Stir-Fried Tofu With Ginger

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Published Jan. 21, 2023

Stir-Fried Tofu With Ginger
Bobbi Lin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Eugene Jho.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(1,071)
Comments
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Tofu and ginger share equal billing in this easy, economical weeknight stir-fry. The ginger is sliced into fine slivers and added towards the end of cooking so that it retains a fresh, slightly raw bite, while also adding texture to the dish. The bouncy and juicy texture of the tofu is achieved by lightly dusting the tofu with cornstarch which absorbs excess moisture, helps the tofu stay intact and ensures that the sauce clings to every surface. To make sure that your tofu doesn’t stick to the pan use a very well-seasoned wok or cast-iron pan and heat it well, until you can see smoke rising from the surface of the pan. (Or use a non-stick pan, and there’s no need to heat until smoking.) If you do find a lot of the tofu stuck to the pan after Step 3, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to deglaze it before adding the ginger, scallions and sauce. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

    For the Tofu

    • 2(14-ounce) packages extra firm tofu, drained
    • 4tablespoons soy sauce
    • 2tablespoons cornstarch
    • ½teaspoon five spice powder
    • ¼teaspoon white or black pepper
    • Neutral oil (such as canola or sunflower)
    • 1bunch scallions (about 8 stems), trimmed, white and green parts separated and cut into 2-inch segments
    • 3-inch piece ginger (about 3 ounces), peeled and finely julienned (½ packed cup julienned ginger)
    • Toasted white sesame seeds, to serve
    • Rice, to serve

    For the Sauce

    • 2tablespoons light soy sauce
    • 2tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
    • 2teaspoons chile oil or crisp
    • ½teaspoon granulated sugar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

707 calories; 60 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 31 grams monounsaturated fat; 22 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 37 grams protein; 1168 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the tofu. Using clean hands, crumble the tofu into roughly 1- to 1 ½-inch chunks. There will also be smaller pieces and that is fine. Add the tofu to a large bowl and add the soy sauce, cornstarch, five-spice powder and pepper. Toss to coat. (This is easiest done with clean hands.) Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes. (You can also leave it to marinate overnight in the fridge.)

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a small bowl, prepare the stir-fry sauce by combining the light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, chile oil and sugar.

  3. Step 3

    Heat a wok or large well-seasoned or non-stick skillet over medium high. When hot, add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil, along with the white parts of the scallions and the marinated tofu. Stir fry for 4 to 5 minutes until the tofu starts to brown and the white parts of the scallions are soft.

  4. Step 4

    Add the ginger, green parts of the scallions and the stir-fry sauce and stir for 1 minute until fragrant and the green scallions are just tender.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer to a plate, top with sesame seeds and serve with rice.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,071 user ratings
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Comments

daisy foote

See Kenji Lopez for crispy tofu. Pour boiling water over tofu blocks first — really works even though it seems counter intuitive!!!

pat

Thank you! This was delicious and so easy. In lieu of sherry or wine, I used mirin and then skipped the sugar.

Soundmind

There are non-alc sherrys out there but unless the issue is leaving an open bottle in the house, the alcohol all evaporates in the cooking process. Frankly, to sub for Shaoxing wine I would use a sweeter sherry based on my fave Shaoxing wine. It's body and caramel sweetness would be almost apple juice with a touch of salt if I tried crazy open mind subbing...

Samantha

We liked this a lot. Next time, though: double the sauce and scallions. Maybe up the ginger, too. And adding a good squeeze of lime juice at the end took it to the next level. Thinking about adding some chopped peanuts for crunch, too. Served with ramen noodles - happy with that choice!

Mary

Pretty dry to serve with rice and the ginger was still pretty raw tasting and overpowering.

SK

I had high hopes about this one and was excited about the flavors but had the same problem others mentioned: mushy tofu, gloppy with cornstarch. Then soy sauce mix caramelized into glue. I still ate it mixed into rice - everything mushed together, and I was hungry. It was ok (hard to mess up ginger, scallions, soy) but not pleasing. I might try again using a different method of crisping tofu and only adding the soy in the very last seconds with heat off. Or maybe I’ll move on to other stir fries. Life is short!

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