Carbohydrates per serve: 15g excluding any sides. This teriyaki tofu is so good you would never guess it’s vegan and sugar-free! It uses a delicious and easy homemade teriyaki sauce, made with all natural ingredients and no nasties. The tofu is coated in cornflour and then shallow fried, giving it a crispy touch, and extra tastiness. 

This makes a great dinner and is surprisingly filling. For one serving this meal is about 15g of carbs, this is due to the cornflour. So it’s not super low carb but it’s not bad especially for a dish which would normally be loaded with carbs. However if you are looking to keep your carbohydrate count down, I highly recommend serving it up with cauliflower rice. Another option would be to not coat the tofu, and therefore eliminate the majority of the cornflour.

What is Teriyaki?

Teriyaki is thought to have originated in Japan in the 1700s and is a  cooking technique where food, usually some kind of protein (most commonly meat) is cooked in a sauce made of soy, sugar and either sake or mirin. 

The word “teri” refers to the shine the sugar causes the sauce to have, and the word “yaki” refers to the cooking method of the protein which traditionally is broiling or grilling.

In Japan, the protein used is usually some kind of fish and in Western countries white or red meat is more commonly used.

However, in the interest of making this vegan (and it’s not uncommon now), I’ve used tofu as the protein in my recipe. I love tofu for so many reasons, it’s high in protein, low in carbs, filling, affordable and you can’t really undercook or even overcook it! If you’re keen to try more tofu recipes, I recommend trying my Tofu and Tomato Curry or my Low Carb Satay Tofu Burgers.

How do I make Teriyaki Tofu?

There are two elements to making teriyaki tofu – preparing and cooking the tofu and then making the sauce. There are a few steps but it’s nothing too difficult!

Step One – Pat excess water off tofu using paper towels, then cut into 2cm squares.

Step Two – In a bowl which will fit all of the tofu, stir together the cornflour, salt and pepper. Then add the tofu pieces into the cornflour mix and carefully stir until all the tofu pieces are evenly coated.

Step Three – Put a frying pan on a medium heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, about ½ cm deep. Add the tofu in a single layer so none are overlapping (you may need to cook in batches), and shallow fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until browning. 

Step Four – Remove from the pan and rest on paper towels to get rid of any excess oil.

Step Five – In a bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients, except for the water and cornflour.

Step Six – Get rid of any leftover oil in the pan you used for the tofu, then with the heat still set to medium, add the prepared sauce. 

Step Seven – While the sauce is heating up in the pan, mix together the water and cornflour in a small bowl until there are no lumps. Once the sauce is warm, add the cornflour/water mix and stir through. Continue to cook, stirring regularly until the sauce is thick.

Step Eight – Add the cooked tofu to the now thickened teriyaki sauce and stir through carefully. Cook until the tofu is warm.

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What should I serve my Teriyaki Tofu With?

This dish goes quite well with rice. I like having mine with cauliflower which keeps it lower carb while also adding a vegetable serving. But any rice would work for serving this with. I also like sprinkling some sliced spring onion and toasted sesame seeds on top. Tasty and pretty!

If I have leftovers can I reheat?

I mean technically yes you could, you won’t get sick or anything like that. Although in saying that, if you are serving with rice and reheating the rice, make sure it’s heated through thoroughly because that could actually make you get sick!

This meal is so much better eaten at the time it’s made. The reason being is the sauce is a better consistency. When you refrigerate and then reheat the sauce is considerably thicker and a lot less “saucy”. So yes you can reheat but be warned it won’t be as good and not quite the same.

What Kitchen Tools Do I Need?

Chopping Knife

Chopping Board

Measuring Spoons

Measuring Cups

Bowls  – one big enough to fit the tofu, one big enough to fit the sauce ingredients and a third smaller bowl big enough to fit ¼ cup of water.

Frying Pan