I’ve made this spicy, sweet, smoky and tangy sauce a million times. It’s a snap to assemble and is the perfect component to serve with tofu, noodles and vegetables, which is a typical weeknight dinner for us. After I panfry the tofu and vegetables and boil the noodles, I’ll typically drizzle this sauce over everything at the end to nicely pull together all of the flavors and textures. However, since I made this dish, I really liked the viscous texture created by whisking in a bit of cornstarch slurry in at the end. This simple step transforms the sauce into a more decadent and flavorful one, and is now my husband’s favorite sauce for tofu. Serve it with these noodles, and you’ll have the perfect go-to quick dinner in front of you in about 30 minutes.
PrintEASY SESAME GLAZED TOFU
- Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 1 block firm tofu
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 1 TB soy sauce
- 1 TB toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar or raw agave syrup
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp grated garlic
- 1 tsp – 1 TB sambal or sriracha
- 2 tsp cornstarch, whisked with 4 tsp cold water
- 1 TB sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut the tofu into 4 slabs, then cut each of those slabs in half. Place the pieces into a pan with a little oil over medium-high heat. (There is no need to press the water put of the tofu.) Cover the pan with a lid and allow to saute for 10-12 minutes. It will sputter and pop, which is fine.
- While the tofu is browning, make your sauce by combining the next 8 ingredients. Heat over low heat in a small saucepan.
- Check on your tofu. If it is well browned, flip the pieces over and continue to brown the other side. Be careful when removing the lid , which will collect steam over cook time and drip into the pan, causing sputtering. Allow to brown for an additional 10 minutes or so.
- Once the tofu is done, increase the heat for the sauce to medium. Once it starts to slightly boil, pour in the cornstarch/water slurry and whisk for a minute or two until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the sauce over the browned tofu and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Meghan says
Thank you so much for this recipe! It was incredibly simple to prepare because there wasn’t any pressing. The flavor was incredible, and I’m looking for more opportunities to make it again.
★★★★★