This honey ginger tofu stir fry is a recipe I created when I had a craving for American-Chinese food. The stir fry is very simple and comes with a sauce made of sweet honey, nutty sesame oil, savory soy sauce, and tangy rice vinegar. The entire recipe take less than 20 minutes to make.
This honey ginger tofu stir fry takes me back to my childhood. When I was a little girl, I loved going to the Chinese buffet with my family. My brother and I would load our plates high with all kinds of goodness from the steam trays and hightail it back to our table to dig in.
My favorites were the sweet and tangy stir fries such as general tso chicken and sweet and sour tofu. Something about the gooey sauce I couldn’t get enough of and needed to douse my white rice with. I would always walk out with a belly full, a smile on my face, and wondering “when will we be back again?”.
Nowadays I make my own stir fries because stir fries are so easy to make. Rarely do they take more than 20 minutes to put together and the result is always delicious, such as this colorful honey ginger tofu stir fry.
Table of contents
Ingredients Needed
- Aromatics: Minced garlic and ginger are used as the aromatics of the stir fry. They add a little heat and a pungent and sweet element.
- Vegetables: A mix of green beans and a bell pepper are used in combination with the tofu to give the stir fry a little crunch and some color.
- Tofu: Firm or extra firm tofu are the two types you can use in this stir fry because they are compressed and hard. The medium and silken types are too soft and would most likely fall apart during the cooking process.
- Stir fry sauce: For the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and nutty, I am using a combination of honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha sauce, and sesame oil.
- Rice: Cooked white or brown rice to serve the stir fry with.
Other Vegetables To Use
If you cannot find green beans or a bell pepper, or simply don’t like one or the other, feel free to use other veggies for this stir fry. While you can technically use any vegetable you like, I recommend sticking to these ones as they have similar texture and cooking time:
- Veggies: Broccoli, celery, cabbage, snow peas, sugar snap peas, carrot, water chestnuts, and onion.
How To Make Honey Ginger Tofu Stir Fry
Scroll all the way down to the recipe card for the full recipe.
- Prep and slice the tofu.
- Mix the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
- Heat up a wok or skillet and stir fry the vegetables for a few minutes and toss in the garlic and ginger.
- Add the tofu and the sauce and stir fry until the sauce thickens and becomes gooey.
- Serve with rice.
Expert Cooking Tip
Fast and hot for a successful stir fry: What makes a stir fry delicious is not only in the flavor of the sauce but in the texture of the vegetables. A good stir fry has vegetables that have begun to soften but still yield a nice crunch. In order to achieve the right texture: 1. make sure that the wok or skillet you are using is very hot when the vegetables are added. 2. Only cook the vegetables for a brief amount of time so they don’t soften too much.
Storage And Reheating
How to store: Store the leftover stir fry in an airtight storage container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. This stir fry cannot be frozen as the texture of the tofu and vegetables will deteriorate and get mushy (vegetables) and spongy (tofu).
How to reheat: Microwave on medium for 2 to 3 minutes, until hot. Or, put the stir fry in a skillet and reheat on medium heat for a couple of minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, the recipe isn’t vegan because it contains honey. If you’d like to make it vegan, simply substitute granulated sugar in place of the honey. Because honey tastes sweeter than sugar, use 2½ to 3 tablespoons of sugar to yield the same sweetness you get from 2 tablespoons of honey.
No, this dish isn’t gluten-free because it contains soy sauce. To make it gluten-free, use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari.
Packaged tofu will have a sell by date stamped on the packaging. I usually use that date as a general guideline for when to use by. If the tofu you are using has been opened already, it should last 3 to 5 days, refrigerated and submerged in water.
What To Serve With This Tofu Stir Fry
This stir fried tofu can be paired with other Asian influenced dishes, especially ones with American Chinese flavors. To turn dinner into a Chinese buffet style feast, here are some easy recipes that will complement this stir fry beautifully:
- Chinese green beans with oyster sauce
- Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce
- Vegetable egg rolls
- Vegetable wonton soup
- Egg fried rice
- Chicken chow mein
- Chinese tomato egg stir fry
Other tofu recipes you might like to try: Agedashi tofu, honey sriracha tofu, vegan mapo tofu, baked breaded tofu chicken, air fryer tofu with teriyaki sauce, Southwestern style baked tofu steaks, kimchi jjigae, mapo curry tofu, hiyayakko, shiraae, tofu burger patties, tofu katsu.
Plus: 29 tofu recipes that will make you rethink meat and 10 easy chicken stir fry recipes.
Did you like this recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
Print
Honey Ginger Tofu Stir Fry
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3-4 1x
- Category: Stir fry
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A sweet, savory and spicy tofu stir fry ready in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Stir Fry Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 thumb size ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 cup green beans, ends trimmed, sliced in half
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 block firm tofu
- Cooked white rice for serving
Stir Fry Sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2–3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water
Instructions
- Prep the tofu: Wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel and let sit for 10 minutes to drain. Cut it into bite size cubes and set aside.
- Make the sauce: Mix all the ingredients for the stir fry sauce and set aside.
- Cook the vegetables: In a large pan over medium high heat, add the oil, green beans and red bell peppers. Cook for 3-4 minute, or until vegetables are tender but still yielding a crunch.
- Add the aromatics: Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute, until garlic becomes fragrant.
- Finish the dish: Add the tofu and sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the tofu is hot and the sauce has thickened.
- Serve: Transfer to a bowl and serve with rice.
Notes
Store leftovers of this honey ginger tofu stir fry in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 183
- Sugar: 11.1g
- Sodium: 286mg
- Fat: 8.5g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 17.4g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 10.2g
- Cholesterol: 3.5mg
It was delicious. Very simple and taste. Thank you! 🙂
I think there should be ginger instead of garlic in the sentence “thumb size garlic” in the recipe 🙂
Haha good eye Nick! Thanks for pointing it out 😉