Salt and Pepper Tofu Recipe (2024)

Bake the tofu at 400 degrees for 15-20min then flip for 10min more. The cornstarch will crisp it up in the oven. Alternatively airfry at 400 for 17-20 minutes.

Please no ... first, why use plastic when we're drowing in plastic; second, tofu is delicate, and shaking it will break it up so that you get more mush than tofu pieces.

I enjoyed the texture and the salt and pepper contrast. Note: if cut into cubes, there are 6 sides. Are we to brown all of them? Also, a tip—sprinkle the hot oil with a smidgen of baking soda before adding the tofu and watch how fast browning occurs! This an Americas Test Kitchen technique that is a winner.

An easier way of dredging the tofu is to put it all in a ziploc bag and shake.

Tip for pan-frying tofu: instead of cubes, slice the block into 3 or 4 thin sheets, then into ~1.5” squares. They will be flat and thin, so you only need to flip them once, and they will be crispy on all sides.

My whole family loved the version of this I made tonight. I didn't have 5-spice powder, but kind of fudged that with a little all-spice and cinnamon. Air-fried two packages of tofu (one pack at a time) cut up and coated in cornstarch at 400 for about 15 minutes. I wanted a little dressing for it and the sushi rice I served it on, so made a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, and chili crisp. Served with roasted broccoli and cucumbers in the same dressing.

This was a lot of work for just ok results. Covering all the little cubes in cornstarch? I never want to do that again. Did I get cornstarch on my floor, countertops, hands? Of course I did.Then when you cook them it says: cook on each side. These are cubes, so six sides. So I have to turn these little suckers FIVE times? And there’s two batches of them? All while dodging oil spatter?Yes, they came out crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Can’t say it was worth it.Do not recommend.

The traditional way to do this is deep frying, in either a wok or Dutch oven. It’s much easier, and the tofu will be lighter, crispier and absorb less fat as long as you start with very hot oil.

Look at smittenkitchen eggplant tofu. She bakes it but suggests pan must be hot first.

Lovely crispy texture and the seasoning is great. I used a large mixing bowl to toss the tofu in the corn starch mixture after making an initial mess with the plate method. A pair of wooden chopsticks makes turning the tofu while cooking a lot easier.

Think of this recipe as sauteed instead of fried. 3 T oil for 4 portions of tofu is Very little, and is not fried. To answer your question, I don't think there's enough heat to produce the same result. You could try preheating a heavy sheet pan and then turning the oven to broil right before putting it in, but I think you would only save 1 T oil. Not much worth it.

Tasty. Reheat tofu with veggies right before serving. Add some of the spice mixture with corn starch plus sprinkle before cooking. Triple the scallions (doubled and still wanted more). Serve with pickled cabbage ( salt pepper shrimp, Hunger Pang Brooklyn, we miss your food and company).

I liked this. Since a few people said it was too salty, I used a big more than half the salt, and thought that was good. Otherwise I made as written. It was a little dry and I ended up kind of mixing it all up with the veggies I had also sauteed. Note that you only toss the tofu with half the spice mixture.

This was delicious but too much salt. I would use only one teaspoon.

You want the crispness that you get from sauteeing -- and to be able to stir as needed. Also: who wants to turn on the oven in this heat?

Love this, made it a bunch of times for family and friends and always gets a good response. Great with rice and some bokchoy sauteed in soy and pretty quick and easy once you’ve made it a few times. Regarding cook on six sides, it’s always turns out good for me only pan frying on the top and bottom. Also removes the need to ensure the cubes are coated with corn flour on all sides.

Way too much salt, says someone who licks soy sauce off plates. Agree with other users would try again with 1 tsp.

Delicious! Tried w tofu. Then w shrimp. I think mixing some of spice mixture into cornstarch could be a good idea.As others noted, served on iceberg lettuce w cilantro like at restaurant. Doubled scallion and pepper.

From previous tofu experience, I already knew that I would “toss” in cornstarch & bake, but never would I have guessed @ how delicious the spices would be! Admitted hack: I eyeballed & sprinkled before baking, but never would I have guessed the final onion pepper combo @ the end would be so delish! This resold me on 5 spice, & is going into the rotation!

This results in what we call “tofu French fries” in our house. Addictive. I generally eat too many cubes straight off the cooling rack.

Wow! I loved this! I followed the directions exactly and it was fabulous.

Do not make again!

Why does every NYT tofu recipe involve cornstarch and frying? It’s almost like they are not vegetarians or don’t appreciate tofu and want to simulate a meat based meal. Who wants to spend time dredging little pieces of tofu and then standing over a skillet moving around little pieces of tofu. They take a healthy food and make it as unhealthy as possible. Cornstarch, frying. Come on NYT.

way too salty, which ruined the dish. The spice seasoning was insipid. Disappointing.

I loved this. I took notice of the hints and talked on the phone to a dear friend the entire time it was cooking so it is not difficult I sautéed zucchini and tossed it into the tofu with rice.

I often prepare tofu in my convection oven after coating it with cornstarch--or even without the cornstarch. The easiest way to do it is to add the cornstarch (and any seasonings you wish) to a clean, recycled cracker or cereal bag, then add the tofu cubes and shake gently. I find they come out evenly coated and do not break. Then you just throw away the bag. So quick and easy. I will try this seasoning. It sounds like a nice change from my usual salt-free garlic pepper herb mix.

Sometimes, my mood affects my cooking. This tofu came out dry and salty. I'll have it on the side as a salad condiment, as mentioned in the Tip. It smelled so nice when cooking, people came sniffing around. Definitely needs something saucy for the rice. But I don't feel saucy today. (Update: it tastes nice 5 spicy crunchy on the salad.)

This is a delightful recipe! Tofu prepared as per recipe, and the result sang in the mouth. Used one Serrano chile, unseeded, sliced thin: perfect level of heat! Only complaint is that this is a dry dish. Restaurants tend to serve atop wilted iceberg lettuce. Next time, I’m going to stir fry a head of iceberg ahead of time, and maybe even skip the rice!

I loved the texture of the tofu, it was truly perfect. The rest of the dish fell flat for me, and was WAY too salty (we used Diamond Crystal.) I couldn't finish because I didn't feel good after half a serving.

While the cubes were cute I have since prepared the tofu in 3/4" slabs and doubled the green onion. The last time I prepared it I discovered that my pepper had been drafted to the compost. To get a similar mouth feel I quartered some cherry tomatoes and added a crumbled dried Thai pepper. A tasty rescue.