Name: Thai Basil Tofu Stir Fry
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 230 grams Firm or extra frim tofu (8 oz); 3 tablespoons sesame oil (divided); 1.5 inches ginger (peeled and minced); 5 garlic cloves (peeled and minced); 1.5 teaspoon chili flakes (can also use siracha, add along with soy sauce); 3/4 cup sliced onions; 1 cup thinly sliced bell peppers (mixed colors); 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black peppercorns; 2 teaspoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon brown sugar; 1 teaspoon rice vinegar; 1/2 cup thai basil leaveas (more for serving); 3 tablespoons chopped spring onion greens

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Last updated on October 4th, 2020

This Thai basil tofu stir fry is our latest addiction and will become yours too once you try! One of the wonderful thai recipes with tofu!

Crispy yet soft pan fried tofu tossed in a super delicious sweet and spicy sauce with thai basil leaves. Perfect with jasmine rice, noodles. Ready in 20 minutes flat, vegan and can be easily made gluten free.

More tofu recipes- tofu corn curry, vegan fried rice with tofu, braised tofu, kung pao tofu

Love Thai takeouts? How about making a finger licking good Thai meal right in your kitchen that too in 20 minutes, including prep time and cook time? Intrigued? Read on 🙂

This thai basil tofu is one among my favorite tofu recipes as well as Thai recipes. It has perfectly pan fried tofu and a Thai style sticky sauce with loads of thai basil leaves.

Last week I had a wonderful supply of super fresh Thai basil leaves and this thai basil tofu was one yummy recipe I made.

With fresh basil leaves, extra firm tofu and couple of other ingredients staple for Asian cooking this basil tofu can be made in 20 minutes. One of the easiest and delicious thai tofu recipes.

I have made this recipe many times before, mostly without basil though. Adding just a few sprigs of fresh basil does elevate the flavor I must agree.

Now you can still make this recipe even if you do not have thai basil leaves. Any variety of basil will be good here, if nothing fresh is available just go for dried ones. The flavor varies still delicious.

Thai basil tofu goes really well with any flavorful noodles or steamed jasmine rice. But if you are anything like me, you will gobble this as such, so delicious served piping hot.

This Thai Basil Tofu Is

Quick, simple and easy recipe to make.

Crispy toy tossed in tasty sauce.

Ready in 20 minutes (total time)

Super flavorful sweet and spicy sauce.

tastes wonderful with rice or noodles

vegan and can be made gluten free.

Ingredients

To make this easy recipe you will need

Tofu– I always use extra firm tofu for stir fry and curries. They hold up the shape and also the texture is well suited for such recipes. If extra firm not available go for firm tofu.

You will have to prep the tofu 15 minutes ahead making this recipe by pressing it well using a tofu press or placing the tofu between two heavy objects.

Vegetables– Along with tofu I like to add some vegetables in this recipe. Vegetables add a nice texture and color to this stir fry. I have used onions and bell peppers in this recipe. You can also add

broccoli
mushroom
brussel sprouts
zucchini

On the other hand you can make this vegetable stir fry with tofu and basil too.

Basil leaves– I have used fresh tender thai basil leaves. I like to add basil leaves in two stages here. First I throw some after adding the vegetables so that the sauce absorbs the flavor of basil leaves and next few freshly torn leaves just before serving for flavor burst.

I do not prefer to chop the leaves for this recipe, instead I tear the leave, this small step elevates the flavor a lot. Do try.

If you do not have thai basil leaves, then you can use any variety of them. Thai basil leaves however had mild flavor, so when using other varieties reduce the quantity as per preference.

Ginger garlic– For this recipe, I like to add generous dose of cloves garlic ginger . Freshly minced garlic ginger lends so much more flavor than store bought ginger garlic pastes.

Other than these ingredients we also

Stir Fry Sauce

The sauce for this tofu stir fry is very simple yet super flavorful one. The sauce is a mix of

dark soy sauce
brown sugar
chilli flakes or hot sauce like siracha
rice vinegar
toasted sesame oil.

Recipe Notes

If you want to use paneer in this recipe instead of tofu you totally can, it would be vegetarian Thai stir fry with paneer 🙂

Increase or decrease the sauce ingredients as per taste.

You can add some toasted sesame seeds or crushed peanuts as toppings.

use tamari instead of soya sauce to make recipe this gluten free.

The recipe cab be doubled. Use a bigger pan accordingly.

Method

To begin with, press your tofu block for 20 minutes using a tofu press or two heavy objects. Once done cut the tofu into very small cubes. Chopping the tofu into small cubes helps in absorbing the sauce really well.

Now heat a heavy cast iron pan or skillet with 1 tablespoon oil. In medium high heat, place the tofu cubes as single layer.

Pan fry the tofu cubes for 4-5 minutes or until they turn slightly crispy and golden from all sides. Remove to a plate.

In the same pan heat 2 tablespoons toasted oil. Throw in the minced ginger garlic and chili flakes. Fry for a minute. Now add thinly sliced onions. Saute for a minute.