Make this easy tofu and broccoli stir fry for a delicious vegetarian meal in 30 minutes! The tofu is marinated, then cooked until perfectly crispy and flavorful, then finished up in a sticky ginger garlic sauce with broccoli.
Tofu is a great ingredient if you want to create a delicious and healthy meal that is packed with protein. In the past I shared some very popular tofu recipes, including Crispy Marinated Tofu, Mapo Tofu, and General Tso’s Tofu. If you’ve tried any of these recipes, you’d know that with the proper preparation, you can turn plain-tasting tofu into a rich tasting feast.
Marinating tofu is key
I used a simple three-ingredient marinade that is savory and sweet, with a hint of sourness. Not only does it impart a great flavor, but the soy sauce also creates a beautiful char on the surface of the tofu.
When marinating the tofu, using a ziplock bag will help the marinade coat the tofu more evenly.
Once the tofu is marinated, drain the liquid from the bag. Then add the cornstarch into the bag and shake the bag to coat the tofu. The cornstarch will absorb the last bits of marinade on the exterior of the tofu, creating a thin coating. The coating is flavorful and becomes perfectly crispy when you pan fry the tofu.
TIP
I’ve found that pressing tofu before cooking is not necessary. All you need to do is drain the water from the package before cutting. Pressing tofu only makes a marginal difference and it isn’t really worth the trouble.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Marinated and coated tofu
- Mixed sauce: This brown sauce uses hoisin sauce to add a fruity flavor, and sesame oil for nuttiness.
- Broccoli, cut to florets
- Minced aromatics (ginger, garlic)
- Sesame seeds for garnish (Optional)
How to cook tofu and broccoli
First, blanch the broccoli in the large skillet you will be using for the stir fry. The large skillet boils water faster than a deeper pot, plus it saves you time in terms of cleanup. Once done, drain the broccoli and set it aside on a plate.
Use the same skillet to brown the tofu. The key is to heat up the skillet to hot, then brown the tofu over medium heat. The surface of the tofu might brown too quickly if using too much heat, creating uneven spots. All you need is patience; sear the tofu until most sides have browned and there’s no raw cornstarch on the surface.
Then saute the aromatics to release the fragrance. Add the sauce and cook until it thickens.
Finally, add back the cooked tofu and broccoli. Stir to mix everything together.
The result is perfectly seasoned tofu and tender broccoli with a fragrant sticky sauce that is savory, nutty and slightly sweet.
How to serve broccoli and tofu
Serve broccoli and tofu by itself as a main dish, or over steamed rice for a hearty meal. You can also serve it as one of the main dishes in a multi-course dinner, along with appetizers, sides and a soup.
The tofu loses its crispiness if stored in the fridge, but the flavor will still be delicious once you reheat it.
Other delicious tofu recipes
- Crispy Sesame Tofu
- Tofu With Minced Pork
- Vegan Dan Dan Noodles
- Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup
- Pan Fried Tofu (脆皮豆腐)
Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 block (400 g) firm (14 oz. / 400 g block) (or extra firm tofu)
Marinade
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Sauce
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
Stir-fry
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 2 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 large head of broccoli
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the tofu into 3/4” (2 cm) cubes and place it in a sealable ziplock bag.
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix well. Pour the marinade into the bag with the tofu. Press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Gently swirl the bag around so all the tofu is coated with the marinade. Set aside, occasionally flipping as you finish your prep.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved.
- Cut the florets off the stalks of broccoli. If there is excess stem, peel it and cut it into 1/2” (1 cm) sticks. Wash them, drain them, and set them aside.
- Drain the marinated tofu and discard the marinade. Add half of the cornstarch into the bag, shake to coat well. Then add the rest to coat the tofu pieces. It’s OK if the tofu pieces are not covered evenly.
- Heat 1” (2.5 cm) of water in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until boiling. Add the broccoli. Blanch broccoli to the tenderness you prefer, 2 minutes for a chewy texture or 3 minutes for a softer one. Drain thoroughly and discard the water, transfer the broccoli to a large plate. Wipe the pan dry with a few layers of paper towel.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil into the same pan and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add the tofu pieces carefully and separate them as much as you can. Cook, flipping occasionally, until most of the sides have turned golden brown and there’s no raw cornstarch on the surface. Transfer the cooked tofu to a big plate.
- Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil, the ginger, and the garlic. Stir a few times to release the fragrance.
- Stir the sauce again to make sure the cornstarch is dissolved. Pour it into the pan and stir and cook until the sauce thickens, a few seconds at most.
- Add back the cooked tofu and broccoli and turn off the heat. Stir to coat everything with the sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds if using. Then transfer everything to a serving plate. Serve hot over steamed rice as a main dish.
Notes
- To make the dish gluten-free: Use tamari to replace the soy sauce. Use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine. And make sure to use a gluten-free hoisin sauce.
Nutrition
The original recipe was published in Feb 21, 2020 and updated on Jan 3, 2024.
A very interesting recipe, I did something similar at home when I was a student, but then the recipe was a little different. I’ll try to make according to your recipe, thanks for the post with the recipe!
I am new to following your posts. Do you have a recipe for fermented chili bean curd? I am in an area where it isn’t easy to get ingredients I believe are needed eg; Rice wine. If there is an ingredient I can substitute, I would appreciate the knowledge. I don’t have an Asian grocery, either. Why am I here? (Lol). Thank you for many tasty recipes.
In the recipe it says “Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved.” but in the ingredients there’s only Sugar in the marinade?
Hi Kim, the marinade only contains sugar and it’s for marinating the tofu. And the sauce ingredients is used for cooking, which contains cornstarch.
Thanks for replying! I made this recipe today (But instead of tofu, we used chicken) and me and my mom looooved it. Thank you for sharing!
Great recipe and was really easy to follow !
Hey Maggie, thanks for a great recipe.
I tried it out today, my sauce didn’t come out as dark, just want to double check the what 1/4 Cup vegetable stock is? Is 1/4 50ml?
Thanks
Hi Ruby, 1/4 cup vegetable stock is 60ml. The veggie stock I used was very dark. That might be the reason.
To add color to your sauce, you can use 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce instead of 1/2 teaspoon.
This recipe is spot on!
I was looking for a recipe to recreate the food at our favorite Chinese food restaurant that is currently closed due to COVID. I figured I’d start with tofu and broccoli – easy enough, right? After scouring the web and coming up with a handful of recipe options, I decided to try this one and I’m so glad I did. The sauce came out PERFECT (flavor and texture) and I’m now able to replicate our favorite restaurant at home…well, except for the speed at which they churn out dishes. 😉
My modifications – I did add cornstarch to the tofu, fry it first, and remove from the wok. I just stir fried the broccoli (fresh) in the wok instead of steaming it. Added the other ingredients and tossed the tofu back in at the end. Also added a can of straw mushrooms.
Will make this dish again and again! Thank you for the recipe!
This is our go-to recipe that my husband makes! It’s amazing and so easy! Now that I’m making it, I just noticed that in your directions, #3, it states to dissolve the cornstarch & sugar in the sauce mixture– but there is no sugar listed in the sauce ingredients, only the marinade. As my hubby follow directions pretty much to a T, the sauce works out perfectly well w/out added sugar, especially if you have a very sweet hoisin! Enjoy!
Great taste and easy to make!! Thanks!
It turned out so well! I skipped coating the tofu with corn starch (as suggested in the recipe) and it was still crispy and delicious. Thank you!
Made this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious! I like that it was so fast and healthy, too. A great weeknight meal. Thanks for the recipe
This was excellent, despite me having to sub a couple of ingredients and omit the wine and sugar, it came out great!
Didn’t have dark soy, but don’t think it suffered….I give it 5 stars and mark it Fabulous!!
Delicious, thank you!
I LOVE this. I’ve tried a few tofu recipes before but have never managed to get it right. This recipe made it PERFECT. It was so simple, easy to follow, and AMAZING. My carnivorous partner even loved it. Thank you so much!
I’ve been a vegetarian for 20+ years and I think this is the best, most flavorful tofu I have ever eaten! I didn’t discard the extra marinade, I cooked it with the tofu. Absolutely amazing! Next time I think I would just pan fry the broccoli in the same pan so it has more flavor.
Looks amazing! Is it possible to adapt to use Chinese Broccoli instead?
Yes you totally can! Happy cooking 🙂
Delicious! I didn’t have broccoli so I used green beans. I also only had oyster sauce instead of hoisin but it was fantastic. My son and I really enjoyed it and I may add a little chicken next time as well.
Soooooo delicious! I’m bookmarking this and making it on a regular. Thank you!
This was delicious easy to make! Thank you for the recipe!
I never thought I’d describe tofu as yummy, but the trick if marinating it and then coating it with cornstarch before cooking was yummy.