Honey Cashew Tofu
Feb 26, 2019
Crispy Tofu tossed in a sweet (& little spicy) sauce! This Honey Cashew Tofu will be your new favorite way to enjoy tofu!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Crispy Tofu tossed in a super flavorful sweet sauce with bell peppers and toasted cashews.
This Asian style Honey Cashew Tofu will be your new favorite way to eat tofu!
If you have been around here a bit, you know we are not big on tofu. I am still okay with it but Sarvesh cannot stand it. If I just give him a tofu scramble to eat, he will not eat it.
But if I toss the tofu in a spicy masala like in this tofu tikka masala or in a sweet and spicy sauce like in this Honey Cashew Tofu, then he wouldn’t mind eating it.
I mean it won’t still be his favorite but he would eat tofu and that’s enough for me to say that this recipe is a success. So if you have someone like my husband who hates tofu, then do give this recipe a try.
On the other hand, if you love tofu then this will become your new favorite tofu dish. It’s so good!
It has these crispy tofu pieces tossed in a sweet honey based sauce with some crunchy cashews. Mmmm, I can’t have enough!
This Honey Cashew Tofu
✓ is a great way to enjoy tofu
✓ makes a great weeknight meal
✓ goes well with rice or noodles
✓ also great for meal prep!
Okay the best part about this dish is obviously the sauce. It’s sweet and little spicy.
I added lot of things to the sauce to make a version I like. You can change it as per your preference. So if you like spicy flavors, add more of the sriracha or red chili flakes.
I wanted this sauce to be on the sweeter side so I didn’t add much of the chili sauce. I suggest you taste test the sauce before adding it to the pan.
That way, you can make changes before mixing it with the tofu and completing the dish.
Can you make this honey cashew tofu vegan? Well, you can by substituting honey with a vegan sweetener like maple syrup or brown sugar. But honestly, I wouldn’t swap honey if I didn’t really have to!
The name of the dish is “honey cashew” so honey is really important here. It’s the flavor of the honey which makes this sauce so good! But having said that, if you are a vegan and want to make dish, please replace honey what maple or agave.
How to Make Crispy Tofu?
To make crispy tofu, make sure you use extra-firm tofu.
Then remember to press the tofu with some heavy object for 15 to 20 mins to get rid of excess moisture.
I also pat dry the tofu with a paper towel before cutting into cubes.
The final step is to coat the extra-firm tofu with cornstarch and then pan-fry it.
As the dish cools down, the tofu in this dish will no longer remain crispy. So, I highly suggest you serve this immediately.
Serving suggestions for honey cashew tofu? I love it with brown rice! Other options include hakka noodles or white rice.
If you are not a tofu pan, you can even try paneer in this recipe. I bet Sarvesh will love it so much more if I made this with paneer!
Method
Before you start, press the tofu with a heavy object for 15 to 20 minutes to get rid of excess moisture. Then dry it completely with a paper towel and then cut into cubes. If tofu has moisture in it, it will not crisp up well.
1- First make the sauce. In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the sauce – soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sweet chili sauce, tomato ketchup, sriracha, toasted sesame oil and 2 tablespoons water. Set aside.
2- In a large bowl, toss tofu with 3 tablespoons cornstarch, black pepper and salt until all pieces are coated.
3- Heat 2.5 tablespoons of oil to a pan on medium heat. Arrange tofu piece in single layer on the pan.
4- Cook the tofu for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Repeat with remaining tofu. Remove fried tofu on a plate lined with paper towel.
5- To the same pan now add the bell peppers, cook them for around 2 minutes, you want them crunchy.
6- Remove on a plate along with tofu on a plate lined with paper towel.
7- To the same pan now add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, add garlic, ginger and white part of green onion. Cook for 1 minute until ginger and garlic start changing color.
8- Stir in the prepared sauce along with the remaining 2 tablespoons water and let it come to a boil.
9- In a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and add the cornstarch slurry to the pan. Make sure to give it a quick stir before adding to the pan as cornstarch settles down at the bottom when left unattended.
10- Stir the sauce, it will begin to thick immediately.
11- Add in the tofu and peppers along with 1/4 cup cashews.
12- Toss to combine the tofu, cashews and peppers with the sauce. Turn off the heat.
Garnish with spring onion greens. You may also garnish with sesame seeds.
Serve Honey Cashew Tofu with brown rice or noodles of choice!
If you’ve tried this Honey Cashew Tofu Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Honey Cashew Tofu
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce 22 ml
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 15 ml
- 2 tablespoons honey 30 ml
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce 30 ml
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup 30 ml
- 2 teaspoons sriracha 10 ml, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 5 ml
- 6 tablespoons water divided
Honey Cashew Tofu
- 12 oz extra-firm tofu cubed, around 2.5 cups cubed tofu
- 3 tablespoons +2 teaspoons cornstarch divided
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4+ 1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2.5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon oil divided, I used avocado oil
- 2 medium bell peppers diced, I used mix of green and red peppers
- 5-6 large garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger finely chopped
- 5 stalks green onion chopped, white and green parts separated
- 1/4 cup cashews toasted
Instructions
- Before you start, press the tofu with a heavy object for 15 to 20 minutes to get rid of excess moisture. Then dry it completely with a paper towel and then cut into cubes. If tofu has moisture in it, it will not crisp up well.
- First make the sauce. In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the sauce - soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sweet chili sauce, tomato ketchup, sriracha, toasted sesame oil and 2 tablespoons water. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss tofu with 3 tablespoons cornstarch, black pepper and salt until all pieces are coated.
- Heat 2.5 tablespoons of oil to a pan on medium heat. Arrange tofu piece in single layer on the pan.
- Cook the tofu for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Repeat with remaining tofu. Remove fried tofu on a plate lined with paper towel.
- To the same pan now add the bell peppers, cook them for around 2 minutes, you want them crunchy. Remove on a plate along with tofu on a plate lined with paper towel.
- To the same pan now add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, add garlic, ginger and white part of green onion. Cook for 1 minute until ginger and garlic start changing color.
- Stir in the prepared sauce along with the remaining 2 tablespoons water and let it come to a boil.
- In a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and add the cornstarch slurry to the pan. Make sure to give it a quick stir before adding to the pan as cornstarch settles down at the bottom when left unattended.
- Stir the sauce, it will begin to thick immediately.
- Add in the tofu and peppers along with 1/4 cup cashews. Toss to combine the tofu, cashews and peppers with the sauce. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with spring onion greens. You may also garnish with sesame seeds.Serve Honey Cashew Tofu with brown rice or noodles of choice!
Notes
- This honey cashew tofu tastes best when served immediately. The tofu loses it's crispiness as it cools down so for best taste, serve it immediately.
- For a spicier sauce, add more of the hot sauce (like sriracha) or red chili flakes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This honey casher nut tofu was amazing!
As good as anything from afancy restaurant!
glad you liked it!
My daughter and I love this recipe so much it’s on our meal plan every 3 weeks!
Absolutely delicious! Thank you 😊
Thanks for the great recipe. The sauce was delicious!
love this recipe!
My husband’s favourite flavours are sweet and spicy so this was a big hit!!!
Delicious!! Made it for the first time today and I will definitely make it over and over again! Thankyou for the amazing recipe❤️
welcome! 🙂
Hi manali!
My tofu starts breaking up while cooking. Help!
hmm not sure what’s wrong. Did you use extra-firm tofu and press it with heavy object for 15-20 minutes. Take sure you dry it with a paper towel afterwards and then cut into cubes.
Made few variations according to what was available in my pantry. But still it turned out so good. Thanks Manali. This recipe is a keeper. I skipped sesame oil, substituted apple cider vinegar for rice vinegar, brown sugar for honey, all purpose flour for corn starch and it did work! I also added broccoli and mixed cooked flat noodles in the end.
awesome that it worked with all the substitutions too! 🙂
If I don’t want to use Corn Starch – will this recipe still come out good ? Is there an alternative to corn starch ? Thanks.
well you have to use something to thicken up the sauce..so if it’s not cornstarch then use some other thickener like potato starch or arrowroot.