Air Fryer Crispy Tofu In Sweet Chili Sauce

This crispy tofu and sweet chili sauce is one of the easiest and delicious tofu recipes to make. Air frying the tofu is the healthiest way to prepare it, tofu cooks perfectly crunchy. Sweet chili sauce is also prepared from scratch using the Instant Pot with zero preservatives, and it is pure organic version, and taste so good than the store brought sauce. Crispy fried tofu with the drizzle of extra sweet chili sauce is the tastiest way you can eat tofu, so much better than take out! Serve this sweet chili crispy tofu as appetizer or as an entrée with a bed of rice and your favorite salad or vegetable side for an complete meal.

This recipe includes,

• Making the crispy tofu in the Air Fryer
• Making the sweet chili sauce in the Instant Pot
• Stepwise pictures of how to make Air fry the tofu and Instant pot sweet chili sauce
• Tips, serving and storing Instructions, and other variations
• Instructions to bake – pan fry – deep frying the tofu

Crispy tofu is my family’s favorite appetizer from the nearby Thai place, but they’re not consistent in their taste. In fact many other place I have had crispy tofu is also bland without any taste, and felt disappointed. After few tries of cooking the tofu in different ways, and trying out the sauce to my satisfaction, I think this recipe turned out exactly the way I wanted it. Perfectly crispy tofu with juicy homemade sweet chili sauce. It will surely be one of your go-to recipes once you have tasted this!

The sauce is naturally flavored and colored with fresh orange juice, orange zest, sweetened with sugar and spiced with chili flakes The combination gives the right balance in the sweet and spicy flavors. One special ingredients I used to make the sauce is shredded cabbage, the texture of the sauce with the cooked cabbage is exceptionally good, especially with the crispy tofu. You can skip the cabbage if you don’t want it.

What can I make with the prepared sweet chili sauce, other than crispy tofu?

The sauce tastes exactly like the panda express orange chicken sauce, too tasty and good with lot of dishes. It can be used in any recipe which calls for sweet chili sauce / Asian sweet chili sauce. Find some suggestions below,

• Orange Chicken / shrimp with sweet chili sauce
• Any meat can be tossed with the sauce
• Add as a salad dressing
• Use it as a dip for almost any Chinese / Thai appetizers, like spring rolls , dumplings , wontons, fried calamari , fresh summer rolls, etc.
• Serve as side with fried rice, noodles, or simply lick them off like my kids do, lol!

What can I make with crispy tofu other than making sweet chili tofu ?

Crispy tofu can be added on a salad, eat it as is ( it tastes delicious as we have added seasoning in the tofu coating). As  I have mentioned below in the notes section, make this same recipe in two different ways , make it as a dry appetizer with less sauce or add extra sauce / required amount of sauce and make it a semi gravy and serve it over rice. Perfect toddler / kids snack and it is healthy too. Crispy tofu can be mixed with other sauces you like.

Why it is important to remove the water completely from the store brought tofu?

When you buy tofu, it is soaked in a liquid and packed, make sure to completely drain the liquid. Remove the tofu from the cover and wrap the tofu with paper towels, gently press tofu and remove excess water. Repeat it with few more paper towels to remove all the water. If water is present, then it will take longer for the tofu to become crispy.

What type of tofu to buy and where to buy it?

Buy firm tofu or extra firm tofu to make this recipe. I used organic firm tofu from Costco ( House foods brand, its a 16 oz pack, and comes in 4 count – I used one full pack for this recipe). You can buy any brands tofu available in the market from Walmart, Safeway, Sam’s, Target, etc.

How to extend the shelf life of the refrigerated store brought tofu?

I freeze the individual pack fully in the freezer ( without opening the pack, and freeze with the liquid content). I typically freeze it for up to extra one month from the date of expiry. Bring the tofu to room temperature before using it (may take a while to thaw). If you don’t have time, then thaw it in the microwave (make sure to thaw for 30 minutes, then drain the water from the pack, remove the tofu and place it on the paper towel(s) and defrost only until it is slightly soft to press, and not hard in the center). Do not defrost too much , then tofu will start to loose its texture. Again use some more paper towels to gently press and remove excess water from tofu and cut into required shapes.

How to serve the sweet chili crispy tofu / serving suggestions?

• In this recipe I used freshly cut cabbage and carrots ( cut into long lengthwise thin strips) to garnish before serving. Fresh veggies gives a good crunch when eaten with tofu in sweet chili sauce. Layer the serving plate with shredded cabbage and carrots , then place the tofu mixed with sauce, then drizzle some extra sauce on the top and serve immediately. “Dish tastes best when served immediately”.
• You can also deep fry or air fry few fresh basil leaves to crispy and garnish on the top of the tofu before serving it.

How to store the prepared sweet chili sauce?

You can store the sauce in a clean air tight glass jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. I have not tried freezing it, so I don’t know, sorry!

How to store the crispy tofu?

If you plan to eat the cooked tofu in later days, store the tofu in the refrigerator for up to a week. Just make sure to store it in a air tight container or a zip lock, and keep the sauce separately. Note – you will not have the same crispy texture after refrigerating it.

How long will fried tofu mixed with sweet chili sauce be good in the fridge?

I do not recommend to mix the fried tofu with sauce and refrigerating it, it will become soggy and will not taste good. Instead separately store tofu and sauce, and mix when ready to serve.

Other Air Fryer recipes, I have listed few below, for the complete list of the recipe check the link here – Air Fryer Recipes

• Healthy Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix – Air Fryer
• Chipotle Veggie Burrito Bowl Air Fryer
• Best Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Looking for more Copycat / restaurant Inspired recipes ?  I have listed few below, for the entire list of recipes, check the link here – Copycat Recipes

• Panda Express Orange Chicken Recipe
• Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup Instant Pot
• PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Instant Pot Mango Bubble Tea
• Wow Bao’s – Spicy Kung Pao Chicken Bao – Instant Pot
• Chipotle Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice Instant Pot
• Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp

How can I make the tofu crispy without the Air Fryer? ( Please scroll down for the air fryer version)

You can make crispy tofu by baking the tofu, use a skillet to fry, or deep fry to golden brown color.

• Deep Fry – Fill a deep pan with enough oil . Heat over high heat until it reaches a temperature of 350 F. When the oil is hot, carefully add coated ( with mixture given below) tofu pieces into the oil. Fry stirring occasionally, until the tofu is golden on both sides. Remove the tofu and drain on a paper towel.
• Bake – Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut tofu into (1-inch) cubes and arrange them in a single layer on a large parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Lightly spray tofu all over with cooking spray and bake, flipping halfway through, until golden brown and just crisp, about 30 – 40 minutes total.
• Pan fry – Add enough oil for a depth of about 1/4″ in a skillet. When oil is hot, add tofu in a single layer. Don’t overcrowd the skillet and fry the tofu in batches. Once one side is golden brown, flip tofu and fry on other side, then remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

Step by step pictures of how to air fry the tofu in the Air Fryer, and how to make the sweet chili sauce using the Instant Pot

Ingredients for the tofu – Make sure to completely drain the water from the tofu, using paper towels, gently press the tofu and remove excess water ( if the tofu has water, it will take longer to air fry and to make it crispy) and then cut the tofu into equal bite size pieces ( rectangular /square shape) , corn starch, red chili powder, pepper powder, salt.

Ingredients required for making the sweet chili sauce – Fresh orange juice with no pulp ( or use store brought orange juice), red chili flakes, sugar, minced garlic, orange zest, shredded cabbage (cut into long lengthwise strips), corn starch.

In a bowl mix corn starch, chili powder, pepper powder and salt first, whisk well to combine. Add the cut tofu pieces and coat well with the mix.

Air fry the tofu

I used Gourmia 8 – Quart Air Fryer. Preheat air fryer to AIR FRY option to 400 F (once the pre heating is done, you’ll get a beep sound). Once the fryer is ready, spray oil inside the basket, add the coated tofu evenly in the air fryer basket, and cook the tofu for 12 minutes or until the tofu becomes just crispy and brown in color ( for even cooking and color – half way point, remove the basket and flip the tofu or give a quick shake to the basket and place it back for cooking). Note – time may vary from 10 to 15 minutes or more depending on the size and the moisture content in the tofu.

Making the sauce using the Instant Pot / Pressure cook

I used Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 8 Quart for pressure cooking. Place the inner pot into the Instant Pot. Add all the ingredients under making the sauce, EXCEPT corn starch , stir well.

Press the PRESSURE COOK mode on HIGH power, and SET CUSTOM time to “ONE” minute. SEAL the Pressure Valve ( this model IP automatically seals the vent). Switch off the KEEP WARM MODE ( light should not be on in the keep warm mode). Now press START. After the pressure cooking is done. Press CANCEL . Then do QPR (quick pressure release) by moving quick release switch from SEAL TO VENT to release any remaining pressure.

Sauté using Instant pot

After the steam is released, open the lid of the Instant Pot. add the corn starch , give it a quick stir without lumps.

Then press SAUTE mode on HIGH power. In CUSTOM settings, SET Timer for FIVE minutes. Now Press START, let the mixture come to a boil ( you’ll notice the sauce starts to bubble / froth up in the sides), and continue to boil for 30 seconds ONLY ( when it starts to boil, set external timer for one minute , don’t wait for the instant pot timer, sometimes sauté timer after pressure cooking doesn’t work). Press CANCEL, remove the inner pot from the instant pot to stop further cooking.

Combine the prepared sauce with fried tofu

Note – sauce quantity is given extra , add required sauce to fried tofu in what ever way you prefer to serve it. For the dry appetizer – mix fried tofu to the required sauce. In the serving plate, spread some freshly shredded carrots and cabbage (gives extra crunch to the dish), then arrange the tofu (mixed with sauce) and drizzle extra sauce on the tofu before serving. If you want fried tofu with some extra sauce ( to serve it with rice) – then mix the air fried tofu fully in the prepared sauce and serve. Note – serve the tofu immediately for best taste and for the crispy tofu texture.