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Easy Celery Black Pepper Tofu. Spicy, hot. Roasted crisp tofu, added to celery & black pepper sauce. How to make Black pepper Tofu. Vegan Gluten-free nut-free. Can be oil-free. serves 2 with rice.
So I have discovered recently that I love black pepper. Not the usual pepper in usual amounts, but freshly crushed in a mortar pestle and in ridiculous amounts. One would think that when the temps around are in the 80s. why would one eat something that is so sweat inducing. Well I do not have the answer to that question. Its just fun to down a chilled ice cream shake after to cool down.
This black pepper tofu is has pepper in the batter, some red chilies to add more heat, and more, lots more pepper in the sauce. I added celery as it adds a nice balance to all the heat and also because I had to use it up.
Tofu is tossed in starch and pepper batter and baked until crisp. You can also pan fry the tofu or just add plain pressed tofu directly to the pan. The sauce has loads of garlic, ginger and celery and freshly crushed black pepper. I finally used my mortar and pestle after many months. The coarsely crushed pepper is just fabulous. You can make the dish oil free by cooking the sauce ingredients in broth.
More recipes from the blog.
- Kung Pao Lentils
- Tofu Broccoli Bok Choy Stir fry with Garlic Sesame Soy Sauce
- Teriyaki Chickpea Bao steamed buns
- Firecracker Chickpea Salad with Thai Peanut Sauce dressing.
- Spicy Orange Tofu and Peppers.
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Celery Black Pepper Tofu
Ingredients
For the Black Pepper Tofu
- 14 ounces firm tofu, cubed (1.5 cups) - no need to press
- 3 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch or other starch
For the Sauce
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 6 to 8 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 inch ginger finely chopped
- 2 dried red chilies, chopped or broken into 2 pieces. Use 1 for less heat. I like arbol or cayenne or Indian chilies in this. Use milder chile like california red for less heat
- 1 to 1.5 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper, or onion
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, optional
- 1 teaspoon coarsely crushed black pepper, preferably ground/crushed with a mortar pestle, or more, to taste
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, , use tamari for gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon maple , or sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoon water
- green onion for garnish
Instructions
Baked tofu.
- Chop the tofu and add to a bowl. Add soy sauce and toss to coat. Mix the spices in cornstarch and add to the bowl. Toss to coat. If the tofu is too dry, add a few drops of water to help almost all of the cornstarch to stick to the tofu.
- Alternatively: Make a thick batter of soy sauce through cornstarch. Add a teaspoon more water, if needed, but don't add too much, as the tofu will add its own moisture when you mix it in. Immediately add tofu and mix to coat. If you leave the batter to sit, it will solidify in a few minutes and you will need extra moisture to be batter again.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 400° F / 200º C. Spread the tofu cubes on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or longer until crisp.
- Pan fry: Or pan fry in oil on a skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add the coated tofu, let sit for 2 minutes, then flip. Repeat until golden on most edges. Keep aside
Make the sauce while the tofu bakes.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, reduce heat to medium low. Add garlic, ginger and red chilies and cook until garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the celery and peppers. Increase heat to medium. Mix and cook for 2 minutes. Stir once in between.
- Add the baked tofu, black pepper, soy sauce, maple, vinegar and water and mix. Cook for half to 1 minutes or so to bring the sauce to a boil and slightly thicken. Serve hot with rice or quinoa or in lettuce wraps.
Video
Notes
Variations: You can also use meat subs like beyond meat strips at the last step instead of tofu for a black pepper chikin. Add half the black pepper, if you are unsure about the heat level, and mix in the rest later to preference.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve recently discovered that I love black pepper too!!!
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I made it last night and it will become a regular in my rotation. I used a combo of celery, bell pepper and onion. The only issue I had was the tofu stuck to the parchment. Next time I will spray it with oil or make it in a skillet. I love how easy it was to throw everything together.
Awesome! a bit of oil should help. also toss in a bit more starch so the tofu coating is thick ,so it wont flow off during baking and stick to the bottom. it also depends on the parchment. I picked up a different brand one time and even my cookies stuck to it.
Are the amount right for the marinade? I used 3 tsp soy, 2 tsp water and 3 tbsp cornstarch and it’s dry as a bone. Is it me? 🙁
yes. It will take a minute to mix in. the starch should get all gloopy initially. you can add 1-2 tsp more water. also the tofu will have some moisture of its own when you mix in.
Thank you – I added more soy and water, and it wasn’t perfect, but overall the taste was FANTASTIC and I’ll try again. Probably tomorrow. 🙂
Awesome!!
made it again today and I left the thick cornstarch marinade sitting for 10 minutes while i prepped. It did get chalky in that much time. Mix, immediately add the Tofu and let it sit.
Made this last night… wow… super easy and super tasty. I love black pepper! And love the simplicity of baking the marinated tofu, then just tossing in with the celery and (in my case) onions. This was delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
awesome! yep, it saves the time needed to stand in the kitchen crisping up the tofu in the pan 🙂
Hey Richa! I’ve been following your blog for a while now but this recipe has to be one of my favourites so far-it looks absolutely delicious and the ingredient list is crazy!
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Yum! This was delicious. We had it last night for dinner and ate every drop. I had to substitute zucchini for the green pepper. We only used one red chili and it had the right amount of heat for us. Tasty.
Awesome!!
This looks delicious!! Im heading to the shop right now to get some more tofu 😉 Cant wait to get back and start cooking 😀
Thank you!
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