Orange Chicken Style Tofu
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound extra firm tofu, drained and pressed, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
hot cooked rice, to serve
1. Saute tofu in 2 tablespoons oil until browned. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, saute garlic and green onions in remaining 1 tablespoon oil until garlic is golden.
2. Add water, orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium.
3. In a small cup or dish, mix together cornstarch and water until thoroughly blended. Pour cornstarch mixture into sauce, stirring constantly.
4. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until sauce thickens to your liking. Remove from heat and combine with tofu until completely coated. Serve over rice.
Use more or less cornstarch mixture depending on how thick you like your sauce. You can also add ginger if you like that flavor. Or orange peel or orange juice concentrate for more orange flavor. Enjoy!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
thanks for your replies guys!! :D I'm going to try the coconut oil and give the ACV a shot. I know I'll make it again trying the other things anyway, but wanted an opinion on my ideas anyway :)
Hmm as for the agave and maple syrup I am not sure what route I'll take yet. Maybe I'll do like two tbsp brown sugar and two tbsp agave or syrup...
The only reason I'd really like to sub that is because I've been eating wayyy too much sugar lately, and me and sugar have a really bad history... of me being seriously addicted to it haha, so I'm trying to cut back on my sugar intake.
and shelloid, I was thinking I'd probably replace all the water with OJ too, but it depends how far one orange gets me 'cause that's all I have :) hope it's ample!
Hi Tweedle - I can't help you with the oil question as I have never ever cooked with coconut oil so don't know what it's like.
I have used various different types of vinegar in this recipe - white vinegar, brown vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and they've all turned out great. My palate probably well refined as I couldn't really taste the difference, but maybe you would be able to.
As for other sweeteners - not for this specific recipe but for others along the same lines I have used sugar or golden syrup or agave and all have been good.
And I would definitely recommend using more orange juice than is called for in this recipe. In fact when I make this recipe I don't use the water at all and replace the whole lot with orange juice. Yum!!
Let us know how it turns out - and the subs that you use!
ha JC beat me to it!!
I believe there are some reviews in here saying that maple syrup & agave do not work well in the sauce. I have only used brown sugar, and it works great. I could down on the amount a little, though that's just personal preference.
I meant that I CUT down on the amount a little. Oops!
I'm going to make this tonight-- hopefully I will get a response before then, but I want an opinion on whether or not you guys think coconut oil could work instead of olive oil?
I think coconut oil would taste good in this dish!
I was also considering using apple cider vinegar in this, instead of white. I do have sesame oil and rice wine vinegar, which I know would work well in a recipe like this, but I was aiming more to step outside the box and try something a little different
Apple cider vinegar would work okay, but I would use rice wine instead. I think that suits an Asian flavor better, but I'm sure both would be fine!
If I would happen to use maple syrup or agave in place of the brown sugar, could this pose a problem for the thickening of the sauce, or should it thicken up just as nicely using a liquid sugar like that?
I believe there are some reviews in here saying that maple syrup & agave do not work well in the sauce. I have only used brown sugar, and it works great. I could down on the amount a little, though that's just personal preference.
I'm going to make this tonight-- hopefully I will get a response before then, but I want an opinion on whether or not you guys think coconut oil could work instead of olive oil?
I was also considering using apple cider vinegar in this, instead of white. I do have sesame oil and rice wine vinegar, which I know would work well in a recipe like this, but I was aiming more to step outside the box and try something a little different Smiley
If I would happen to use maple syrup or agave in place of the brown sugar, could this pose a problem for the thickening of the sauce, or should it thicken up just as nicely using a liquid sugar like that?
I am going to juice an orange with my juicer and use all the juice from that instead of just a tablespoon. I might even add some pineapple chunks!!
I'd love to use tamari or something in place of soy sauce but I don't have any, and don't feel like spending money. I've been reading over the reviews and reading through the recipe all week trying to conjure up some cute little tweeks and mods for it, because it's not usually my style to not make a recipe somewhat my own. Anyway this recipe sounds like you could do a ton of cool things to it so I can't wait to start experimenting!!! I will let you all know how it goes, and if anyone would be so kind to tell me if they think the coconut oil would work, please do-- the only experience I have with coconut oil is raw un-cooking so I don't know how well it transfers to recipes like these??
This was delicious! I altered the recipe slightly: I doubled the sauce but halved the sugar like one poster suggested, and I didn't have cornstarch so I used strong bread flour instead and doubled the amount, it thickened up just fine. Lastly, I added veggies (baby corn, sugar snap peas, and mushrooms) and served it over rice. Also, I froze the tofu first and I have to say it makes a HUGE difference. I used white wine vinegar.. My boyfriend liked it too hank you
i have been a vegetarian for about a week now, and being a teen in a family of 6, it is hard to find easy quick DELICIOUS nonetheless vegetarian meals, and this was exactly what i was looking for. i love tofu, but i can't get the tofu to absorb any seasoning, the outside tastes good, but the inside is bland, and i was wondering if anyone could tell me how to change that?
Try using seitan! That's what I did. You just have to go to a healthfood store and buy Vital Wheat Gluten and then prepare the seitan yourself. This way you can have flavor all throughout the seitan. I can't stand the blandness of tofu. Go to everydaydish.tv for some good seitan recipes
I did mine very differently. First, I skipped the water and added that amount of orange juice, second, I sauteed the garlic with some ginger, then added the tofu/seitan... after the tofu/sietan was golden, I added the sauce ingredients and cooked that until all the sugar dissolved, and added the green onion last. Made it much quicker and I only had one pan to clean up!
we followed everyone's advice and doubled the sauce, and added more OJ. SO SO SO VERY GOOD! definitely a keeper! thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks!!!
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