselves that we don’t need to go out to eat as often.
This is becoming part of our regular dinner rotation, and we’re not even vegan! So good, fast, and easy. We’ve been serving with jasmine rice and some steamer bag frozen broccoli. Restaurant quality dinner in less than an hour.
That’s so amazing to hear. Thank you for the great review!
I’m new to vegan cooking. May I ask the brand of your tofu press and air fryer? Thank you!
We use a Tofuture tofu press and a Ninja air fryer.
This turned out wonderful, and we had nearly all ingredients on-hand which made it even better. Mine didn’t turn out as “sweet” as what you’d get from a chinese take out, which is generally fine, but my kids missed it. I guess adding another TBSP of brown sugar would be my move next time, see what happens.
Absolutely wonderful recipe!! This was so easy to make and it tasted so incredibly good, I fell in love with this dish ❤️ Even my partner liked this and he almost never likes anything I cook. Big thumps up for this one!
My husband does not like tofu. I looked at how tasty this crispy tofu recipe looked and decided to chance it. I also roasted asparagus cut in pieces and folded that in with the sticky tofu and put it all over rice. My husband raved about how good it was—that it’s definitely the best tofu he has ever eaten. He actually told me I needed to leave a review because it’s that good!!! Thank you!
Delicious! Is there a substitute for ketchup since that’s not a condiment we usually buy?
This is undoubtedly my favorite recipe on this site! Incredible all around! I eat this a lunch meal prep nearly every week.
I never leave reviews, and this is one of the best recipes I’ve ever made!! This is on my rotation all the time!!
What’s a good way to reheat this?
So. Good.
The best sesame tofu recipe I’ve tried! I will make again.
I personally didn’t like this recipe – I found the addition of ketchup gave the sauce a weird taste and on top of the brown sugar it was just too sweet. I think some water in the sauce would also help, I found it way too salty, it’s possible that once the sauced cooked down a little this concentrated the soy sauce.
One of my favorite tofu recipes ever! Thanks Sarah!
Excellent recipe, thank you for sharing it.
i didnt like the flavor of this recipe. i also feel that you should not have listed the vegetable oil, garlic, sesame seeds and scallions under “sauce” as those things are not part of the sauce. they are used separately from the components of the sauce. yes its all a part of the final dish, but its not the sauce. the sauce is sesame oil, ketchup, soy, brown sugar, rice vinegar and cornstarch and if one skims the recipe i think it would be quite common to add all the things listed under “sauce” into a bowl. i have never seen a recipe set up like this. i feel its just a confusing way to list the ingredients.
Hey Aly. First off, I’m sorry the flavor wasn’t a hit for you.
As for the ingredient grouping, we aim to organize things by how they’re used in the dish rather than strictly by liquid vs. non-liquid ingredients. I can understand how it might be confusing if someone is just skimming the recipe card.
Love this recipe!
I’m giving the 5 stars because I know it will be delicious and plan to make it again! I forgot the brown sugar COMPLETELY and it was still good! It will be perfection when I follow the recipe!
Thanks for this tofu idea. I did serve it with broccoli and that was a great side for this dish.
SO DELICIOUSSSS AND FAST
I can always count on Sara’s recipes to deliver the flavors I crave. I didn’t have any green onions on hand so I just chopped a bit of white onion for the sauce … but it still turned out to be a hit. Served up on a bed of freshly cooked rice with a side of steamed broccoli … and we had a feast! Thank you!
I’m allergic to tomatoes, what can I substitute for the ketchup? Thanks
I just made this and it is delicious. This is my favorite tofu recipe now. Thank you.