The Secret to Perfect Crispy Tofu

This quick and easy crispy tofu recipe is a game-changer for vegan and vegetarian diets, or anyone wanting to add a delicious and satisfying protein source to their meals! This versatile recipe can be used in vegetarian and vegan tacos, rice bowls, and more. Enjoy making this soft, crunchy and delicious golden-brown tofu recipe a staple in your kitchen as it became an essential in mine! Press your tofu to ensure the perfect sear, crisp up your tofu with your spices and discover a new world of flavours and texture!

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When I was an exchange student in Montréal during my master’s degree, I wasn’t used to North American products. At that time, my diet consisted mostly of lots of pasta, cheese, cheesy pasta, … well, you get it lol. But being pretty broke, I found good cheese in Montréal to be so expensiiiive, including parmesan. Without dairy, I started gradually shifting to a mostly vegan diet, except for eggs, and started consuming a lot of rice and tofu. Discovering the Asian grocery store near my house was a game changer, and it introduced me to a whole new culinary world! For example, I finally tasted kimchi, and I loved it so much that I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three months straight lol.

Surprisingly, even though I was 23 and had already been vegetarian for 8 years, and hadn’t really incorporated tofu in my home cooked meals as I hadn’t found a recipe I liked yet. Until then, I was mostly getting my proteins from lentils, chickpeas, … The breakthrough came when I learned that pressing tofu makes A WORLD OF A DIFFERENCE in its texture and flavor absorption. So, while experimenting in my shared flat’s kitchen, I developed this crispy tofu recipe that I used at first in tacos. It turned out to be THE best vegetarian taco I’d ever had, and my roommates were genuinely shocked it was vegetarian.

Why Press Tofu?

Pressing tofu is essential because it removes excess moisture. This allows the tofu to achieve a better texture and absorb flavors more effectively. This simple step really transform your tofu dishes, especially if you’re searing or frying your tofu on the pan, because the water in the tofu will lower your pan’s heat and give you poor searing results. As I explain further above, one of the reasons I hadn’t incorporated tofu in my homecooked recipes was because I could never get the texture or flavour to be appealing and delicious. It’s especially essential to press your tofu in this easy and quick crispy tofu recipe to get crispy and golden tofu bits on the outsisde, and delicious and soft texture on the inside.

How to Press Tofu?

Pressing tofu is pretty straightforward, you simply remove it from its packaging, drain off the liquid and wrap the tofu in a dry towel or multiple paper towels. Then, you have two options. You can either place an evenly distributed weight on your wrapped tofu and let it sit for a minimum of 20 minutes, the longer you leave it the more moisture will be removed. Or, if you lack time, simply apply even pressure with your hands to remove moisture, repeating the process a couple of times if you’re using paper towels. Personnally, I tend to use the second method a lot more, especially when I use firm tofu such as in this recipe.

Versatile use : in which recipes can I use crispy tofu?

Crispy tofu is incredibly versatile and can be used in various dishes. It works out great for a vegetarian or a vegan diet, and it’s an easy and healthy vegetarian and vegan protein source. I personnally use this easy crispy tofu bits recipe in tacos, as a garnish on a delicious rice bowl alongside kimchi and cucumbers, or i event incorporate it into tomato sauce for a vegan bolognese.

Don’t be afraid of experimenting with tofu as it can lead to delightful discoveries in your kitchen! Embrace the process, and you might find that crispy tofu becomes a staple in your meals, just as it did in mine 🙂