Firecracker tofu is our vegan adaptation of the famous Firecracker chicken you may have had at Wagamama or your local Chinese restaurant. If you enjoy spicy food, you are going to love this!
The core of this recipe is the firecracker sauce — a fiery sweet and spicy dip. We'll show you how to make it from scratch below, using only simple ingredients and no sugar or preservatives. You could also buy this ready-made in the Asian section of your local grocery, but we think you can do better yourself.
As we don't know what level of spiciness you can tolerate, we'll give you the option to prepare the sauce in four different levels of hotness. Read how to do this in the tips at the bottom of the recipe.
To turn the classic firecracker chicken vegan, we made two major changes. The first is swapping chicken with tofu. If you are on a plant-based diet but are intolerant to soy, you could use seitan or our vegan jackfruit nuggets. The second change is to use maple syrup instead of honey to make our sweet and spicy sauce. If you don't consider yourself a strict vegan, you can stick with honey instead.
As well as being darn tasty, this recipe is also quite forgiving on your waistline. A generous handful of spicy tofu bites will only net you 200 kcal but a solid 28% RDI of proteins.
So how do you eat firecracker tofu? We had half on their own and half with rice. Matching it with sticky white rice is a smart idea. It's quick and easy to make, and it helps to tone down this fiery dish. If, instead, you want to enjoy the tofu bites in all their glorious spiciness, pair them with a veggie or noodle stir-fry.
If you're in the mood for more spicy recipes with tofu, you'll love this fiery Thai cashew tofu stir fry and chilli tofu with caramelised honey glaze!
Ingredients
| Sauce | |
| Red Bird's Eye Chillies | 6 |
| Garlic Cloves | 2 |
| Fresh Ginger Root | 20 g |
| Paprika | 1 tsp |
| Dried Chilli Flakes | 2 tsp |
| Maple Syrup | 2 tbsp |
| Rice Vinegar | 2 tbsp |
| Water | 2 tbsp |
| Gluten-Free Soy Sauce | 2 tbsp |
| Sesame Oil | 1 tbsp |
| Starch (corn, potato, or arrowroot) | 1 tsp |
| Others | |
| Firm Tofu | 400 g |
| Starch (corn, potato, or arrowroot) | 50 g |
Step 1
Remove the tofu block from its packaging and rinse it well under cold water.
Then, place it between two chopping boards lined with kitchen paper and press it down to remove excess water.
Dice it into bite-sized cubes and set them aside to dry.
Step 2
Add the red chillies to a food processor, followed by garlic, peeled ginger root, paprika, dried chilli flakes, and a pinch of salt.
Then, tip in the maple syrup, rice vinegar, water, soy sauce, sesame oil, and starch (1).
Blitz all the ingredients, scraping down the edges between pulses until you have a smooth sauce (2).
Step 3
Transfer the sauce into a pot and heat it over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
As soon as the mixture starts to bubble, whisk it vigorously for a minute until it looks thickened.
Then, remove the pot from the heat and let the sauce cool down a bit.
Step 4
Next, prepare two bowls, one with sifted starch and one with the firecracker sauce.
Roll each tofu bite first the starch and then dip it in the sauce until it's well coated (1).
Arrange the glazed tofu cubes onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper (2).
Step 5
Finally, bake the tofu for 15 minutes at 200°C (390°F) in static mode or at 180°C (355°F) in fan mode.
Serve these spicy bites on a bed of sticky rice, chopped spring onions, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Tips
You can replace each garlic clove with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder; and 10g of fresh ginger root with 1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder.
Using 6 bird's eye chillies will make the firecracker sauce very, very spicy. So, you can use 3 chillies for mild hotness, 4 chillies for medium, 5 chillies for hot, and 6 for very hot. If you aren't sure, start with fewer chillies, taste the sauce, and then increase as necessary.