This fried silken tofu is easy to make in only 15 minutes. It has a perfectly golden crispy panko exterior and smooth on the inside. Perfect as a side dish to serve with rice and dipping sauce!
This recipe is inspired by a Silken Tofu dish served as a restaurant. I have always loved the creamy, silky texture of silken tofu in soups & stews but was amazed at how delicious the fried silken tofu is. This dish has a balance in texture: crispy on the outside, creamy and smooth on the inside.
It pairs well with a bowl of white or brown rice or serves as a snack with your favorite dipping sauce.
Ingredients
This is an easy and simple to make dish using only 4 main ingredients:
- Silken Tofu
- Flour
- Soy milk (or other plant-based milk)
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Spices like salt, paprika, garlic powder.
- Oil for frying
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Cut the silken tofu into equal-sized slices, patting dry slightly with a kitchen towel.
Cut the silken tofu into thin slices
Prepare two bowls: one with flour, corn starch and salt and one with panko breadcrumbs
Dip the tofu in the flour bowl first, then the soy milk and dip into the panko breadcrumbs, making sure that all sides are covered.
Shallow or deep fry the silken tofu pieces until golden brown and crispy
Remove and serve on a plate
Hint: the silken tofu is delicate to handle, you can avoid them from breaking by patting dry with a paper towel before handling. The corn starch mixture also helps firm up the exterior of the tofu.
Substitutions
If you are allergic to soy, my Chickpea Tofu recipe is the perfect solution to replace the traditional soy tofu in this recipe.
To make the recipe gluten-free, you can use rice flour instead of flour and use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari for dipping!
Variations
If you'd like to adjust this recipe to your likings, below are a few suggestions:
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes to the mixture of flour, or other spices to make the tofu more flavorful
- Deluxe - add crispy onions for even more crunch!
Storage
The recipe tastes best immediately after frying, when it's still crunchy. You can store leftover in the fridge for up to 3 days, reheat by frying or air frying for the best texture.
Print📖 Recipe
Fried Silken Tofu
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Fried silken tofu with a crispy panko exterior and smooth on the inside. Perfect as a side dish to serve with rice and dipping sauce!
Ingredients
- 300g silken tofu
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- ¼ cup soy milk (or other plant-based milk)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ tsp salt
- Spices to your liking (paprika powder, garlic powder)
- Cooking oil
- Soy sauce for dipping
- A handful of cilantro (optional for topping)
Instructions
- Cut the silken tofu into equal-sized slices. Pat dry with a kitchen towel.
- In a bowl: combine flour, salt, spices and corn starch and mix well.
- In a second bowl: add the soy milk.
- In a third bowl: add the panko breadcrumbs.
- Add the silken tofu slices to the flour bowl, then transfer to the soy milk, then coat with the panko breadcrumbs. Make sure that all sides of the tofu is covered with the panko breadcrumbs. Be gentle while handling the tofu as it is very soft. Repeat for the remaining silken tofu pieces.
- Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan or deep fryer. Deep fry the silken tofu in cooking oil for about 3 minutes until golden and crispy.
- Drain off the excess oil and transfer the tofu to a plate. Add more salt on top when it's still crispy and garnish with cilantro.
- Serve the fried silken tofu with a bowl of rice and use soy sauce as a dipping sauce!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Meal, Side Dish
- Method: deep fry/ fry
- Cuisine: Asian
FAQ
Definitely, you can use firm tofu and it is easier to handle but the texture will be slightly different.
Related
Looking for other Silken Tofu recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Fried Silken Tofu:
Grace says
Followed recipe perfectly. I found that the Panko did not stick well after the flour coating, so I decided to dip the tofu in egg before the Panko. That was better but of course, it won’t work for vegans. Perhaps aquafaba or plant milk would do the trick. Next time, I’ll add a bit more seasoning to the Panko as well. I dipped these in a soy, maple, oyster sauce glaze. Tasty.
Veggie Anh says
Thank you so much for your comment, Grace!
Riley says
I followed the recipe, but use regular milk. It is my husband and I’s favourite silken tofu recipe! Thank you so much 🙂