This easy tofu stir fry is so tasty, high in protein, and ready in just 20 minutes. Serve it over noodles or rice for a perfect quick dinner.
If you're looking for a super healthy and incredibly delicious Chinese-style recipe, this tofu stir fry is for you. It's so good, tasty, and savory, as well as very nutritious, and made in no time!
This vegan takeout recipe is so easily customizable, yet one of the easiest and simplest ones to make.
Conveniently made with a wok (it really is the best tool for this recipe, but any pan or skillet will do), I assure you it'll become a staple on your table!
It is included in my Veganuary collection and also in my vegan Chinese food recipes round-up. Perfect for Chinese New Year but also to enjoy all year long.
By the way, tofu is my favorite source of plant-based protein, that's why you'll find lots of tofu recipes on the blog, like my General Tso's tofu, sesame tofu, or teriyaki tofu.
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🌟 You’ll love this recipe because it is
- Made with simple ingredients.
- Ready in just 20 minutes.
- Extremely affordable and easy to make.
- Super healthy and easily customizable.
- So tasty, high in protein, and nutritious!
🧾 Ingredients
- Vegetable stock or water: I prefer vegetable stock because it enhances the flavor of this dish. However, water is okay too.
- Brown sugar.
- Cornstarch.
- Soy sauce.
- Red pepper flakes: omit this ingredient if you’re not into spicy food, or add more if you want it extra spicy.
- Oil: I used canola oil, but pretty much any type will do. I prefer to use a neutral-flavor oil, though.
- Firm tofu: firm or extra firm tofu work best for this recipe. Soft or silken tofu is not a good choice as it will fall apart easily.
- Veggies: use any veggies you like or have on hand.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small container until well combined. Set aside.
Step 2: Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a wok, a frying pan, or a skillet and when is hot, add the tofu cubes and cook over medium-high heat until all the sides are golden brown. Set aside.
Step 3: Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and when it's hot, add the veggies and sautée over high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 4: Add the tofu and the sauce to the pan, stir and cook for 1-2 more minutes or until the sauce thickens, stirring frequently. Serve immediately over noodles or rice, or just by itself.
📋 Substitutions & variations
- Any type of sugar will do, even maple syrup or agave syrup.
- Feel free to use any type of starch. You could also omit it, but your sauce will be more watery.
- Use any veggies you have on hand, such as green onions, green beans, cabbage, bok choi, or shiitake mushrooms.
- Make it gluten-free: use tamari instead of soy sauce.
- Make it oil-free: use some vegetable stock or water instead of oil to sautée the veggies. The tofu can be cooked without oil in a non-stick pan.
- Make it soy-free: use seitan, chickpea tempeh, or even cooked or canned beans instead of tofu, and omit the soy sauce.
- Instead of soy sauce, you can use coconut aminos, which is soy-free, or more vegetable stock or water instead. In that case, you may need to add some salt to taste.
- Make it sugar-free: omit the sugar if you want, but in this case, it's totally worth it.
🍽 Equipment
To make this recipe you'll need:
- Measuring tablespoons and measuring cups (or a scale) to weigh your ingredients.
- A small container and a mini whisk to make the sauce.
- A wooden board and a knife to chop the tofu and the veggies.
- A wok, a frying pan, or a skillet and a spatula to cook the tofu stir fry. Although a wok is the best choice, use what you have on hand.
❄️ Storage
- Refrigerator: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
- Freezer: store leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months, although the veggies might get a little soft when thaw.
- Thaw: transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Reheat: it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. Add a little oil, water, or vegetable stock if needed.
💭 Expert tips
- I hardly ever press my tofu, but I know many people think this is a must if you want your tofu to absorb all the flavors from the marinade or sauce you're using.
- If you press it, you'll get extra crispy tofu. Just wrap the tofu in a clean towel and apply a steady weight to squeeze out the moisture. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- If you freeze the tofu and then defrost it, it will become more porous and it'll absorb flavors more easily. I don't do it very often to save some time and effort, but it's a great tip.
- Another good tip is to simmer the tofu in salted water briefly before making the tofu stir fry, this will make the tofu hardier and less likely to crumble while cooking in the pan.
- If you want to reduce the amount of sodium, add less soy sauce and use extra vegetable stock or water.
- Use a work if you have one, it's the best tool to make a stir fry. I don't have one, so I used a non-stick frying pan instead. Any type of large skillet or frying pan will do, though.
❓Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can! Just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
However, it is best freshly made, so as it's ready in just 20 minutes, I would cook it just before serving it for extra crispy veggies.
A thing you can do to save some time is to cook the tofu cubes and chop the veggies and store them in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator.
Then cook the tofu stir fry just before serving, that way it will be ready in just 5-10 minutes and your veggies will be super fresh and crispy.
Extra-Firm tofu has the least amount of liquid and is a great choice to make stir fries.
However, I find it too dry sometimes, so I prefer to use firm tofu because it has the proper amount of liquid without falling apart like silken or soft tofu, but it's not as dry as extra-firm tofu.
As I explained above in more detail, I hardly ever press my tofu and I'm so happy with the results.
But for extra crispy tofu and if you want the tofu to absorb all the flavors from the marinade or sauce you're using, you should press it.
The easiest way is by using a non-stick pan.
If you’re using a wok, skillet, or regular pan, preheat it on the stove for 1-2 minutes before adding the oil and make sure to use enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
It's also really important to wait for the tofu cubes to release from the pan. As the tofu cooks and gets golden brown, the cubes will un-stick from the pan.
I like my stir fry this way as it's really quick and easy, but for extra crispiness, first press the tofu for at least 10 minutes, and second coat the tofu in cornstarch.
This will give the tofu a crispy exterior and a great texture.
🌱 More tofu recipes
⭐️ Did you like this tofu stir fry? Please consider giving it a 5-star rating and comment below!
📖 Recipe
Easy Tofu Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- ¾ cup vegetable stock or water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
For the tofu stir fry:
- 2 tablespoons oil, I used canola oil, divided
- 14 ounces firm tofu, drained and cubed
- 2 cups broccoli, chopped
- 2 cups red bell pepper, julienned
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned
- 1 onion, julienned, I used yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
Instructions
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small container until well combined. Set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a wok, a frying pan, or a skillet and when is hot, add the tofu cubes and cook over medium-high heat until all the sides are golden brown. Set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and when it's hot, add the veggies and sautée over high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the tofu and the sauce to the pan, stir and cook for 1-2 more minutes or until the sauce thickens, stirring frequently.
- Try and add some salt if needed. Serve immediately over noodles or rice, or just by itself.
Video
Notes
- I've doubled the amount of broccoli, red bell pepper, carrot, and onion to improve the recipe, so keep that in mind if you prefer the original one.
- I find the ratio of tofu and veggies is perfect now.
- Any type of sugar will do, even maple syrup or agave syrup.
- Feel free to use any type of starch. You could also omit it, but your sauce will be more watery.
- Use any veggies you have on hand, such as green onions, green beans, cabbage, bok choi, or shiitake mushrooms.
- Make it gluten-free: use tamari instead of soy sauce.
- Make it oil-free: use some vegetable stock or water instead of oil to sautée the veggies. The tofu can be cooked without oil in a non-stick pan.
- Make it soy-free: use seitan, chickpea tempeh, or even cooked or canned beans instead of tofu, and omit the soy sauce.
- Instead of soy sauce, you can use coconut aminos, which is soy-free, or more vegetable stock or water instead. In that case, you may need to add some salt to taste.
- Make it sugar-free: omit the sugar if you want, but in this case, it's totally worth it.
- Refrigerator: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
- Freezer: store leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months, although the veggies might get a little soft when thaw.
- Thaw: transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Reheat: it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. Add a little oil, water, or vegetable stock if needed.
barbara says
I just tried this, and it was delicious. I made a couple of changes, but nothing serious--didn't have ginger root so I used ground ginger. I added a little Rice vinegar and put less brown sugar. I will definitely make this again.
Iosune says
Hi Barbara! Sounds great, so glad you liked it 🙂
Trish says
Very good easy and fast to make
Iosune Robles says
Hi Trish! That's amazing 🙂
Jenifer says
First time playing with tofu. Couldn’t find firm, so I got medium firm...did the oil thing and the only thing it browned was the bottoms of my pan. I did everything else according to the directions, but I would like to think that the consistency of the tofu made the tofu part of the dish a flop.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Jenifer! You're right, firm tofu works best for this recipe 🙂
savvy says
any substitutes for cornstarch??
Mary says
My thickener of choice is arrowroot. You can buy it in a jar in a regular grocery store or in bulk in a health food store. The amounts would be the same.
Savitha says
Thank you for the tip!!
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Feel free to use any kind of starch 🙂
Meg says
This was great! I made it for my mom and I tonight and it was really delicious. I'm Chinese and as I'm living overseas it definitely scratched the itch of grandma's 'Anything goes' stir fry 😂. Only thing is that it was a little too salty for me, so I'll probably use half the soy sauce next time, but eating this with a portion of plain rice definitely helps a lot too. I used zucchini instead of red onions because we didn't have them, but it didn't really affect anything and was still delicious. Would make this again! 🙂
Iosune Robles says
Hi Meg! I'm so glad you both liked it 🙂
Jeanne says
Made this tonight and while I liked it ok, my husband thought it very good. Therefore less than 5 star. My problem was a kind of blah sauce. But that is easily fixed. Next time I will add more chili pepper flakes, some sesame oil and maybe a dash of hoisin sauce. And maybe another garlic clove and more ginger. By the way, I assumed the ginger was julienned, right? Thank you for a nice base recipe to play with.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Jeanne! Thanks for your comment 🙂 You're right, the ginger is julienned!
carolien says
I made this last night and it was quick, easy, and delicious! Thank you!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Carolien! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Caroline Willis says
Just made this, oh my it is lush!!! So rich and tasty. Will definitely be saving this recipe and making it again.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Caroline! So glad you liked this recipe 🙂 Have a nice day!
Mary says
I am picky about my stir fry recipes and this one is my new fave! Easy, scores high in nutrition and it is so delicious! Thank you so much!! It you’re the best!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Mary!!! Thank you so much!!! we are glad you like it!!!:)
Heidi Hampton says
I forgot to mention that soy sauce, tamari or other any commercial sauces, Asian or
otherwise, are too loaded with salt for me to use.
Iosune says
Hi Heidi! I guess coconut aminos is the same... You could also make your own vegetable stock with no sodium... Hope it helps!
Heidi Hampton says
I am on a strict no salt diet for health reasons. I love stir fry but I need some suggestions to give it a flavor punch that salt usually provides. Do you have
any ideas? Thanks!
Iosune says
Hi Heidi! Use dried veggies like celery, onion or garlic powder or spices 🙂 You're so welcome!
Renee says
So simple and incredibly delicious.
Iosune says
Hi Renee! Thanks a lot 🙂
Norris says
i am so glad i found this recipe! My wife decided she wanted tofu tonight, and i had no clue how to do it right but I’m always willing to try something new. We want to try the General Tso tofu next.
Iosune says
Hi Norris! I'm so happy you found us as well 🙂 Hope you enjoy the General Tso's tofu!
Gail Bumsted says
I love stir fry. This looks delicious. Should you press the tofu first?
Iosune Robles says
Hi Gail! Yes, I usually press the tofu first 🙂 Hope you like it!
Felicia says
That tofu looks yummy! I should give it a try !
Happy New Year!
Iosune says
Hi Felicia! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 Happy 2019!!!
cazzie rawden says
If using ginger powder, instead of root how much would you use?
Thank you once again for all your fantastic recipes.
Iosune says
Hi Cazzie! I've never tried it myself, so I'm not sure, but I would add about 1/8-1/4 tsp 🙂