Crispy Vegan Tofu stir-fried in the most flavorful Black Garlic Sauce ….a simple and delicious way to prepare tofu, that even tofu skeptics will enjoy!
At first glance, black garlic may seem a bit shocking. But don’t let its color fool you. It’s actually quite mild in flavor, much tamer than regular garlic actually. It’s full of great umami flavor – adding complexity and depth to dishes. It’s also surprisingly sweet.
In this easy fast recipe for Black Garlic Tofu, the tofu is quickly caramelized in a hot wok, then finished with the black garlic sauce. The sauce can be whipped up in minutes. Sprinkled with chive blossoms and chives, this can easily be ready in 15- 20 minutes. The black garlic gives the tofu a unique caramelly flavor. Vegan and gluten-free, this is one of our “go-to” quick healthy meatless dinners.
If tofu is not your “thing”, I would venture to guess, that you have never had good tofu, prepared well. You’d be surprised how great it tastes when given a good crispy crunch and flavorful sauce. It’s all about good texture and flavor. On its own, it’s really quite bland, and the soft texture can be off-putting to many. But caramelize it and flavor it, and it’s transformed.
In our area, fermented black garlic is available at Trader Joe’s.
The first thing to do, is give it a taste, if you never have before. Once you do, I bet you will think of all sorts of dishes to include it in.
To make the sauce, place 5 or 6 cloves in a blender with a little soy sauce, oil, sugar and water. Sometimes I’ll add a little ginger, but I think I prefer it without.
When prepping your tofu, press it firmly on both sides with paper towels to remove the moisture.
Cut it into ¾ inch cubes…and blot again.
In a wok or heavy bottom skillet, bring a Tablespoon of vegetable or peanut oil, to the point of smoking, on high heat. Add salt and pepper, directly to the oil.
Turn the heat to med-high and gently slide the tofu in the hot oil, careful not to splash.
Using a metal spatula or slotted spoon, turn the tofu every minute or so, for a good 10 minutes, until the tofu begins to caramelize and turn golden and crispy. You really want to get it caramelized and crispy, so don’t hurry this part.
Once crispy, set it aside on a plate.
Pour the black garlic sauce in the wok, all by itself, on med-high heat, stirring constantly for one minute, until the sauce darkens and becomes shiny. Then slide the tofu back in, toss to coat for a few seconds, and serve immediately. If you cook the tofu in the sauce too long, you will lose your crispy texture.
Sprinkle with chives, chive blossoms.
You could also sprinkle toasty peanuts or toasted sesame seeds.
Black Garlic Tofu
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 17 mins
- Yield: 2
- Category: Vegan
- Method: Stir-Fry
- Cuisine: Asian inspired
Description
Crispy Vegan Tofu stir-fried in the most flavorful Black Garlic Sauce ….a delicious way to prepare tofu!
Ingredients
Units
- 12 oz block of extra firm tofu
- 5–6 cloves black fermented garlic
- 3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil plus more for frying
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce (or Gluten-free Braggs Liquid Amino Acids)
- 1 tablespoon sugar, brown sugar or alternatve ( coconut, date etc)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/8 cup chives and chive blossoms
Instructions
- Press tofu with paper towels to remove water. Cut into ¾ inch cubes. Blot again.
- Blend the black garlic cloves, oil, water, soy sauce and sugar until combined using a blender.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoon oil in wok or skillet on high heat. Add a generous pinch of salt and cracked pepper to the heating oil. When it begins to smoke, turn heat down to medium high, and carefully slide the tofu in, you don’t want it to splash.
- Turn over tofu, every minute or so, letting it caramelize and crisp up on all sides. This will take about 10 minutes on medium high heat. Once tofu is crispy and golden, scoop it onto a plate and set aside.
- Carefully pour black garlic sauce into the wok and stir constantly over medium high heat, for one minute, and it will turn shiny and dark.
- Place tofu back in wok with the sauce, stir to coat each piece well, about 30 seconds, and serve immediately. If you cook the tofu too long in the sauce, you will loose the nice crisp you created.
- Top with fresh chopped chives and chive blossoms.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 189
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 17.4 mg
- Fat: 11.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.6 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This was my first black garlic recipe and I found the results to be fantastic. I will definitely make this recipe again.
Wonderful!
By FAR our fave tofu recipe. The sauce coats so well it’s along the lines of restaurant-style Chinese food – but better. Even my kid who isn’t a fan of tofu gobbled it up. Phenomenal recipe find.
So glad to hear this Carolin!
The only black garlic I can find, including at Trader Joe’s, is a dried powder. Could you revise your recipe to use the powder? Thank you!
Thanks Daria! I have actually never seen the powder… I’ll look for it!
Daria, I used the Trader Joe’s version. It’s more like chopped black garlic flakes and it worked amazingly well. I didn’t modify the recipe other than subbing in a whole jar of the TJ’s black garlic.
Made this recipe with my sister and it is simply AMAZING. I crave it all the time now!!! Such a good recipe. It being vegan is also great for the animals! Can’t wait to make it again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Amara!
This is a great recipe. Served mine on rice with broccolini and Swiss chard.
I have made this recipe so many times. It always comes out great. My daughter sends me containers of black garlic. They is my hint they it’s time to make it again.
Easy and tastes great.
It sounds great, I have yet to try this because I have a question – black garlic is already sweet – does the addition of 1 T. brown sugar not make it too sweet creating more of a dessert tofu than a savoury dish? Thank you ahead. Your recipes sound great.
No- it helps balnace out all the soy sauce. I find it is needed. 🙂
This sauce is amazing and so easy to make, I absolutely love it!
My go to tofu dish. Excellent made dozens of times
Thanks so much Ronnie, appreciate this!
Thank you!!! (and thank you Noelle for the gluten-free info). If anyone else doesn’t live close to a Trader Joe’s: I get my garlic from Black Garlic North America’s site because they have organic black garlic that is grown in north America & made in the US, and they’ve never charged me for shipping. I think Trader Joe’s black garlic comes from Japan?
Thanks- this is really helpful!
PLEASE NOTE: Anyone trying to avoid gluten due to celiac disease for one of their dinner guests they should be aware that SOY SAUCE IS NOT GLUTEN FREE.
Otherwise I very much enjoyed reading this article and am going to try this recipe as it looks like it will hit the spot for many of my dinner guests including ones who dislike tofu but love Asian flavors!
Thankyou!
You can substitute GF Liquid Amino Acids- Like Braggs. I updated the recipe, thank you for pointing it out.
Tamari sauce is gluten free and is a great alternative to soy sauce — it tastes almost exactly the same! 🙂 I recommend Kikkoman’s low sodium version. It can be found next to soy sauce in stores. 🙂
WONDERFUL!!!!! Make this!!!
My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I add chopped peanuts and cilantro. I sometimes add broccoli, carrots, and pea pods, double the sauce, and serve over farro! Yum!❤️❤️
thanks Cindy, Im so happy you liked it!
I’ve made this recipe four times now and it never gets any less incredible. I’ve served it on it’s own, as well as atop a kale salad, on pizza, and in tacos!
This was a huge hit with everyone in the family! Easy to make, delicious, and so unique. I used your recipe for bok choy with black pepper tofu. Delicious! So excited about trying out more of your inventive recipes.
I made this dish last night. I forgot to get some chives. So I substituted sesame seeds. It was outstanding!
Im so glad you liked it!
I make black garlic and black garlic powder so I’ve use this recipe and it is amazing thank you for posting black garlic recipes this is the recipe I can pass on to my customers who buy my black garlic powder thanks again
This was tasty and my husband actually ate it, no small feat given the tofu ingredient. I added carrots, broccoli and used scallions instead of chives. I was a little confused at the blender step because the ingredients in the amounts given did not form a “paste.” I boiled down the sauce and it was tasty nonetheless.
Sounds great. I adjusted the recipe, thanks Emily!!
Hi Sylvia,
Greetings from Maine. I made your black garlic tofu recipe last night. I paired it with your toasted farro with pear and, hazelnut dish. It was fantastic. I modified the recipes a little bit. For the oil in the tofu recipe I used a canola oil infused with star anise and orange peel. I heated 1/4 cup canola oil to 140 degrees. I put in 4 star anise and 4 half inch by 4 inch strips of orange peel. All the pith was removed from the peel. I removed from heat and let infuse for 20 minutes. Remove the anise and peel and used in the garlic recipe. For the farro recipe I substituted a Korean Giant Asian pear because I like how crunchy they are.
Sounds divine Terry! The addition of star anise and orange peel are brilliant. Love this so much… thanks for sharing. Keep it up… You inspire me!
Great work, i like your post very much..
My mouth is watering terribly…love those fermented black garlic!
So glad you posted this! I’ve picked up and put back down the black garlic at Trader Joe’s at least 10 times because I had no clue what to do with it! Looks delicious!
This looks AMAZING, and so easy to make! I’ll have to check out this black garlic at Trader Joe’s, hopefully they haven’t been picked clean!
Looks so delicious! I love everything about this dish!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
Totally gorgeous & pinned!
I just LOVE everything you post, and this is no exception! Your blog is so fun to read 🙂