Today we will cook a delicious vegetarian snack called Air-Fryer Roasted Tofu.
When you have an air fryer, what food do you want to cook with it? Food made with air fryers tends to be healthier than fried foods because it doesn’t require a lot of oil. Also, you do not need to stand over the cooker. You do not have the messy spatter and danger of cooking with hot oil. Of course anything has its drawbacks. Using an air fryer to cook will probably take longer. Because it works on a thermal cycle, where food is roasted by hot air, the food rests on the bottom of the air fryer container. So you have to turn over the food halfway through cooking or you will get a “half-finished product”: the top is crispy, the bottom is not.
Cooking time is longer with an air-fryer, but you do not have to wait for the oil to heat, or cool afterward, and the clean-up is simpler. We are all willing to try healthier foods. You can use the air-fryer to cook any food that is not enclosed, such as eggs in the shell. Why? Enclosed foods like eggs may explode during cooking. Now let’s make a healthy vegetarian recipe for roasting spicy tofu in an air fryer, and if you’re interested, please try Air-Fryer Roasted Tofu with me.
Air-Fryer Roasted Tofu
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 1 heat proof mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 400 g Tofu (14 oz)
- 1 green onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp Chinese chili powder (5 ml)
- 1½ tsp oyster sauce (8 ml)
- 1 tsp light soy sauce (5 ml)
- ¼ tsp salt (2 ml)
- 2 tbsp caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil) (30 ml) substitute peanut or soybean oil
Instructions
Preparation:
- Peel and wash the garlic and green onion.
- Finely chop the garlic and green onion.1 green onion, 5 cloves garlic
- Cut the tofu into 1 cm slices (about 3/8 inch), like thick crackers.400 g Tofu
Make the sauce:
- Place the garlic and green onion in a heat-proof bowl. (Reserve some of the green onion for garnish in the final step.) Add the chili powder.1 green onion, 1 tsp Chinese chili powder, 5 cloves garlic
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-low heat to 120°-140° C (248°-284° F). Pour the hot oil into the bowl containing the garlic, green onion, and chili powder. Then add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, and stir well to combine.1½ tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil), ¼ tsp salt
Roast the tofu:
- Line the bottom of the air fryer with aluminum foil. Put the tofu in the air fryer and spread half of the sauce evenly over the tofu. Set the time and temperature: 200° C (390° F) for 12 minutes.
- After 12 minutes, turn the tofu over and spread the remaining sauce on top, then set the time and temperature again: 200° C (390° F) for 12 minutes.
- Sprinkle with some green onions and finish.
Notes
- For best results, use firm tofu.
- If you have an oven, you can save the time of the tofu flip baking because the oven can bake both sides at the same time.
- For best flavor, use roasted rapeseed oil (caiziyou) and Chinese ground chili powder from the Mala Market. The typical chili powder sold in Western groceries uses mild Mexican chili peppers, along with sand and other fillers and the flavor profile is quite different. You can grind your own dried Chinese chili peppers, after roasting them, if you prefer, but it is more work.
Nutrition
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