Introducing vegan no sugar sweet and sour tofu that is happily refined sugar free and healthy. There is no food coloring or any gluten for this recipe. This vegan sweet and sour sauce is purely simple and easily made in minutes. It can be used for veggie kabobs, veggie sticks, vegan chicken nuggets, fries, and more. Best to serve this with a bed of rice, green onions and sesame seeds on top.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Ingredients for the no sugar sweet & sour sauce
- Ketchup
- Pineapple juice
- White vinegar
- Coco aminos
- Coconut sugar
- Salt
- Corn starch
- Dash of pepper
- Garlic powder
Tips to make this vegan sweet and sour tofu
The trick to making this vegan sweet and sour sauce is to balance out the components of the sugar and the vinegar. To decrease the vinegars sourness is to let it cook in the pot to boil for 5 minutes. To increase the sourness of the sauce is to add the vinegar after mixing all the other components of the sauce and mix for a minute.
Preparing the Tofu
Before cooking the tofu, it is always important to press the tofu or drain the water out of it as much as possible. This will dehydrate the tofu and make the texture of the tofu impeccable, because it provides a chewy texture like “chicken”.
How to make crispy tofu
If you have the time, press the tofu for 30 minutes, an hour, or a few hours. After, freeze it for about an hour or overnight (the better) for it to drain more water out of the tofu. Freezing the tofu creates crystallization in the tofu, making it firmer. Many vegans do this, so try it at least once!
Coating the tofu with flour helps keep the inside of the tofu soft and fluffy. Cooking the tofu without coating it with flour will still be good but the inside will be firm and stretchy. Therefore, when warming up the left overs, the tofu will be rubbery. The cause of this is because the oil effects the texture of the tofu, making it hard to bite.
For this vegan sweet and sour tofu recipe, I used gluten free flour to coat the tofu with some seasonings. While having the tofu coated with flour, it will take time to cook into a golden brown color. The Korean Vegan used potato starch for the coating of her tofu. I didn’t have that in hand so I used gluten free flour with seasonings. Other people use cornstarch as well because they are able to withstand high cooking temperatures.
Other tofu recipes for you!
Healthy Vegan Filipino Tofu Afritada
What not to do
Do not add the tofu & sweet and sour sauce together. if you are not planning to eat it right away. This will prevent any sogginess of the tofu. Make sure to have separate containers for each one. The vegetables stayed in the sauce as well.
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On to the Sweet and Sour Tofu Recipe
Sweet and Sour Tofu
Equipment
- Pan non-stick for tofu
- sauce pot small ot medium sized for sauce
- cutting board
- measuring cups and spoons
- spatula
- knife
- whisk
- 2 small bowls
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup Pineapple juice + 2 tbsp
- 1/2 cup White vinegar + 1 tablespoon
- 1/4 cup Coconut aminos
- 1/4 cup Coconut sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp. water
Vegetables
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1/2 white onion
For the Tofu
- 14 oz. extra firm tofu equivalent to 1 block
- 1/4 cup Gluten free flour
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp. oil I used vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp. plant milk I used oat milk
To serve
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 2 tbsp. Green onions
- 1 tsp Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Crucial step, press the tofu and drain the water by using a dry towel to wrap around the tofu. Use a heavy flat object to place on top. ( see notes in how to texturize tofu)
- Wash the vegetables and cut into cubed shapes.
- In a sauce pot, add all of the sauce ingredients except the cornstarch and water. in a small cup( I used a measuring cup) mix the cornstarch and water together before adding it to the pot. On low to medium heat, mix thoroughly with a whisk. Leave the sauce for about a few minutes until it bubbles or boils. Stir every 1 minute or so, so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
- Cut the tofu into cubed sizes. In a small bowl mix the flour and spices. In another bowl add the plant milk of your choice. Dip the tofu into the milk, next into the flour, and fry them afterwards with the 4 tbsp. of oil. In a non stick pan cook until golden brown. Make sure to gently lay the tofu on the pan of oil. (add more oil if needed)
- Once the tofu is done set them aside or cook them with the veggies. In the same pan fry the onions and bellpepers for 5 to 8 minutes on medium high. Stir continuously. Add the tofu(if you haven't already) and sauce once the bell peppers are cooked to your liking.
Notes
- If you want the tofu to be more texturized, press the tofu with a towel for an hour with a heavy object on top. Freeze it over night and throw the excess water. Let it thaw or microwave it. It is optional to cut it before or after.
Nutrition
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I want your feedback for this vegan sweet and sour tofu recipe 🙂
Comments are down below.
Looks awesome! I love the tofu method and the spices you used to coat it. I have been looking for a good sweet and sour tofu sauce recipe and cannot wait to try this one. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I love the coating cause it leaves the tofu inside soft and the outside is crunchy. Feel free to deep fry it would be faster! 🙂
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