This spicy garlic tofu is quick and easy to throw together, taking just 10 minutes to cook. It’s and really tasty over rice, with a side of stir-fried greens.
It’s sort of a variation on mapo tofu, a popular Sichuan dish. Garlic is the star in this version, however, and it’s also on the milder side. (We use sweet hoisin sauce in addition to spicy bean sauce, and don’t use Sichuan peppercorns.) It’s also easier to make!
While we originally published this recipe in June 2013, we decided to bring it up to 2021 standards! We’ve re-tested and rephotographed it, and added metric measurements. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to cut the tofu into ¾” cubes. Cut them too big, and there’s less surface area for the sauce to cling to, rendering the tofu a bit bland. Cut them too small, and the delicate cubes may break up too easily.
- If you don’t eat pork, substitute ground chicken. For a vegetarian substitute, try finely chopped king oyster mushrooms or oyster mushrooms.
- Have all your ingredients ready to go before you turn off the stove. This dish comes together quickly!
Spicy Garlic Tofu: Recipe Instructions
Heat the oil in your wok over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds, or until the garlic begins to turn golden at the edges.
Add the ground pork, and stir-fry until browned, about 1-2 minutes.
Increase the heat to high, and add the shallots.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the shallots begin to turn translucent. Stir in the Shaoxing wine, hoisin sauce and spicy bean paste, and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
Add the chicken stock, white pepper, sugar, and sesame oil.
Bring the sauce to a simmer. Mix the cornstarch slurry, and pour into the sauce. Simmer for 30 seconds, until the sauce has thickened.
Add the tofu cubes…
And gently stir them into the sauce. Allow it to simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in the scallions.
And serve with steamed rice!
Spicy Garlic Tofu Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil (any neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola)
- 10 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 4 oz. ground pork
- 2 medium shallots (thinly sliced)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon spicy bean sauce (doubanjiang)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 1 tablespoon water)
- 1 pound firm tofu (cut into 3/4-inch/2 cm cubes)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in your wok over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds, or until the garlic begins to turn golden at the edges.
- Add the ground pork, and stir-fry until browned, about 1-2 minutes. Increase the heat to high, and add the shallots. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the shallots begin to turn translucent.
- Stir in the Shaoxing wine, hoisin sauce and spicy bean paste, and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken stock, white pepper, sugar, and sesame oil. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Mix the cornstarch slurry, and pour into the sauce. Simmer for 30 seconds, until the sauce has thickened.
- Gently stir in the tofu cubes, and allow it to simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the scallions, and serve.
Why would it be 1.5 cups of chicken stock? It’s way too much.
Respectfully, L, it is not way too much! You’d be surprised at how much stock you need to make a good amount of sauce. As you can see from the other comments on this recipe, others have made this with success as written. I have also tested it several times.
This has become my go-to tofu dish. I don’t eat pork so I substitute with either 4oz ground turkey or 1 Beyond Meat vegetarian hamburger.
A comment on The Woks of Life – sometimes I will make four or five dishes at a time with my favorites being Beef with Broccoli, Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, and this Tofu recipe. So far, every recipe has been a winner.
Thank you so much, Jeffrey!
Hi, Making this tonight and have a question. Should I drain and press out the water in the tofu before cooking or not bother?
No need!
This was good. I’m convinced no tofu dish will beat y’all’s Hunan Pork and Tofu Stir-fry, but it’s not every dish that gets my family of 4 to eat 10 garlic cloves without having an overwhelming flavor. I’m not a huge fan of Mapo Tofu (although I haven’t tried y’all’s recipe yet!), and this seemed to be a good substitute dish. It was fairly soupy even after the cornstarch slurry, but that might just be the nature of the dish, and wasn’t really a negative factor. We served it over rice, but still used spoons over chopsticks.
Glad you enjoyed it, Anna—thanks for the feedback!
Is there anything I could substitute hoisin with? I don’t have the bean pastes you mentioned in your hoisin guide and I’d rather avoid stocking up my already full pantry =(
Hi TJ, you can just omit it and add an additional 1/2 teaspoon sugar. You can also sub in 1 teaspoon oyster sauce for additional umami if you have that on hand.