This mouth-watering bang bang tofu is made with crispy tofu cubes drenched in sweet and spicy sauce! Serve these little bites on their own, over rice, or stuffed into tacos for a scrumptious vegan dinner.
Some of the recipes I post on this site are what I consider to be healthy, but not all of them are. They're all vegan, but that doesn't always mean healthy, and sometimes we end up with something that's indulgent. I'm okay with that!
This bang bang tofu recipe is a great example of one of my indulgent dishes. I felt like I had to put my little disclaimer up there because somebody is bound to show up here and be surprised.
Could I make this dish in the oven in order to reduce the oil content? Probably. But either way it's getting drenched in mayonnaise. May as well go all out!
And rest assured: it's so worth it.
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegan mayonnaise. Look for this near the regular mayonnaise or in the natural foods section of your supermarket. I used Hellman's vegan.
- Sambal oelek. Look for this spicy chili paste in the international foods section of your supermarket.
- Maple syrup. Another liquid sweetener such as agave can be substituted if you'd like.
- Rice vinegar.
- Sriracha sauce. Be careful what brand you buy, because it recently came to my attention that Huy Fong sriracha (the most popular brand) isn't vegan because it's made with conventional sugar (which is processed with bone char. Unfortunately I learned this after taking the photos for this post, which I will try to update. For a list of vegan sriracha brands, see this article.
- Cornstarch.
- Peanut oil. Any high-heat oil suitable for frying can be substituted here. Canola oil, corn oil, and avocado oil will all work!
- Tofu. Use extra-firm or super-firm tofu for this recipe. Extra-firm tofu will need to be pressed first, but super-firm will not.
- Salt.
- Fresh chives or green onions.
Note: â…“ cup of sweet chili sauce can be used to replace the sambal oelek, maple syrup and rice vinegar, if you can find it. I used to buy it at Trader Joe's, but it appears to have been discontinued.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- To make your bang bang sauce, stir together the mayonnaise, sambal oelek, maple syrup, rice vinegar, and sriracha sauce.
- Heat your oil in a medium nonstick skillet. Make sure it's at least â…› inch deep.
- Roll diced tofu cubes in cornstarch to coat them, then add them to the oil. Make sure you don't crowd the skillet — they will stick together if they touch.
- Fry the tofu cubes in batches, cooking them for a few minutes on each side.
- Remove the cooked tofu cubes from the skillet and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle them with a bit of salt.
- Once all of the tofu cubes are cooked, place them into a bowl and add the sauce.
- Toss everything together to coat the tofu with the sauce.
- Serve your bang bang tofu with a sprinkle of fresh chives or scallions, and some extra sriracha for dipping.
Leftovers & Storage
Bang bang tofu is best served right away, as the crispy coating won't hold up very long in sauce. If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They won't stay crispy, but they will still taste good!
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
You can serve it on it's own as an appetizer, over rice, rice noodles, in tacos (my favorite), in a sandwich, on a salad, or over lettuce leaves like BoneFish grill does with it's bang bang shrimp.
Probably, but I haven't tried either version. I would recommend using at least a little bit or oil regardless of your cooking method, because otherwise the cornstarch will stay dry and powdery.
More Tofu Recipes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Bang Bang Tofu
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan mayo
- 2 tablespoons sambal oelek
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (Note 1), plus more for serving
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup peanut oil, plus more as needed
- 1 (15 ounce) package super-firm or extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes (press if using extra-firm)
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Chopped fresh chives or green onions,
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the mayo, sambal oelek, maple syrup, rice vinegar, and sriracha.
- Place the cornstarch in a separate bowl.
- Very generously coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil (at least â…› inch deep) and place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil begins to shimmer, place a few tofu cubes into the cornstarch and roll them around until they're coated. Place the tofu cubes into the hot oil. Continue adding as much tofu to the skillet as you can fit without crowding.
- Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping the pieces two or three times, until browned and crispy on multiple sides. Transfer the cooked tofu to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Repeat until all of the tofu is cooked, adding more oil to the skillet as needed between batches.
- Place the cooked tofu into a bowl and add the mayonnaise mixture. Toss everything to coat the tofu in sauce.
- Sprinkle the tofu with chives or green onions and serve immediately with sriracha on the side.
Notes
- Not all sriracha is vegan. See this article for a list of vegan brands.
- If you can find vegan-friendly sweet chili sauce, feel free to use â…“ cup of it in place of the sambal oelek, maple syrup, rice vinegar, and sriracha.
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This is yummy!! So simple too. Served beside a bed of shredded cabbage with extra green onions and drizzled that incredible sauce over all. Layered first some brown rice as well for a perfect meal tonite. thanks!!!
Love the Bang Bang, but hate the idea (and cleanup) of frying, so I used Alissa’s recipe for Crispy Airfry Tofu. Amazing results and so easy!
Served the Bang Bang (airfry) Tofu over shredded romaine lettuce with a side of tomato wedges. Awesome. So much flavor for so little effort. And easy cleanup. Yay!
Thank you Alissa!
Do you think these can be baked instead of fried?
It might work! I'd go light on the cornstarch if you try it though. I have another crispy cornstarch tofu recipe where baking works, but that one uses only a tablespoon of cornstarch. https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/teriyaki-tofu/ I wouldn't go that low with this recipe, but maybe cut down to 1/4 cups - I'm afraid I can't give exact instructions as I haven't tried it myself!
Only change to make in the future will be to double the mayo sauce. It’s so addictive you’re going to want to do that. Next time, I’ll make garden rolls by putting the bang bang tofu, Mann brand kale, beet & red cabbage salad blend mix, chopped green onions into rice wraps and using the mayo mixture as dipping sauce.
Oh...I LOVE that idea! I'm definitely making some spring rolls with this next time. :) I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
thank you share the steps, i like tofu so much!!
Is there anything I could substitute for sambal oelek? I don't have that ingredient.
Sriracha usually works, or you could try another type of hot sauce.
This is soooo good. I had to stop after making it twice in one week. Not very healthy but so good. I saved the mayo mixture for a dipping sauce. Yum!!!!
I found it to be pretty addictive too! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Holy Moly! I need to make this ASAP
Yum! I cannot wait to try this recipe out, thanks for the share. Love checking out your blog, keep up the posts!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!!