I won’t lie. I am sucker for a good fried tofu. In a comforting Japanese agedashi, as the star of Korean crispy tofu appetizers. Even tossed into other dishes to add crunch, bounce, and nourishment in one fell swoop. And in my case, with the craving for Chi’ Town comfort, the joy of recreating a piece of a Chicago hits hard. After all, food is as much for the soul as it is for the body!

Recipe below!

Craving Fried Tofu but no deep fryer?

So here’s a quick how to! And no it doesn’t need a whole deep fryer to make. I will show how to make both traditional fried tofu as well as via an air fryer. While the latter admittedly is not a copy cat to Rice ‘N Bread, it is nice to have options! To make without a deep fryer, thankfully all one needs is a small pot and enough neutral oil to cover the intended fried food.

Coating Ratio

Like most things, this is a pretty forgiving coating. Add in any flavors one wants, ex. Ottolenghi’s book Flavor, whose ratio inspired me to share this, uses ground cardamom, while I personally enjoy ground garlic to add savory notes for general use.

1:1 in grams flour to cornstarch

1/10th in grams of salt related to flour or cornstarch

1:2 in grams salt to seasoning (if using)

Below I’ll cover a sample amount that I think is great for 1 block of tofu that I will use to make the Rice ‘N Bread fried tofu.

Rice ‘N Bread Copy Cat Fried Tofu Recipe

Ingredients

For Tofu

  • 50g/6 tbsp AP flour
  • 50g/7 tbsp cornstarch
  • 5g/1 tsp salt
  • ~10g/2 tsp powdered seasonings
  • Neutral oil for frying

To assemble

  • 6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • Soy sauce (light or regular, not dark)
  • Sesame seeds, optional
  • Green onions, sliced, optional

Steps

  1. Ahead of time: Press tofu for at least an hour (excess liquid removal allows for maximum coating absorption).
  2. Cut tofu into ~2cm or 1″ cubes.
  3. Mix coating together. Toss until tofu is evenly coated
  4. Heat oil to 400F/180C in small pot. Prep a plate with at least a double layer of paper towels to absorb excess oil post frying.
  5. Toss tofu again! This ensures maximum coating for crunchy tofu.
  6. Fry in small batches for 4 minutes, flipping halfway through.
  7. When done put on paper towels.
  8. For copy cat dish, fry garlic slices while waiting for tofu to cool.
  9. To assemble put on clean plate, drizzle small amount of soy sauce onto plate and top with other assembly ingredients!

Notes

  1. If air frying instead, wait 5 minutes after coating once to recoat (optional to add 15mL/1 tbsp neutral oil into coating to prevent drying out) air fry at 400F/180C for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Stay Hungry
XOXO
Mish ❤

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