Magic Garlicky Tofu

An unbelievably delicious tofu stir-fry, made with my easy baked tofu recipe and tossed with the most heavenly garlic black pepper sauce.

So named because — as our friends said — this recipe has the power to magically turn anyone into a tofu lover. ♡

Barclay and I have been tinkering around with this one for the past few months, ever since we had dinner with some friends this summer who served us a version of Ottolenghi’s black pepper tofu. We instantly fell in love and ate every bite, and and then ran home to try making the recipe ourselves. (Since, as I mentioned last week, this vegetarian husband of mine loves his tofu.)  But when we looked it up, the recipe called for a bunch of ingredients that we didn’t have on hand and was also quite time-intensive. So we modified a simpler, speedier version of our own. And in the months since, we have tweaked and tweaked our recipe until it was just right for us. And oh my goodness, it is a total winner.

We absolutely love this tofu!

It’s full of bold, savory, garlicky flavors, plus a nice hint of sweetness. It can be as spicy or as mild as you prefer. It’s nice and hearty, yet still naturally vegan. And wow, is it delicious.

I’ve been excited to share this one with you for awhile, so I’m happy that today is finally the day! Let’s make some tofu!

Magic Garlic Tofu Ingredients:

To make this Magic Garlicky Tofu recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

For the baked tofu:

• Tofu: One block of tofu, either firm or extra-firm. I also strongly recommend buying organic tofu, if it’s available.
• Oil: Olive oil, or whatever your preferred cooking oil may be.
• Cornstarch: This is the magic ingredient that helps make tofu (as well as many other foods) extra-crispy in the oven.
• Garlic Powder / Salt / Black Pepper: Just a few simple seasonings.

For the garlicky black pepper sauce:

• Red onion: Or Ottolenghi used shallots; either will work.
• Garlic: Yes, this recipe calls for loads of garlic. Yes, I 100% recommend using it all.
• Jalapeño: Or Thai bird chiles, whichever kind of chile you happen to have on hand. I’ve made it with both.
• Butter or cooking oil: If you’re not making this vegan, I love the extra flavor of the butter. But if you are going dairy-free, you can substitute vegan butter or your preferred cooking oil.
• Soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger, cornstarch and water: To form the base for the sauce, thickened slightly with cornstarch.
• Freshly-ground coarse black pepper: Keywords: freshly-ground and coarse, which makes this recipe extra-delicious. If you only have the pre-ground fine black pepper that comes in traditional shakers, you will need to use considerably less pepper. (In that case, start small and add to taste.)
• Toppings: We love this with lots thinly-sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

How To Make Magic Garlicky Tofu:

To make this recipe, simply:

1. Prep and bake the tofu. See here for instructions on how to make my crispy baked tofu recipe. (It’s super easy — just drain, season and bake the tofu until crispy!)  Then while the tofu is draining and baking…
2. Prep your sauce ingredients. As in, chop a million cloves of garlic, a small red onion, and a jalapeño (or two). Then whisk together the base for your sauce (water, soy sauce, maple syrup, black pepper, cornstarch and ground ginger).
3. Cook the sauce. Sauté the onion, garlic and jalapeño until they are all nice and soft and fragrant. Then add in the soy sauce mixture and simmer until thickened.
4. Toss everything together. Then add the baked tofu to the sauce and gently toss until combined. And…
5. Serve! Garnished with lots of green onions and toasted sesame seeds, if you’d like.

Variations:

Want to mix things up? Feel free to:

• Make it spicier/milder: As always, feel free to add more/less chiles to make the recipe spicier or milder.
• Make it sweeter: If you’d like a sweeter sauce, just add in more maple syrup.
• Add a hint of sesame oil: We also occasionally love adding in a drizzle of toasted sesame oil too, to give this a slightly nuttier taste.
• Double the sauce: Want a saucier dish? Just double the amount of water, soy sauce, maple syrup, black pepper, cornstarch, and ground ginger.

What To Serve With Magic Garlic Tofu:

We like to serve this dish either over rice (white, brown or fried) or sesame noodles. Then usually add in some roasted or sautéed  veggies (such as broccoli, asparagus, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, etc). But feel free to serve this however you’d like! The options are limitless. :)

Enjoy, everyone!

Magic Garlic Tofu

4.62 from 62 votes

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Makes: 4 servings

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An unbelievably delicious tofu stir-fry, made with my easy baked tofu recipe and tossed with the most heavenly garlic black pepper sauce.

Ingredients

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• 1 batch baked tofu
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon freshly-ground coarse* black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 tablespoons butter (or vegan butter or oil)
• 1 small red onion, finely minced (about 2/3 cup)
• 1-2 fresh jalapeños (or 2 Thai bird chiles), cored and finely minced
• 10 garlic cloves, finely minced
• toppings: thinly-sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

• ▢
  Prepare your baked tofu according to recipe instructions.
• ▢
  Meanwhile, as your baked tofu (above) is draining and later baking, prep all of your ingredients for the black pepper sauce.  In a small bowl, whisk together water, soy sauce, maple syrup, black pepper, cornstarch and ground ginger until combined.  Set aside.
• ▢
  In a large sauté pan, heat the butter (or oil) over medium-high heat until melted.  Add the red onion and jalapeño, and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and sauté for 2 more minutes, or until fragrant, stirring occasionally.
• ▢
  Slowly pour in the soy sauce mixture, and stir until combined.  Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer and then thickens.
• ▢
  Remove pan from heat.  Add in the baked tofu, and toss until it is evenly coated in the sauce.
• ▢
  Serve warm, garnished with lots of toppings as desired.

Notes

*Keywords: coarse and freshly-ground.  If you use the finely-ground black pepper that's found in typical pepper shakers, you will need to use significantly less pepper here.

Adapted from Ottolenghi's black pepper tofu recipe.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!