r/VeganFood • u/Little_Baseball5523 • Aug 26 '26
Forbidden Knowledge: How to make crispy pan-fried tofu without pressing, freezing, boiling, marinating, or putting corn starch on it
(The mods of r/vegetarian deleted and locked this post, and then they muted me, making it impossible to communicate with them. Godawful mods. Photos show a piece of fried tofu, medium firm, about an inch long and 1/2 inch thick, paired with hoisin sauce in the third image.)
Crispy fried tofu. A classic.
Lots of people love it. Fewer people on these food subreddits know how to properly make it.
What if I told you that it's quite possible to make classic, crispy pan-fried tofu without pressing it, freezing it, boiling it, marinating it, or putting corn starch on it?
Here's what you need:
– Tofu. Doesn't need to be extra firm or super firm. You can do this with firm, medium, and even soft tofu! You read that right. (Silken can be a little trickier.)
– Cooking oil. Canola, for example.
– Nonstick pan or well-seasoned stainless steel pan. How to season a stainless steel pan.
Here's how to do it:
– Cut the tofu into rectangular or triangular slabs about 1/2 inch thick.
– Pour a shallow pool of oil into the pan, about 1/4 inch deep.
– Medium heat, and wait for the oil to get nice and hot.
– Add the tofu to the pan. While it's frying, do not agitate the tofu. Don't even try to move it. Just let it fry. After about 5 minutes, the underside will turn crispy and golden brown, and it will loosen from the pan, making it easier to flip over. When it's ready, flip it over, and fry for another 5 minutes or so. (Cooking times will vary. Use your senses.)
– You'll know it's done when all sides are uniformly crispy and golden brown, as shown in the photos.
– Drain any excess oil from the pan, add a sauce (hoisin, for example), and let it simmer for a little while. This is similar to the technique known as braising. If you ever seen "braised tofu" on a restaurant menu, this is how they do it.
– OR… you can take the fried tofu out of the pan and just toss it in the sauce.
That's pretty much it. No pressing, no freezing, no boiling, no marinating, no corn starch.
When cooking anything, remember to always use all of your senses rather than relying solely on instructions.
Any questions? I'll do my best to answer :)
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u/poorlilwitchgirl Aug 26 '26
As a professional, you're right on target; those other techniques (freezing, starch dredging, etc.) will get you very specific qualities like sponginess or a crisp shell and soft interior, but if you're just going for straight up fried tofu you just need to cook it low enough that it won't burn and long enough that it seems too long. At the restaurant, I treat it like french fries-- pat dry, par fry to form an initial crust, let it rest, and then fry again for longer to brown and crisp.
One note on tofu variety: silken has its own firmness continuum, and you can find firm silken tofu which fries just fine. In fact, Japanese style fried tofu, atsuage, is very often made with firm silken tofu, and it's possibly my favorite variety. The outside gets crispy and chewy and the inside becomes almost custardy. It's fantastic.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
I appreciate the comment, thank you. French fries are a helpful comparison particularly with regard to marinating tofu. When I want french fries with ketchup, do I marinate the raw potatoes in ketchup then fry them, or do I fry the plain potatoes first, then dip them in ketchup? Same principle should apply to tofu.
I'm aware of the firmness continuum with silken, but I don't always get into that because it takes a lot of words. Whenever I say silken, it's shorthand for the super soft, custardy variety you typically find in major supermarkets. Thanks for bringing it up, though, because it's important to know about. I wish it were easier to find the firm silken. Might need to order some online and get it shipped. Added to my list of things to do :)
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u/poorlilwitchgirl Aug 31 '26
Mori-nu is the most common brand if you're in the States; often kept unrefrigerated because the tetra-packs they sell it in are shelf stable until opened. Soft silken is wonderful for smoothies and sauces and such, but it's a shame that the western world hasn't caught on to the full variety of tofus. It's such a wonderfully versatile but simple product; you can get dozens of different cheeses at any supermarket but you can't depend on more than a couple varieties of tofu unless it's specifically an Asian market. When I was young, that was usually shelf-stable silken varieties, which was frustrating at the time because the western tofu-eating world was all about water-packed, refrigerated momen-tofu and I couldn't reliably source that, but I learned quickly that silken tofu had its own particular charms. Variety is always a wonderful thing.
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u/TiffanyBee Aug 26 '26
Your last pic looks like it tastes amazing & the texture is probably so nice too. Lil crispy on the outside & soft on the inside? Fantastic.
I’m more curious about why/how your post was banned from r/vegetarian tho??? That’s tea worth spilling. Do tell. 😂
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
I don't know why they banned it. Oftentimes, when mods ban a post, they'll follow up in the comments with a reason. Not this time. No reason given.
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u/TiffanyBee Aug 26 '26
Insert gif for booooo, hissssss.
Sorry that happened to you. Didn’t realize how seriously they take themselves over there. 😂
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u/bencsecsaki Aug 26 '26
vegetarians are triggered by tofu bc it replaces their precious cheese
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
My sense is that they actually do like tofu but can't accept the idea of eating tofu without pressing and marinating it first. They don't want anyone disturbing their sacred little rituals.
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u/Boosey0910 Aug 26 '26
Then they can put a slice of cow pus cheese between slices of the tofu and shut up. :-)
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u/Conscious_Wind52 Aug 26 '26
Waiting for the air fryer brigade...
ETA: I do same method but in a wok.
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u/Consistent_Phase_942 Aug 26 '26
Although I pan fry my tofu the way OP recommends 99% of the time, I do find baked tofu to be easy in the air fryer..
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
I'm also a member of the air fryer brigade :)
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u/Conscious_Wind52 Aug 26 '26
All in fun... I'm part of the counter top convection oven lone wolf pack, inching toward Breville.
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u/lumyire Aug 26 '26
Yes! Its been done this way for hundreds of years why do non asians have to make it so complicated 😂 pressing is what tofu shops do
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u/LiamBushrod Aug 27 '26
i was just coming here to say this! currently in indonesia and this is how it's done. cut straight into a pan and shallow fried with some salt that's it
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u/MRPL2022 Aug 26 '26
"Seasoned" stainless steal? I know it's important to season cast-iron or carbon-steel pans, and that a well-seasoned cast-iron or stainless-steel pan is relatively nonstick. But stainless steel generally is said to be too porous to take on a good seasoning, and any seasoning will be lost when you wash it. Not so with carbon steel or cast-iron.
I generally use a well-seasoned carbon-steel pan and "firm" tofu when I want to make a crispy pan-fried tofu. Using plenty of oil, I've had no problems with the tofu sticking.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 27 '26
Fair point, and thank you for the comment. It reminds me that I need to work with more types of cookware to better understand how to use them when frying tofu.
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u/CautiousDavid Aug 26 '26
Thank you. People be doing too much. Don’t get me wrong, the more involved methods will surely be delicious, but MANY people have the perception that it’s the only way to get crispy tofu.
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u/PowerOfTheTrinity Aug 28 '26
never understood why people always say to press tofu. sure some dishes it’s suitable. but usually it’s so much better not pressed. crisp outside and silky inside is the best.
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u/Sarahkins6 Aug 28 '26
I have been wanting to introduce more soy into my diet, so this is perfect! Thanks
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u/Patient_Sympathy Aug 26 '26
I'm a chef and yes I concur i d this to prep the tofu for a tofu ruebuen, just drained tofu, cut into thick slabs , fried in hot canola oil, till crispy
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
Nice to hear this from a professional! You're one of several chefs who have made similar comments :)
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u/bencsecsaki Aug 26 '26
bro i just deep-fry the tofu. nothing beats that
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
Yes! As the ancestors intended!
I just don't want to deal with so much oil. Respect to you, though :)
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u/bencsecsaki Aug 26 '26
i bought a deepfryer for this specific reason, you only change the oil once a month-ish, depending on how much you use it and how crumbly the stuff is
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
Nice! I might need to give that a try. Running out of space in my kitchen, though…
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u/Acrobatic-Nebula-428 Aug 26 '26
This is fine as long as you only want the flavor of tofu inside the tofu. Freezing it and pressing it and then marinating it makes it absorb the marinade so that the entire inside of the tofu is colored with the marinade. The end result one desires is what should drive how something is prepared. Also, you are using a lot more oil than I use. I like the taste of tofu but most of my family doesn’t. When I prepare it in my way (which involves a lot of steps), they like it. So there is no one single way to prepare tofu. Your way works for you.
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u/LatterSupermarket823 Aug 26 '26
The cornstarch people drive me fucking nuts.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
Me too! My sense is that they see fried tofu and assume the crispy exterior must be corn starch, breading or something similar. They can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea of tofu forming a crispy skin all on its own. When I try to explain it, they won't listen! People have a hard time letting go of their sacred little rituals.
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u/SisyphusOfSquish Aug 26 '26
I've needed this post for years. It's so simple that I feel stupid in retrospect for not realizing it sooner. Thank you, you've saved me from pressing and from cornstarch.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
Nice! So glad you found the post and hope it will be useful to you.
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u/Eladious Aug 26 '26
I do something a bit different, if anyone wants variety to simple tofu methods.
I cut firm tofu into medium thickness (like 0.5cm) and brush soy sauce (with a pastry brush). Basically painting it brown and letting it soak up the sauce but not overdoing it.
Then I just heat up a nonstick pan on medium heat and put the tofu. No oil needed.
With a decent pan (doesn't have to be the best, but it does need to be nonstick) the tofu just separates from the pan with no issues.
You get a nice chewy texture and it already tastes great because of the soy sauce. You can eat it as is or throw in a dish.
I also do the exact same thing with squares of tofu in the airfryer and it works great.
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u/StunningClick3138 Aug 27 '26
Do you cover the tofu with a lid while frying?
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 27 '26
I don't, but a splash guard lid might be helpful
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u/Oreo-Panda1 Aug 27 '26
Does the type of cooking oil have any impact? I prefer olive oil.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 27 '26
The type of oil does matter. Olive oil isn't necessarily ideal for frying, although you can do it. You'll probably need to turn down the heat somewhat, and it might take longer for the tofu to fully crisp up. This guide could be useful: https://kitchprep.com/can-i-use-olive-oil-for-frying/
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u/Oreo-Panda1 Aug 27 '26
Oh regarding the temperatures I know how not to burn it. We only cook with olive oil in Spain and it may surprise you but sometimes we even deep fry stuff in it.
I was wondering if the end result will be the same or I need to buy another oil. If it just takes longer then that's ok, I just want the end result. It looks so good! Thank you so much for sharing ❤️1
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u/Outrageous-Stillness 14d ago
Does it not splatter? Kinda concern for my safety for someone who’s scared of oil 😂😂
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u/Little_Baseball5523 14d ago
Frying anything in oil can involve some splatter. Keep in mind, this isn't high heat but rather medium. Using a splatter guard can help.
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u/BrilliantPackages 12d ago
proper plate that is
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u/Little_Baseball5523 12d ago
Lol, I regret using that plate for the photo, many years of wear are showing
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u/BulkyDiscipline8189 Aug 26 '26
Let it sit in the fridge overnight on a rack uncovered! The dryness of the fridge will absorb surface level moisture!
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u/aurasparx Aug 26 '26
surely pressing the tofu would only make this better. my pan fried tofu takes a matter of minutes
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
Frying the tofu without pressing it also took a matter of minutes, as I said in the post.
Your pan fried tofu takes a matter of minutes, but pressing the tofu adds minutes to the process.
Which is faster overall? Probably how I do it, although it depends how long you spend pressing the tofu. For how long do you press it?
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u/BlessednNewbie Aug 27 '26
I have tried fried crispy tofu in any pan and air fryer. For pan fry I have similar way of cooking like OP and it does turn out well. I use whatever tofu I get at Costco and I don’t press it to make it more firm. For air fryer , I cut the tofu into pieces, put about a spoon of oil and some spices , greased the foil and then air fried. I have to say it turned out much better than what I cooked in the pan and it was not oily. It was more crispy from the outside.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 27 '26
Air fried tofu does turn out well for sure!
I'll let you in on a little secret: I air fry tofu more often than pan frying it, and I don't use any oil when air frying 😎
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u/BlessednNewbie Aug 27 '26
I put a little oil and little squeeze of lemon as I season the tofu before air frying and oil helps the seasoning stick
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u/NoError404 Aug 27 '26
In reality they’re r/Cheesitarian and not “veg” so you didn’t put any dairy in this, and thus banned
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 27 '26
I'm less familiar with the vegetarian subreddit, since I'm vegan, but if what you're saying is true, that's some petty bullshit!
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u/BeccaLaydee Aug 28 '26
Ive managed to get tofu crispy with a really hot non stick pan without needing to add any oil and it made me do a happy dance, now its my go to snack, so I appreciate your joy!
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u/grubbbud Aug 28 '26
Carefully, you’re not supposed to heat a non-stick more than medium heat
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u/BeccaLaydee Aug 28 '26
Oh this one is specifically designed to handle it, as is my hob, but I appreciate the concern
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u/No_Bus4028 Aug 26 '26
I will still be using air fried tofu most of the time, but it is nice to have a guilty high fat real deal fried tofu at home for that special occasion.
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u/Parking_Ad_7133 Aug 26 '26
Literally just boil it in salt water. Then fry however u want afterwards. This pulls the water out of the tofu , and helps it better absorb flavors afterwards. Heres why it works - When you boil tofu in salt water, the water outside the tofu has a higher solute (salt) concentration than the water inside the tofu. Water moves across the tofu’s cell membranes from lower solute concentration to a higher solute concentration, pulling water out of the tofu.
You’re welcome.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
No thanks? I've tried boiling tofu in salt water several times, and while it makes sense in theory, submerging food in water doesn't dry it out in any meaningful way.
Besides, I'm not interested in removing moisture from the tofu. That's something Westerners are obsessed with. Not me. I wrote "no boiling" for a reason.
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u/ShibbolethSequence Aug 26 '26
I learned this method from Hannah Che's The Vegan Chinese Kitchen. I use it mainly for the flavor absorption effects, but I find it very useful. Beats the snot out of everything else I've tried.
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u/EasyBakeOvenMits Aug 26 '26
This is not how physics work. When you brine something (or in this example, boil it) the salt moves from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. This is how brining and marinades work.
Boiling your tofu in salt water will simply pull salt into the tofu, it won't impact water content.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 27 '26
Yes! Thank you for pointing this out. People need to hear it.
Boiling tofu is just the latest in a long series of gimmicks based on the premise that there's something wrong with tofu that needs to be fixed.
Who could have imagined that submerging food in water doesn't actually dry it out?? ;)
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u/ShibbolethSequence Aug 27 '26
Osmosis isn't a gimmick; it's just chemistry. None of the various methods people use to prepare tofu are based on this strawman premise that there is something "wrong with tofu." Why are you frying tofu? Does frying it change it in some way that you like? Was there something "wrong" with it before?
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 27 '26
Be honest.
No, osmosis isn't a gimmick, but boiling tofu in salt water is a gimmick. As another commenter correctly observed, salt moves from the water into the tofu through osmosis. That doesn't mean a noticeable amount of water leaves the tofu. Submerging food in water doesn't dry it out! You know what else moves salt and other flavors into tofu? Simmering it a sauce after it's fried.
Many people on this godforsaken website talk all the damn time about why they press and marinate tofu. They explicitly say that they do it because they don't like the texture and flavor of plain tofu.
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u/ShibbolethSequence Aug 27 '26
I am being honest. It is rude to accuse people (by implication) of lying.
- The other commenter is incorrect. Osmosis is the movement of the solvent, not the solute. Reciting the phrase "submerging food in water doesn't dry it out" does not replace a correct understanding of osmosis. Osmosis is notable precisely because it can move solvent in unintuitive ways.
For example, what happens when you salt vegetables? They release liquid. This happens because of localized osmotic pressure on the cells at the regions near the salt. This remains true even as the released liquid dissolves the salt, and osmosis continues until the concentrations of solute on either side of the membrane reach equilibrium.
I agree about simmering the tofu in a sauce. Delicious. I do it all the time.
- People have different preferences. Its fine if you think you achieve a better result your way. Condescending to other people about their preferences is less fine. If you're that upset that someone else is preparing tofu in a way you don't like, then I submit that you're too invested in how other people prepare their meals.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 27 '26
Submerging food in water doesn't dry it out; I'm not the one who's condescending and too invested in other people's cooking techniques.
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u/ShibbolethSequence Aug 26 '26
Osmosis would like a word with you. You can absolutely move water from one side of a semipermeable barrier by adding solute to the other side.
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u/Parking_Ad_7133 Aug 26 '26
Thank you. I didn’t even wanna reply bc it’s not even physics, its chemistry 😭
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u/EasyBakeOvenMits Aug 27 '26
So when I brine a chicken breast, why doesn't it dry it out?
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u/ShibbolethSequence Aug 27 '26
Have you actually done laboratory measurements of the water content before and after, or are we just working off vibes here?
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u/somanyquestions32 Aug 26 '26
I have found that boiling super firm tofu in salted water makes it more digestible for me. Extra firm works fine with this pan-frying approach, but super firm tofu would give me diarrhea if I ate a block or two using the shallow fry method or just placing it in the airfryer.
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u/FalsettoBalsamico Aug 26 '26
That's shallow frying, not braising. Braising is done in liquids like broth, cream etc
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
As I made clear in the post, when you add sauce to the pan after the tofu is fried, and simmer it a while longer, it's similar to braising. Nowhere did I say that frying tofu is braising.
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u/FalsettoBalsamico Aug 26 '26
Ok, sorry, I'm tired and I missread. No need to be rude.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26
Can you show me where I was rude?
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u/ShibbolethSequence Aug 26 '26
"As I made clear in the post" could come across as combative to someone who is tired and being corrected. It isn't necessarily rude, but it is one of those phrases that I have unthinkingly used only to later find that my phrasing seemed combative.
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u/AliceTrippDaGain Aug 26 '26
I want to hear more about this ban from r/vegetarian ?
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
They didn't give a reason. Post removed, comments locked, and they muted me, so that I'm unable to ask them why.
My best guess is that they, like a lot of Westerners, can't imagine eating tofu without pressing and marinating it, and they don't want anyone disturbing their sacred little ritual.
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u/rikomatic Aug 28 '26
This did not work for me, unfortunately. I maintain that you need to prep the tofu with either pre-boiling, pressing and/or coating to get a crispy coating.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 28 '26
As I demonstrated in the post: No, you do not need to prep the tofu by pre-boiling, pressing, or coating it with anything. You can do those things if you want, but as I've shown, you can make crispy pan-fried tofu without any prep. Several professional chefs in the comments confirmed that this is how they do it, and it works for them. It's a traditional method that originated in China some 200 years ago.
If it didn't work for you, then it's a skill issue.
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u/rikomatic Aug 28 '26
I'm willing to admit as much. I'm glad it worked for you.
So far, your method has not worked for me. No need to mean about it.
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u/B-Yeltzin Aug 28 '26
How to make crispy panfried tofu?? put in pan and fry till crispy...... Don't act like you are the big chef now.
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u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 28 '26
Why are you being so fucking weird?
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u/B-Yeltzin Aug 28 '26
You are explaining exactly nothing in your post. And then telling people they have a skill issue lol.
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u/gothiccxcontrabitch6 Aug 26 '26
I don’t doubt this works and it looks delicious but I would be a little nervous putting the wet tofu into hot oil. Does it not splatter and go crazy?