Fried Tofu with Garlic Sauce (20 Minutes or Less!)

EXTRA CRISPY Fried Tofu with the MOST delicious savory garlic sauce, just like the ones you had at Taiwan night markets!

Welcome to Day 10 of Cooking 15 Street Foods for 15 Days today; we are making my super easy Fried Tofu with Garlic Sauce ready in less than 20 minutes. With only a few simple ingredients, you will have this delicious street food in the comfort of your own home. Who said vegetarian food couldn’t be good? I promise even meat lovers will fall in love with this dish and be craving it all the time!  

Whenever I go to night markets in Taiwan, I need to get two tofu dishes, Stinky Tofu and Garlic Tofu.

Since it is hard to find stinky tofu here in North America, I will be sharing how to make Crispy Fried Garlic Tofu that will hopefully fulfill your night market cravings till your next trip to Taiwan. I love to have this as an appetizer, snack, or side dish. HIGHLY recommend pairing it with an ice-cold drink such as a beer to complete the dish! 

The secret to making DELICIOUS Fried Tofu with Garlic Sauce is the secret sauce. With only six simple ingredients, the sauce is a perfect balance between sweet and savory.

All you need is vegetarian oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, fresh garlic, sesame oil, and sesame seeds! Drizzle the garlic sauce on ANYTHING, and it will instantly elevate the dish. I recommend drizzling the garlic sauce on steamed veggies, dumplings, potstickers, radish cake, or Taiwanese Breakfast Egg Rolls! If you like it, SPICY, you can also chop one red chili to make Spicy Garlic Sauce! 

Let’s talk about the EXTRA crispy Fried Tofu.

I recommend using Tapioca Starch (HIGHLY Recommend Sunrise Brand); however, the secret to making it stick is always to let the starch sit for 5 minutes before frying. This extra step will prevent the starch from falling off and ensuring the tofu is EXTRA crispy. I like using Tapioca Starch since it replicates the authentic fried tofu at night markets, but if you don’t have Tapioca Starch, you can also use Sweet Potato Flour, Corn starch, or tempura powder. 

Want more EASY & delicious Asian Vegetarian dishes? Check out my other recipes that you will also LOVE: 

• Taiwanese Scallion Pancake (Extra Crispy & Flakey!)
• Pan-Fried Vegetable Buns – 水煎包 (Shui Jian bao)
• Crispy Chinese Chives Pockets (Easy & Authentic)
• Korean Spicy Rice Cake Skewers (5 Ingredients ONLY!)
• Spicy Garlic Noodles (10 Minutes Only!)

1. Take a piece of paper towel and lightly press on the medium-firm tofu to dry the edges. Cut the tofu into cubes and coat the tofu with tapioca starch. Let the tofu rest for 5 minutes while heating the oil.
2. In a pan, add oil and turn the heat up to medium-high once the oil is hot (put a wooden chopstick, and once it sizzles, it’s ready) and adds in the tofu. Fry for 3-4 minutes until tofu is crispy and golden brown. 
3. In a bowl, mix vegetarian oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. Grate in 6 cloves of fresh garlic, and add in 1 tbsp of Sesame Seeds. If you like it spicy, you can add in 1 chopped red chili as well. Mix till thoroughly combined. 
4. Drizzle the garlic sauce all over the fried tofu and garnish with cilantro. 

Print

Fried Tofu with Garlic Sauce

EXTRA CRISPY Fried Tofu with the MOST delicious savory garlic sauce, just like the ones you had at Taiwan night markets! Welcome to Day 10 of Cooking 15 Street Foods for 15 Days today; we are making my super easy Fried Tofu with Garlic Sauce ready in less than 20 minutes. With only a few simple ingredients, you will have this delicious street food in the comfort of your own home. Who said vegetarian food couldn’t be good? I promise even meat lovers will fall in love with this dish and be craving it all the time!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Active Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Taiwanese

Keyword: Easy Recipes, Fried Tofu, Street Food, Tofu, VEGETARIAN, Vegetarian Recipes

Yield: 4 People

Materials

• 1 pack of Medium Firm Tofu
• 1 cup of Tapioca Starch
• 3 tbsp of Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
• 2 tbsp of Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp of Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp of Sugar
• 6 cloves of Garlic
• 1 tbsp of Sesame Seeds
• 1 Red Chili optional

Instructions

• Take a piece of paper towel and lightly press on the medium-firm tofu to dry the edges. Cut the tofu into cubes and coat the tofu with tapioca starch. Let the tofu rest for 5 minutes while heating the oil.
• In a pan, add oil and turn the heat up to medium-high once the oil is hot (put a wooden chopstick, and once it sizzles, it’s ready) and adds in the tofu. Fry for 3-4 minutes until tofu is crispy and golden brown.
• In a bowl, mix vegetarian oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. Grate in 6 cloves of fresh garlic, and add in 1 tbsp of Sesame Seeds. If you like it spicy, you can add in 1 chopped red chili as well. Mix till thoroughly combined.
• Drizzle the garlic sauce all over the fried tofu and garnish with cilantro.

Video

Notes

HIGHLY HIGHLY Recommend Using Sunrise Tapioca Starch (https://amzn.to/3r0yW4c)