Orange You Glad I Made Crispy Tofu?

Submitted by zeldaz51

"Vegan version of Chinese Orange Chicken by Chloe Coscarelli. Her title, not mine, but why should anyone rename it? Try to use an organic orange for the peel, no worries about pesticides on the surface. This is great with a side of steamed broccoli."

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) package extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup orange juice
• peel from 1/4 orange, cut into 1/4-inch strips (no white pith)
• 2 tablespoons Agave
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
• canola oil (for frying)
• 1⁄4 cup cornstarch or 1/4 cup arrowroot
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups cooked rice, for serving

directions

1. In a small bowl, mix orange juice through coriander. Set aside.
2. Fill a large, heavy-bottomed skillet with 1/2 inch of oil, heat over medium-high heat. While oil is heating, whisk together the cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. Dredge the tofu in the cornstarch mixture by tossing a few cubes at a time in the bowl and removing them onto a plate. Be sure to shake off extra cornstarch before frying.
3. The oil is hot enough when bubbles form around the handle of a wooden spoon inserted in the oil.Carefully place tofu in the oil and let fry until the bottom is golden and crisp *(don't fiddle with it too much). Flip tofu using a spatula or tongs and fry until the other side is golden and crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat (you could carefully pour out the used oil and wipe out the one used to fry the tofu) and add fried tofu and orange mixture. Let cook until the sauce bubbles down to a thick syrupy sauce. Turn off heat and mix in cilantro. Serve over rice.

Reviews

[giani23]

A really superlative vegan main dish. I will be using the method of dredging in cornstarch and frying in a lot of recipes. It worked perfectly as the chicken substitution in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!