Name: Spicy Thai Basil Tofu
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 14 Oz Extra Firm Oraganic Tofu; 2 Tbsp Sri racha Sauce(you can reduce the quantity to tone down the spice level.0; 4 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce; 1 Tbsp Maple syrup; Pinch of red chili flakes; 2 Tbsp Oil; 6 Cloves Chopped Garlic; 1 Tbsp Chopped Ginger; 2 Tbsp Chopped Green onion; 1 Small Chopped Red Onion; 1 Small Chopped Red Pepper,thin strips; 3 Tbsp Corn Starch; Oil for deep frying tofu or to brush if you are air frying or baking.; 1/2 Cup Fresh Thai Basil Leaves; Green onion for garnish; Pinch of salt; Pinch of black pepper

VEG

The easy, vegan, and spicy Thai Basil Tofu is a prevalent Thai takeout dish. It only needs a couple of ingredients from our pantry and fridge. This dish pairs well with soft and fluffy jasmine rice and takes only 20 minutes of your busy time.

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Image of spicy Thai basil tofu with white rice

Many of us want to serve our family and ourselves a delicious, nutritious meal every day, even with our busy schedules. Trust me, I know how difficult that is, so I'm going to share a recipe that ticks all the boxes.

It is easy.

Super delicious.

Comes together in around 20 minutes.

Protein-packed and healthy.

Budget-friendly. Dinner for 4 comes under 10 dollars.

Kid-approved and super filling.

Beginner cook-friendly.

So next time when you're super tempted to order takeout, stop yourself there and make this for dinner or a quick lunch.

This wonderfully satisfying vegan meal will leave you craving more.

As a family, we love going to Thai restaurants. My younger one loves and relishes Thai cuisine the most. Since we are vegetarian/vegans, we love to order all the dishes with a vegan substitute like tofu.

Pad Krapow is one of our favorites. Traditionally this dish is prepared with meat but tofu is the vegan substitute. To give tofu a more authentic look, sometimes crumbled tofu is used. However, I prefer to use small diced pieces of tofu. Texture-wise I like that better.

What type of tofu is used?

In my opinion, extra firm tofu is the best for making stir fry recipes. They hold their shape better and get crispy nicely.

Removing water content from the tofu is equally important as pressing the tofu. You can use a tofu press as well as thick layers of paper towels.

What type of sauce is used?

The traditional pad krapow recipe uses fish sauce however since I am making the vegan/vegetarian version, I won't be using that. A mixture of soy sauce, sriracha, and maple syrup, gives the most perfect umami flavor to this stir fry.

It's spicy and bold with a hint of sweetness. It's totally delish.

How to make

After pressing the Tofu for at least 20 minutes, make sure that they don't have much water content. Dice them into your desired size or shape.

Coat them with corn starch mixed with salt and pepper. According to your choice, air fry the tofu, deep fry them, or just shallow fry.

I personally prefer to air fry them to make them healthy however sometimes depending on my mood I deep fry them as well.

The next step would be to make a flavourful sauce with the help of our staple aromatics. All Asian dishes use lots of ginger, garlic, chilies, green onion, and herbs.

I love how using fresh Thai Basil leaves makes this dish a delicious aromatic side to go with fragrant jasmine rice.

Coat this crispy tofu with the sauce and serve over the rice. I am sure you will love this dish as much as I love it.

You can check my popular Tofu recipes:

Vegan Mapo Tofu

Black Pepper Tofu

Mongolian Tofu Stir Fry

You can check some of my most popular Thai recipes here:

Veg Thai Panang Curry

Vegan Thai Green Curry

Vegan Thai Basil Fried Rice

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