Crispy baked tofu tossed with a 2-ingredient sweet, sticky, and spicy chili sauce!

This is a brand new recipe that’s part of our Spring 2023 SOS Series – in other words, EASY recipes! View our full collection of SOS recipes here.

In This Post

Lindsay’s Notes

Holy spicy crispiness! This chili crunch tofu is chompy, sticky-sweet, and delicious. Two main steps for this guy:

• Bake the tofu.
• Sauce the tofu.

The end! Happy day! You’re eating spicy, crispy, rockstar-level tofu with very little effort or thought into the whole thing which is what the SOS series is all about.

You can prep the tofu however you like, but I highly recommend the cornstarch method for baking (my favorite method as outlined in our tofu post), which is what’s written into the recipe here. It never fails to be miraculously crispy, golden, and the perfect canvas for your favorite sauce.

Speaking of sauce, this one couldn’t be easier.

• Yum Yum sauce
• Chili crisp
• Honey (optional)

And that’s it. If you like to go BIG big on flavor, you can also grate a clove of raw garlic into the sauce for something extra kicky. The chili crisp I use (Momofuku brand (affiliate link)) has a bit of garlicky-ness to it so I usually am fine leaving it at that, but we love flavor. WE INVITE FLAVOR. Add to your heart’s content.

I love making this chili crunch tofu for a quick high-protein weeknight dinner and the leftovers work beautifully for a repeat lunch with a second coating of sauce. And we make this recipe a whole family affair by just saucing the tofu for the girls with the plain Yum Yum sauce, which is creamy and sweet and mild and, of course, they love it.

Chili crunch tofu for prez!

RELATED: Why is tofu so great?! It’s so great! These peanut-saucy tofu bowls are one of my other go-to tofu recipes!

Chili Crunch Tofu Video

Print

Description

Crispy baked tofu tossed with a 2-ingredient sweet, sticky, and spicy chili sauce!

Chili Crunch Tofu:

Try This Next Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes with Parmesan Orzo Recipe

Extras:

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Prepping the Tofu: Cut tofu in half so you have two even, flat pieces. Press the moisture out of the tofu, using paper towels or a towel. (The more water you remove, the faster it will crisp up in the oven, but I usually don’t spend more than 5-10 minutes here.) Cut tofu into cubes and transfer to a bowl. Add cornstarch, soy sauce, and olive oil. Toss gently to coat. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, but just try to generally get all the pieces semi-covered.
3. Bake the Tofu: Transfer to the baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice, to get the tofu evenly browned and crispy.
4. Make the Sauce: Mix Yum Yum sauce and chili crisp in a small bowl.
5. Mix Tofu and Sauce: When the tofu is done, toss it with several tablespoons of sauce, reserving sauce for topping.
6. Serve: Serve with rice, on a salad, noodles, whatever you like. Dollop with extra sauce if you want, and top with green onions. OOO-eee this is good!

Notes

How to Make Cauliflower Garlic Rice: This is totally optional – just something I enjoy with this tofu if I can handle one extra sheet pan in the mix. On a separate sheet pan, add a bag of cauliflower rice. Drizzle with oil and season generously with salt. Add to the oven at the same time as the tofu; roast until very browned and flavorful, about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add about 2 cups cooked rice directly to the pan, along with 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and a squeeze of lemon. Toss to combine, return to the oven for a minute to warm it all up, and you’re done!

Nutrition: The nutrition info below is only for the tofu and does not include rice.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: Asian-Inspired

Keywords: baked tofu, spicy tofu, tofu bowl

What Do You Serve with This Chili Crunch Tofu?

I usually serve it on pre-cooked rice (SOS) or, if I have a teeny bit of extra time, I’ll make cauliflower garlic rice, which is what you see in the pictures here.

To make it: you’re just roasting store-bought cauliflower rice until it’s golden and yummy, and then tossing it with precooked brown rice and a bit of garlic powder and salt (The recipe is also outlined in the notes section of the recipe card above.)

That said, you can serve this tofu with anything – a salad, a bowl of veg, or in a wrap! It would be great in lettuce cups for lettuce wraps as well.

How Do You Make This Tofu Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free?

It should be naturally dairy-free, and to make it gluten-free, just use tamari or coconut aminos! But check the labels on your specific brand of Yum Yum sauce and your chili crisp just to make sure the rest is also gluten-free and dairy-free.

What Can I Sub For Yum Yum Sauce?

I buy Yum Yum sauce (affiliate link) at Amazon, Target, Cub, Kowalski’s… lots of different grocery stores carry it! At Target, it is shelved both in the refrigerated produce / dressing section and the global or international foods section, by the teriyaki sauce and soy sauce.

But if you can’t find it or just don’t want to run out to the store – you have a few options:

Yum Yum sauce tastes like a sweet mayo with a barely-there tomato flavor. I think you can build a great sauce just using regular mayo and adding a bit of extra salt and sugar and maybe a squeeze of ketchup.

More Incredible Tofu Recipes

Source link

Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes with Parmesan Orzo Recipe

Shrimp laced with buttery garlic and thyme and a burst tomato sauce served on a creamy Parmesan orzo.

Juicy, succulent shrimp laced with garlic, butter, and thyme, tucked into a silky burst tomato sauce, and piled high on creamy, luscious Parmesan orzo. WHAT A DREAMBOAT DINNER. I love this recipe!

---

In This Post:

---

How To Make This Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes (with Pictures)

Step 1: Blister and Smash the Tomatoes

Get the tomatoes hot and blistery; then give ’em a gentle smash with the back of a spoon or a small plate. It’s… very fun.

Step 2: Cook the Shrimp

Make a little clearing right in the center of the tomatoes where you can add your shrimp to cook for a couple of minutes. Salt it up!

Step 3: Get the Garlic and Butter Going In There

Throw in a bunch of freshly sliced garlic and a knob of butter. Stir it up a few times until it’s dreamy.

Step 4: Make a Creamy Orzo

Put a lid on the shrimp and make a quick creamy orzo – butter, Parmesan, cream, lemon, and salt.

Step 5: Put It All Together

Piping hot orzo goes on the plate first, and then we pull our shrimp and tomatoes back out to pile on top.

---

Lindsay’s Notes

This recipe is in heavy rotation at the moment – and it never fails to make me feel like I’m eating at a fancy restaurant and/or generally have my life together. Is my laundry all over my table? Yes. Have I been using dry shampoo for the last 4 days? Yes. But am I also eating a kind of fancy and beautiful dinner? YES! Three cheers for doable “fancy” recipes. 10/10 recommend.

Creamy orzo with the twang of Parmesan, sweet burst tomatoes gently bubbled into a sauce, and a pile of jumbo, delicate, buttery, garlic-laced shrimp. Pass me a glass of wine and I am living my best life.

As far as family approval goes, Bjork and I love the whole big, beautiful thing – no thyme for him (a true crime and I don’t want to spend any more time talking about it), and lots of thyme, salt, and pepp for me. The girls are hit and miss with the shrimp and tomatoes, but you better believe they love the creamy Parmesan orzo which is, of course, just mac and cheese in disguise. They’ll usually eat a few of the fresh little tomatoes on the side, too. Winning for everybody!

---

Print

Description

Shrimp laced with buttery garlic and thyme and a burst tomato sauce served on a creamy Parmesan orzo.

---

Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes:

Creamy Orzo:

Popular Recipe Thai Chicken Drumsticks (Baked)

---

1. Cook the Orzo: Cook according to package directions. Drain, toss with a bit of oil, and set aside.
2. Soften the Tomatoes: Add the tomatoes and olive oil to a pan over medium high heat so they can soften and get a bit blistered on the outside. I usually cover the pan to avoid extra splatters.
3. Smash the Tomatoes: Once they’re soft (5 minutes or so), give them a gentle smash with the back of a spoon or applying even pressure with a plate or similar flat object. You want the tomatoes to be partially burst / smashed so they release some juices.
4. Cook the Shrimp: Make a little clearing in the center of the tomatoes and add your shrimp right in; season them with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
5. Give it Some Flava-Flave: Add the garlic, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan and stir to mix it all together. Let it get saucy and bubbly; then remove from heat and cover with a lid.
6. Make the orzo: Mix the orzo with butter, half and half, Parmesan, and lemon. Stir to combine; warm it up over the heat if necessary.
7. Pile it up: Serve immediately so the orzo doesn’t get too starchy and sticky! Pile it on a plate with a big scoop of steamy shrimp and tomatoes. Top with thyme. So good!

Notes

This amount usually makes enough for just Bjork and I to finish the shrimp, with plenty of orzo for us and the girls. If you wanted to serve 4 adults, I would use 2 pounds of shrimp!

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Saute
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: shrimp and orzo, orzo recipe, shrimp and tomatoes

Recipe Card powered by

Frequently Asked Questions For Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes

What can I use instead of shrimp?

Chicken would be delicious! I would probably pan-fry the chicken first, then take it out and set aside while you build your tomato sauce, then add the chicken back in at the end.

How long do the leftovers last?

You can definitely eat this meal as leftovers for 1, maybe 2 days after you make it, but it’s one of those meals that really shines when it’s made fresh.

Can you make this vegetarian / meatless?

Use zucchini in place of the shrimp! Or, similarly, this recipe is great.

How do you make this gluten-free and/or dairy-free?

Use gluten free orzo, dairy-free butter (or olive oil), and something else creamy in place of the half and half and Parmesan – a knob of dairy-free cream cheese would be good!

Another option would be to skip the creamy orzo and serve this with quinoa or another gluten-free, dairy-free option.

My Favorite Shrimp Recipes

Source link