Pan Fried Teriyaki Tofu Bowl

Tofu is a magical substance in the Japanese food world. This collection of Japanese tofu recipes is yummy proof! Today’s Teriyaki Tofu Bowl (照り焼き豆腐丼) is a super-simple yet satisfying recipe. Crispy pan-fried tofu glazed in the beloved teriyaki sauce and served over fluffy rice with veggie. It has to be one of the dynamic one-bowl meals for vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores alike.

Why You’ll Love This Teriyaki Tofu Bowl

In addition to being simple and easy, it’s also:

Best texture — It’s all about texture when comes to making tofu. I’ll teach you how to achieve crispy shells with tender, creamy bites. Affordable, practical, and pantry-friendly. Couldn’t love it more! Great intro dish for anyone new to tofu Flexible — You can use whatever grain or other vegetables you like.

This Teriyaki Tofu Bowl consists of 3 simple components:

Teriyaki tofu Steamed rice (white or brown rice, cauliflower rice for low carb, or any grains you prefer) Broccoli Blanched with Sesame Oil (or other veggies such as bell peppers, edamame, bok choy, etc)

If you have some frozen cooked rice from the freezer, you just need to microwave it while pan-frying the tofu. Talk about a meal-prep-friendly, speedy dinner!

A Quick Note

I do want to mention that while most people in the US (or anyone who follows food trends) are familiar with teriyaki tofu bowls, the dish is not exactly a thing you can find in Japan. To be clear, there are endless variations of rice bowls (or what we call the donburi) in Japanese cuisine, but we don’t typically serve cubed tofu over steamed rice in such a manner. Instead, we serve thick slices of tofu as “tofu steak” such as my Teriyaki Tofu recipe as a standalone side to complement a well-rounded ichiju sansai Japanese meal. Anyhow, I can see why teriyaki tofu is being incorporated into a rice bowl format! By serving bite-sized crispy tofu over a bowl of rice and veggies, it makes a quick weekday meal that comes together in a flash. For these reasons, I’m on board!

Ingredients for Teriyaki Tofu Bowl

Medium-firm tofu (I’ll explain later why this firmness works the best) Potato starch (More on the Tips section below) Homemade teriyaki sauce: sake, mirin, soy sauce (or gluten-free soy sauce), and sugar Garnishes: chopped green onion (or cilantro) and sesame seeds

How to Make Teriyaki Tofu Bowl

Why Do We Need to Press the Tofu?

There are a few reasons why it’s important to drain the tofu before using it. 📝 Good to know: You can even control the texture and flavor of tofu by changing the draining time according to the dish.

How to Press Tofu

As you know, you can press tofu with a heavy object like a pot filled with water. However, I wanted to speed up the pressing time and make it more compact when doing this process, so I tried Tofuture Tofu Press and I wish I had gotten it sooner. It’s one of the best tofu presses because it’s easy to use and doesn’t take up much space.

5 Tips to Make the Best Teriyaki Tofu Bowl

Tip 1: Use medium-firm tofu

I’ve used different types of tofu for pan-fried recipes, and I find medium-firm tofu (momen dofu 木綿豆腐) offers the best texture. Why? Medium-firm tofu is firm enough that it won’t crumble easily yet it keeps enough moisture that it stays tender and fluffy after pan-frying. I usually let it drain for 30-45 minutes, but you can extend it if you like your tofu to be on the firmer side. Many people use extra-firm tofu when it comes to pan-frying or baking, but I feel the texture of the tofu is too tough and dry. This is my personal preference, so feel free to use firmer tofu if preferred.

Tip 2: Pressing the tofu with weight

If you leave the tofu on the countertop, water naturally starts to come out from the tofu. When you apply pressure on the tofu, it drains the water out faster, resulting in a firmer texture. You can purchase a tofu press if you eat pan-fried or stir-fried tofu often. It’s a convenient and effective way to drain as much water as possible. However, if you don’t plan to use it often, you can always use an old fashion way of putting a heavy object on top of the tofu. Wrap the tofu around with paper towels so that excess moisture will be absorbed. Then place a flat board such as a cutting board, tray, or plate, which helps distribute the weight. Your weight should be heavy enough to press down evenly across the top of the tofu, but not so heavy that the tofu would crumble. I use a marble mortar but a large can of food is a perfect weight.

Tip 3: Use potato starch

In Japan, potato starch, or what we call katakuriko (片栗粉), is the most common starch we use to coat ingredients for pan-frying or deep-frying. The potato starch creates a nice crispy shell around the food, absorbs all the delicious flavors from the sauce, and thickens it at the same time. The closest substitute and the popular counterpart is cornstarch. It looks similar, but when you touch it, you could immediately tell these two starches apart. When I did recipe testing for Karaage (Japanese fried chicken) using these two starches, I realized potato starch coating is significantly better than cornstarch for yielding the best crispy texture; therefore, I highly recommend potato starch for this recipe as well. I do not have experience in using other types of starch, so I can’t advise on other substitutes.

Tip 4: Pan-fry the tofu with patience

Since uncooked tofu is edible right out of the package, you can speed up the browning process by cooking on relatively higher heat. Why browning? It gives an additional layer of delicious charred flavor, makes the food more appealing, and creates a crispy shell. Don’t flip the cubed tofu frequently; give enough time for each side of the tofu to have good contact with the hot frying pan so it will brown properly.

Tip 5: Stop cooking the sauce once it starts to thicken

The potato starch coating on the tofu will absorb and thicken the delicious sauce quickly. Once you see the sauce thickens, remove the pan from the stove. The sauce will continue to thicken as more moisture evaporates.