Pan Frying Tofu

With Shefaly Ravula's tips, you'll master the art of pan frying tofu in no time. Choosing the right ingredients and equipment can make all the difference.

Find more Co+op Kitchen videos featuring information and easy recipes for making delicious meals at home, as well as handy hints from chefs and food enthusiasts who love sharing their passion for great food.

Video Transcript

Hi. I'm Shefaly from Shef's Kitchen. Today we're going to talk a little bit about how to saute or shallow-fry some cubes of tofu.

I have some pre-cubed, extra-firm tofu.

We're going to turn on this pan to medium-high heat. Get it a little hot, and then we'll pour some oil in. We've got about 2 or 3 tablespoons. We want to use canola oil or vegetable oil or grapeseed oil—any oil that has a high smoking point. Definitely not olive oil.

I think it's quite hot. We're going to put these cubes in. Now it can be scary to some people to fry tofu. What you don't want to do is throw the whole thing in. If you throw the tofu in, it will splatter.

Keep my lid nearby, and give it a good little stir. I don't want to completely cover it because I don't to steam it. I just want it brown. Just about a minute per side.

I'm doing this because I don't want to deep fry it. I want a slightly healthier dish. So I'm trying to use less oil. And you can definitely achieve that consistency. We're going to give it a couple of minutes.

I'm going to now set this on the side because it's not splattering.

If you do do it in a stainless-steel skillet, it will stick, regardless of how much oil you put in there. But you will get a more uniform brown coloring. So it's your choice.

I think we're done here. We're going to turn off the burner. And what I'm going to do is put it on a paper towel-lined plate to get rid of excess oil. You certainly don't want an oily curry.

I have another episode that shows you how to use pan-fried tofu in a delicious mixed-vegetable Indian curry.

I'm Shefaly for Co+op, stronger together.