Vegan Mongolian Tofu Recipe

This easy vegan Mongolian tofu recipe is a delicious dish often served at Chinese-American restaurants. It's quick, tasty, and a family favorite. 

My family loves a good tofu recipe. Tofu gets a bad rap, but really, it's quite versatile. You can have a gross tofu recipe as you can have a gross chicken recipe. Not all recipes are delicious. But this one is! This may make you a fan of tofu.

Check out these other tofu dishes like Korean BBQ Tofu or this Vegan Garlic Tofu.

Things I love about this recipe...

• Makes a simple dinner
• Takes only 30 minutes to make.
• Tastes delicious.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Tofu

• Block extra firm tofu, drained and pressed to remove the excess water.
• Corn starch- helps with getting the tofu coated and crispy texture.
• Garlic powder-Onion powder- Black Pepper- this combo helps bring a chicken-like flavor to the tofu.
• Olive oil or vegetable oil- whichever oil you prefer to use.

Sauce

• Cloves garlic minced- fresh garlic works best in this sauce.
• Ginger, powder- You can use fresh ginger if you prefer; it's just something I never have on hand.
• Sesame oil- brings the flavor to this sauce. If you don't have it, you can use regular oil, but it won't have quite the same flavor.
• Soy sauce- I prefer using light soy sauce, or you can use tamari to make it gluten-free.  Full-strength soy sauce could make for a salty sauce. 
• Brown sugar- The brown sugar adds a nice flavor complexity, but if you would rather, you could use pure maple syrup.
• Red chili flakes- you can adjust the amount if you want it spicy; add more red pepper flakes. 
• Corn starch plus 1 TB cold water- this is for thickening the sauce.

Rice

• Cooked rice of choice

Optional for garnish;

• small green onions
• sesame seeds

Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient and quantity information.

Variations

• If tofu isn't really your thing, you could use a different meat substitute, whether it's vegan chicken nuggets or soy curls; use the same sauce to make this, and it will taste good as well.
• You can make this Mongolian tofu stir fry if you'd prefer and add things like green beans, spring onion, shiitake mushrooms, red, green, or yellow bell pepper, or whatever you like in a Chinese-style stirfry.

How to make Vegan Mongolian tofu

Step 1- Start by using a tofu press; if you don't have a tofu press, you can use the heavy books or a heavy object method.

Step 2- Take a medium pyrex liquid measuring cup and add all your sauce ingredients except the cornstarch. Whisk this until well mixed.

Step 3- Take a small cup and combine your 1 TB cornstarch and 1 TB cold water; mix with a fork or clean finger until dissolved, and it's turned into a cornstarch slurry, then add to the sauce and stir; set the sauce aside.

Step 4- Cut your pressed block of tofu into your choice of cubes or tofu pieces, place them in a bowl or bag, and toss them carefully with the cornstarch until evenly coated.

Step 5- Add the oil to a large skillet on medium heat. Then add the pieces of tofu, sprinkle the pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder onto the tofu, and stir. Let this cook, stirring as needed, until you get crispy tofu; this takes about 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the tofu pieces.

Step 6- Then add the soy sauce mixture; this thickens up quickly, so stir it for only about 2-3 minutes while it's thickening, then remove it from heat. Serve on a bed of rice. 

Expert Tips and Tricks

• You could also double the sauce and serve this with brown rice noodles.
• If you don't have a tofu press, do the heavy object or book method- To do this, wrap the tofu in layers of paper towels, place the tofu on a plate on a plate on top, and put some heavy objects on it. This will help to remove the water from the tofu; let this sit for about 10 minutes while you prep your sauce.

Recipe FAQS

Check out these other easy vegan recipes for dinner...

If you loved this recipe, then give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment! I love to chat with you all. Please feel free to share on social media and tag #courtneyshomestead. I would love to see you over on Instagram or Facebook. 

Vegan Mongolian Tofu

This easy vegan Mongolian tofu is a family favorite. It's a quick, delicious meal for a busy night.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: All Recipes

Cuisine: Asian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 -4 servings

Calories: 277kcal

Author: Courtney Hunter

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 block extra firm tofu drained and pressed
• ▢ 3 TB cornstarch
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1 TB oil

Sauce

• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ginger powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ▢ ⅓ cup soy sauce
• ▢ Water up to the ½ cup line after pouring the soy sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
• ▢ ⅛-1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes ⅛ for less spice
• ▢ 1 TB cornstarch plus 1 TB cold water

Rice

• ▢ Cooked rice of choice

Instructions

• Start by using a tofu press or heavy books and paper towels to try and remove the water from the tofu; let this sit for about 10 minutes while you prep your sauce.
• Take a medium pyrex liquid measuring cup and add all your sauce ingredients but the cornstarch. Whisk this until well mixed, then take a small cup and combine your 1 TB cornstarch and 1 TB cold water, mix with a fork or clean finger until dissolved, then add to the sauce and stir; set the sauce aside.
• Take your pressed tofu and cut it into your choice of tofu cubes, place them in a bowl or bag and toss carefully with the cornstarch until evenly coated.
• Take a skillet on medium heat, add the oil, then the coated tofu, sprinkle the pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder onto the tofu, and stir. Let this cook covered for about 5 minutes, stir, heat covered another 5 minutes, stir, then cook covered, stirring every few minutes until it's as crispy as you want. Then add the sauce; this thickens up quickly, so stir, only about a minute or two while it's thickening.
• Serve over rice.

Notes

Storing- This is best stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat it in the microwave.

Freezing- I've never frozen this, but I think it would work fine. I would let it come to room temperature before placing it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.To reheat it, I would do a drizzle of oil and reheat it on the stove for the best flavor.

Expert Tips and Tricks-

• You could also double the sauce and serve this with brown rice noodles.
• If you don't have a tofu press, do the heavy object or book method- To do this, wrap the tofu in layers of paper towels, place the tofu on a plate on a plate on top, and put some heavy objects on it. This will help to remove the water from the tofu; let this sit for about 10 minutes while you prep your sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 1167mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g

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