You know you’re onto something when your husband tells you your tofu’s got great mouthfeel.
At least two things make this tofu experience a happy one —
First off, the texture; the cubes are lightly coated in an olive oil/cornstarch mixture and then baked to crispness before being finished in the orange glaze. The cornstarch, which is used sparingly, is really just meant to texturize the tofu (that mouthfeel thing) without being thick or gloopy – yuck! And you won’t taste the cornstarch, you’re just aware that your tofu is suddenly way more interesting than you ever thought it could be.
And second, the orange glaze… oh my. A piquant gingery reduction that — be warned — you’ll want to dunk all your food into! (and maybe drizzle over your yogurt and ice cream). Reminiscent of Szechuan-style orange sauce, this is one you can make in the comfort of home and fine-tune to your preferences.
If you’re into orange sauces and have been wanting to give tofu a shot, this one’s for you! I hope you love it.
- For the Tofu:
- 1 block (about 14 oz) extra-firm tofu
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 rounded Tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- a few cracks black pepper to taste
For the Orange Ginger Glaze:- 1+1/2 cups orange juice (fresh squeezed or otherwise)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar (or granulated sugar of choice)
- 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp tamari sauce (or soy or liquid aminos)
- 1 Tbsp ish grated fresh ginger (peel ginger first with veg peeler, then grate)
- 1 round tsp chili garlic sauce, or to taste (or skip if you prefer no heat)
- Topping suggestions: sesame seeds, green onion, orange zest, etc.
- Preheat oven to 400F
- In a small bowl, combine: cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper and set aside.
- Drain tofu and slice block into bite sized cubes (about ¾"-1" thick).
- Place cubes between two dish towels and press down gently to release excess moisture.
- Place tofu cubes in a large resealable bag -- drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cornstarch mixture, seal the bag and toss gently to coat (you could also do this in a bowl but I find the bag method works best).
- Lay coated tofu cubes on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure there is space between them, and cook in oven for 15-20 minutes or longer (until tofu begins to sizzle and acquires some color) - remove from oven, flip tofu and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes to finish. The tofu will have texturized (some crispness) and some color (though not brown, see photo).
- While the tofu is cooking, prepare glaze.
- In a small/medium sized saucepan, heat orange juice, tamari (or sub), sugar, ginger and chili garlic sauce if using. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until the sauce has reduced to about ½ cup, stirring as you go along (the sauce will darken and thicken as it turns into a sticky glaze). Be careful not to let it go too long (when it's bubbling, it may look like there's more volume than what's actually left, so be sure to check in on it continuously).
- Place cooked tofu in skillet with glaze (or use a roomier skillet and transfer glaze over top), and mix to combine over low-medium heat as necessary to warm through.
- Divide orange glazed tofu between two plates and top, as desired, with sesame seeds/green onion, orange zest, etc. and accompany with sides of choice (served here with wild mushroom couscous and broccoli).
PS it wouldn’t let me give you five stars I don’t know why it’s worth five stars! Well this time it did let me do five stars.. .. well here it is five stars!!!
Hi Sharon! Thank you so much for dropping in with the sunshine. Your notes brought me the biggest smile. So glad you enjoyed this recipe — full sticky goodness :) and I also appreciate you popping back in to leave 5 stars. Very kind of you. Have a lovely day ♡
this just in… love when readers share photos! ✨
https://imgur.com/3AkYiAB
I can tell just from looking at the pics and the recipe that this would definitely go over well. I’m intrigued about the texture and loving the sticky orange sauce!
the texture is worth the extra step – just a little bit of cornstarch goes a long way to giving the tofu some much needed body and really makes a difference even under the glaze – the sticky orange sauce is to die for! really yum, if you like that kind of thing; I hope you enjoy; thanks Eva!
I am not sure I can cook tofu and preserve our marriage, but… this orange glaze! I am looking at some blood oranges in the fridge and dreaming of using the juice in this…
but I must say, the tofu dish looks amazing….. really does
Lol! The orange glaze is a killer and buddies up nice with lotsa things :)) I know you’ll find the right match;d btw, your blood oranges sound divine! I recently used up the last of our mandarins for the glaze – took about 25 of those little guys to amount to 1.5 cups but it was such a unique & yum flavor, worth it.
Perfect timing!!! I was just starting to think about meals for next week and was wondering what I could do with the block of tofu in the refrigerator. YAY! Now I know. I’m not sure what to say about this dish except that I love everything about it. :) I always lightly sprinkle tofu with cornstarch, but then fry it. Love that you bake it. There is a Costco bag of Cara Cara oranges in the fridge, so the orange sauce is just perfect and sounds awesome. Even Bobby is going to love this dish. Thanks so much for sharing Kelly! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
oh, I hope you love it MJ! Cara Cara is one of my favorite orange varieties…. so interesting, I’ve made this glaze many times and it turns out slightly differently each time depending on the variety used (I’ve also used store bought oj) – curious to hear about your experience; enjoy!
DELICIOUS! Bobby and I both loved it and he isn’t a big tofu person. We liked the texture of the baked over the fried tofu. The sauce is amazing! We’ll be making this again and again. I’ll send a picture via email. Thanks for another staple to our recipes.
Oh, Yay!! I’m so happy to see your note this morning MJ; delighted that you both enjoyed and that the method worked for you. Isn’t the sauce somethin’? :) Thanks so much for dropping in to let us know!
I just finished eating the sticky orange glazed tofu. Delicious! Thank you so much for such an easy recipe to follow. And a little wiggle room here and there. Awesome dish, again thank you