This restaurant-style Sweet & Sour Tofu dish is loaded with veggies, pan-fried tofu, pineapples, and a easy delicious one-bowl sauce that'll keep you from grabbing take-out any night!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Thai, Vegan
Keyword easy tofu recipe, sweet and sour
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 5servings
Calories 272kcal
Author Anjali Lalani
Ingredients
14oz.firm tofu, I usually prefer the House Foods brand
3tbspcooking oil, or any other neutral oil for cooking
3clovesgarlic, minced
½teasp fresh ginger, grated
2/3cupfresh pineapple chunks
2cupsred bell pepper, cubed (~ 1 medium red bell pepper = 2 cups)
1 ½cupsbroccoli florets, ~1 medium head of broccoli
½white onion, cubed
8cremini mushrooms, or white button mushrooms, de-stemmed and quartered or halved depending on the size of mushrooms
3small“heads” bok choy, rinsed trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2green onions, chopped finely
brown rice or quinoa, cooked
For the Sauce:
¼cuplemon juice
¼cupsoy sauce, gluten-free option: use San-J Tamari Sauce
Cut the block of tofu in half. Place each half in 2 clean paper towels one at a time and gently press/squeeze to remove excess stored liquid (without breaking up the tofu).
Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch cubes and pan fry on medium-high heat with 1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil. Mix and turn frequently until all the water is burned off and the tofu is lightly golden brown on most sides (be sure not to burn the tofu). If you find that the tofu is sticking to the pan, add a little more oil or your pan may not be non-stick. Set aside.
To Prepare the Veggies & Sauce:
In a large non-stick skillet or wok, heat 1 1/2 tbsp of cooking oil on medium heat. Add the fresh garlic and ginger and fry for about 10-15 seconds until fragrant.
Add the onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, and broccoli and toss to combine. Mix frequently and sauté until all the vegetables are cooked and tender, yet still remain crispy. Note that all the water released from cooking the mushrooms should burn off while sautéing the vegetables. In the meantime, prepare the sauce.
For the sauce, whisk all the ingredients listed under sauce above until all the cornstarch has dissolved. Add more or less chili sauce depending on your preference of spice. As a check, I always recommend tasting the sauce prior to adding it to the dish to make sure you have the right amount of sweetness and saltiness (especially if you are using tamari instead of soy sauce, or a different sweetener instead of coconut sugar/maple syrup).
Once the vegetables are tender and crispy, turn the heat down to medium-low.
Add the pan-fried tofu to the vegetables.
Slowly add the sauce and toss with the vegetables and tofu.
After about a minute, add the pineapple chunks and chopped bok choy.
Mix slowly on medium-low heat until the sauce starts to thicken and coat the vegetables and tofu. Be sure not to burn off all the sauce (this should only take 5-10 minutes).
Turn off the heat and add the chopped green onions. Toss once more and serve hot with a side of cooked brown rice or quinoa.
Notes
Nutritional Information - Does not include cooked rice or quinoa.