I would like to start by saying I was not interested in this recipe when I heard about it, but my sister insisted I try it, and I'm so glad we did! Be ready for some Air Fryer Magic!
Air Fryer Sweet Chili Tofu
Ingredients:
- 1 package Extra Firm Tofu
- ½ Cup corn starch
- Optional - 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 Tablespoons sesame oil, divided
- ¼ Cup Sweet Chili Sauce
- ¼ Cup soy sauce (can be substituted to make the recipe gluten free)
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon ginger
- Toasted sesame seeds (optional, but recommended)
Instructions:
1. Press tofu to remove excess water. If you don't have a Tofu press (I know I don't) place a few paper towels on a plate, place the drained tofu on the paper towels, place something flat on top of the tofu (I used a cutting board) and then place something that weighs a pound or two on top to press the water out of the tofu. This will take about 30-60 minutes depending on how patient you are. You will notice a pool of water on your plate, so dump that out before moving on to the next step. If you plan on serving this over rice, start the rice now.
2. Dice up the tofu. The smaller the chunks, the more crispy they will get.
3. Preheat air fryer to 370ºF
4. Place the ½ cup corn starch in a gallon zip lock bag and add the tofu. Shake to coat the tofu in corn starch. This is where you'll add pepper if that's your thing.
5. Put coated tofu in the air fryer basket and sprinkle with sesame seed oil.
6. Cook for 6 minutes, then shake and add another sprinkle of sesame oil and cook for another 6-8 minutes (the picture below is uncooked, I just forgot to take a picture halfway through when I did the shake and sprinkle).
7. In a large pot, combine ¼ cup sweet chili sauce, ¼ cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and heat over medium-low until simmering. Then remove from heat.
8. Add tofu to the sauce and stir to coat.
9. Serve as desired, my sister recommended serving over rice with sautéed baby bok choy and broccoli, which is what I did, but honestly, when you taste this you may just want a bowl by itself!
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