This Garlic Teriyaki Tofu recipe is perfect, if you are a beginner vegan. It is one of my favorite recipes as it’s high in protein and a flavor-bomb! The perfect weeknight dinner! Forget take-out, this is so much better for you and your wallet. 😉
The secret to making this recipe quick, easy and beginner-friendly is to use a store-bought teriyaki glaze. Teriyaki glaze is a thicker type of teriyaki sauce that will make you tofu sticky.
Now, I understand that not has access to this products, so you can make your own “Restaurant-style thick teriyaki sauce” at home.
If you can find/make a teriyaki glaze that already has garlic in it you can omit that.
Depending on your taste feel free to use minced ginger or ginger powder at the end to taste.
Ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- extra firm tofu (6.5 oz/people or serving)
- soy sauce
- teriyaki glaze, but a thick teriyaki sauce is good as well
- garlic
- oil
- sesame seeds
Optional garnish: chives, scallions, peanuts…etc. (to taste)
Step 1:
Cut up the tofu into small cubes.
Step 2:
Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes and start frying them on all sides.
Your tofu cubes are ready when all sides are golden colored (as shown below).
When your tofu cubes are fried, add the soy sauce and fry everything evenly for 1/2-1 minute. This step is very important to make the tofu crispy.
Step 3:
Turn off the heat, then add the teriyaki glaze and minced garlic. Stir everything together in the pan for 1 minute.
Step 4:
Add the sesame seeds.
Step 6:
Serve over fresh rice and add your optional garnish.
Vegan Garlic Teriyaki Tofu for Beginners
Vegan Dinner Recipes: Vegan Garlic Teriyaki Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 block tofu (12 oz)
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp thick* teriyaki sauce (or teriyaki glaze*)
- 4 tbsp oil
- 2 big clove garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut up the tofu into small cubes. Season them with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes and start frying them on all sides.Your tofu cubes are ready when all sides are golden colored (as shown above).
- When your tofu cubes are fried, add the soy sauce and fry everything evenly for 1/2-1 minute. This step is very important to make the tofu crispy.
- Turn off the heat, then add the teriyaki glaze and minced garlic. Stir everything together in the pan for 1 minute.
- Finally, add the sesame seeds, the optional garnish and serve over hot rice.
Notes
Did you make this Vegan Garlic Teriyaki Tofu for Beginners? Let me know in the comments!
Have not made this yet but have a question. My glaze list soy sauce as the first ingredient, should I still add the soy sauce your recipe calls for?
Hi Susan! Yes! Teriyaki sauce is actually made from soy sauce, but don’t let that confuse you. They have quite different flavors, so you need both the soy sauce AND the teriyaki sauce. 🙂
It was SOOOO good:)) Thank you, I’ve been really scared to do anything with tofu before ( but I love tempeh!) so this was a great help
Is there a way to make this crispy dish without using oil?
Hi Risa! You can try using a non-stick pan or an air-fryer.
This was my first time making tofu, and I loved this recipe!
Some things that I modified were:
-the tofu that I bought, despite being “extra firm” looked nothing like your picture, and was almost squishy and crumbly? it ended up being a bit more difficult to cube, but still ended up goldening well in the pan. It just took longer than expected.
-I think because of this, the tofu didn’t end up absorbing as much of the liquid that I had anticipated, so after adding the soy sauce, it was just a bunch of tofu sitting in soy sauce, so I ended up adding less soy sauce, and less teriyaki as well.
– I also ended up putting the pan on low heat, and giving it some extra time to reduce down a bit, and absorb into the tofu. This was key, because there was so much extra sauce!
Overall, it tasted amazing! I was afraid it would be too salty, or that the texture would be strange, but there was a perfect crisp to the outside, and softness to the inside. I will definitely be making this again!
Hi Jess!
I’m so glad to hear that enjoyed this recipe!
It’s weird that your “extra firm’ tofu was so squishy.
The tofu doesn’t really need to absorb the liquids, the soy sauce needs to be on the surface (the hot soy sauce and oil together will make the tofu even crispier). Next time try it on high heat!
Practice is key when it comes to tofu, so I’m sure your dish will be even better next time! 🙂