Lauren Ulm’s website, Vegan Yum Yum, was one of the first vegan websites that I found when I started my vegan journey. I totally forgot about this tofu recipe and how much I love it until a few weeks ago. I’ve adapted it just a bit to make sure there’s enough sauce and to make sure the sauce thickens. It will not thicken without the cornstarch slurry.

A few more tips…Don’t be tempted to take short cuts, like not pressing the tofu, not slicing it thin enough and not dry frying it. These are essential to getting a chewy texture for the tofu. Play around with the sauce if you like, but follow the technique for the tofu.

Now, there is an exception. If you are someone who likes the soft, somewhat mushy texture of tofu, feel free to skip the dry frying, but do everything else.

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu

Author: Adapted from Lauren Ulm, Vegan Yum Yum

Recipe type: Main Dish

Makes: 4 Servings

2, 14 ounce blocks extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into thin small triangles or squares

Sweet Chili Lime Sauce

¼ cup organic granulated sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Zest of 2 limes
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon salt

Slurry

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water

Whisk all of the ingredients together for the sauce until the sugar and salt is dissolved. Set aside
Make the slurry by mixing the cornstarch and water and set aside.
Dry fry the tofu in batches, in a non-stick pan without any oil over medium heat. It should take about 5 minutes on each side.
Remove the tofu as it’s ready and set aside.
When you’ve dry fried all of the tofu, add it back to the pan, turn the heat up to medium-high and heat it through for about 1 minute.
Stir the sauce one more time and pour it into the pan.
Toss the tofu in the sauce for about 1 minute or until it has thoroughly coated the tofu.
Stir the slurry again and pour it into the pan.
Stir the tofu until the sauce thickens. It will probably take less than a minute.