Hi friends! I have been thinking about this recipe for a while and been trying to perfect this little orange sauce. Orange chicken used to be my faaaave order at Panda Express (+chow mein, +teriyaki chicken to make it a full meal duh). But I haven’t eaten chicken in about 9 years, and I haven’t been to Panda in probably 4. So here is my attempt to re-create that delish orange sauce and slather it on crispy tofu!
My favorite tofu trick to make it nice and crispy is to bake it before you pan-fry it. I cut the tofu into little bite-size cubes and spread them out on a baking tray. Bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. This is the perfect way to get all the moisture out so they stay crispy.
Once they come out of the oven, I heat up coconut oil in a non-stick pan and cook the little cubes in just coconut oil for about 5 minutes to start the crisping process.
Meanwhile, I’ve got my orange sauce cooking! I used the juice from 2 huge oranges (probably about 1/2 a cup) and starting reducing that on the stovetop on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Add in 3-4 minced garlic cloves, ginger, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, black pepper and keep on reducing. The OJ should start to get a little sticky and thicker. To make it thicker, you can make a cornstarch or flour ‘slurry’ by mixing 1 Tbsp of either with 1/4 cup cold water in a separate bowl. Mix well and then add to the OJ sauce and stir in well. Once reduced fully, maybe 15 minutes, start spooning some of it onto the tofu. I added about half the sauce.
Let the tofu cubes sit without touching for a few minutes, then start flipping them so all sides get crispy and browned. This doesn’t take long! After they are all browned, transfer to a serving bowl and add the rest of the orange sauce and mix onto the tofu.
Serving ideas:
- Lettuce wraps with green onions and peanuts
- Served over brown rice
- Serve with cauliflower fried rice with veggies
[lt_recipe name=”Crispy Orange Tofu” servings=”2-3″ prep_time=”20M” cook_time=”30M” total_time=”50M” difficulty=”Medium” summary=”Delicious orange sauce coating crispy tofu, served in butter lettuce wraps ” print=”yes” image=”https://www.veggiesthenwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_6389-250×300.jpg” ingredients=”2 large oranges;16 oz organic, sprouted tofu;3 cloves garlic;1 Tbsp ginger (fresh or paste);2 Tbsp honey;1 Tbsp sesame oil;2 tsp rice vinegar;1 Tbsp coconut oil;1 Tbsp soy sauce;1/4 tsp black pepper;1 Tbsp flour or cornstarch ;1/4 c cold water ;Head of butter lettuce;1/2 c green onions, chopped;1/2 c peanuts, chopped” ]Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. ;Cut tofu into bite-size cubes and place on baking tray with parchment paper. ;Bake tofu for 20 minutes. ;Heat coconut oil on non-stick pan. ;Add tofu and slightly brown, about 5 minutes. ;In a separate saucepan, juice the oranges (about 1/2 cup) and reduce on medium-high, about 7-10 minutes. ;Add garlic, ginger, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and black pepper to orange juice. ;In a separate bowl, mix flour/cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water to make a slurry. ;Add slurry to orange sauce and stir well to thicken; Keep reducing.;Add 1/2 of orange sauce to tofu, let sit for a few minutes before flipping so all tofu sides are crisped and browned.;Cook tofu in orange sauce about 7-9 minutes. ;Remove tofu, transfer to a serving bowl and add remainder of orange sauce and mix. ;Serve in butter lettuce cups with green onions and peanuts.[/lt_recipe]
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