Orange Tofu (Vegan Orange Chicken)
This orange tofu recipe is a vegan, healthier, and easier adaptation of the popular Orange Chicken in Panda. Crispy air fried tofu paired perfectly with the iconic sweet and sour orange chicken sauce.
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer (Or you can use an oven instead)
- 1 Wok/Cooking Pan
Ingredients
- 16 oz extra firm tofu (1 block of tofu)
- avocado/olive oil spray (or you can dip and brush the oil over tofu)
Orange sauce
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil (or coconut oil)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cornstarch water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Food Makeups
- 1 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Seeds (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Orange skin zest (optional)
Instructions
- Wipe the tofu block with some kitchen towel so that the surface is dry (* See Note 1 if you're going to bake the tofu pieces with an oven).
- Pull apart the tofu block into chicken-nugget size.
- Add tofu pieces to the air fryer. Leave some space around each piece of tofu. Spray or brush oil over the tofu pieces.
- Air fry at 400°F for 10 minutes. Take out the basket to flip each piece of tofu. Air fry at 400°F for 8 more minutes (*See Note 2 if you're going to bake the tofu pieces with an oven).
- Add all the ingredients (see ingredient section above) for the orange sauce to a bowl, stir to mix.
- In a separate bowl, add 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 2 tbsps of cold water and mix well.
- In a large frying pan or a wok, add the orange sauce and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low, add the cornstarch water mixture, stir until the orange sauce gets thickened. Turn off heat.
- Add air fried tofu pieces to the wok, stir until all tofu pieces are coated with the sauce.
- Sprinkle 1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds and 1 tsp of orange zest as “food makeups”.
- Serve over rice.
Video
Notes
- Since extra firm tofu doesn't contain too much water, and the air fry will further dry out the tofu, so that we do not need to press the tofu to release the water. Press something heavy on top of the tofu for 30 minutes to squeeze the water out if you're using firm tofu (instead of extra firm tofu) or oven (instead of air fryer).
- If you're going to bake the tofu pieces with an oven: Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the tofu pieces, toss to combine. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of cornstarch over the tofu, and toss until the cornstarch is evenly coated. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes, flipping the tofu pieces at 15 minutes.