Vegan Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken
This salt and pepper tofu is a Chinese takeaway classic and a flavour bomb that everyone will love.
For the first 26 years of my life I had never had salt and pepper or sometimes known as salt and chilli seasoning. I tended to stick to the same takeaway order before becoming more adventurous with food and I never really knew what ‘salt and pepper’ was.
The day I tried a salt & pepper chip my life changed and I was positively obsessed! And needless to say I will never miss salt & pepper chips off of my Chinese takeaway order again.
However this seasoning works on just about anything and especially well with tofu. Chinese takeaway salt and pepper is my absolute favourite to order however its so easy and cheap to make at home. This is also a healthier option and is perfect to put in a Tupperware for lunch the next day!
Why you will love this salt and pepper tofu
- Tastes like takeaway- using MSG in home cooking is a game changer. If you’ve ever wondered how takeaway Chinese food tastes so much better than homemade MSG is the reason why!
- Easy- You simply need to coat the tofu in cornflour, fry off, add the chopped veg and the seasoning and stir fry until cooked- it’s a foolproof recipe.
- Crispy- Using cornflour to coat the tofu and shallow frying in oil makes the tofu super crispy on the outside but soft in the middle- the perfect texture combination in my opinion.
- Versatile- The salt and pepper seasoning is a versatile blend that works well on any protein, vegetable and you can even use it on frozen chips or nuggets. It keeps well so make a big batch and keep in a jar in your cupboard.
Top tip- If you want to use less oil try baking the tofu. Follow the same steps but bake the tofu before adding to a pan with the veggies and a tiny bit of oil just to help the seasoning stick.
5 simple steps to make this salt and pepper tofu
- Break up tofu
- Coat with cornflour
- Fry tofu
- Add veggies
- Add seasoning
What to eat salt and pepper tofu with?
What is Chinese salt and pepper made of?-
- Tofu- I used extra firm tofu in this recipe purely because of its ability to keep its structure. You can however use any level of firmness just be very careful when turning in the pan. But please be aware that silken tofu is not suitable for this recipe.
- Cornflour- The secret to the perfectly crisp tofu is cornflour. Lightly dusting the tofu in cornflour and frying in oil provides you with a crisp bite and soft centre.
Top Tip- To evenly coat the tofu in cornflour add the pieces to a large tupperware with a lid- add the cornflour and put the lid on. Shake until all of the pieces are coated all over.
- Bell peppers- I like to use a mix of colours of peppers in this recipe. Green adds a slightly bitter flavour whilst red are sweet. The mixture of flavours add a little more depth to the dish.
- MSG- MSG is the Chinese seasoning god. It’s the reason that takeaway Chinese always tastes that bit better than what you make at home. It gives a dish an elevated umami flavour. I highly recommend using MSG to really satisfy your takeaway cravings. Its readily available in all Asian supermarkets or you can buy it online. You will not believe how good your food tastes with this seasoning.
- White pepper- White pepper is crucial for Chinese seasonings it provides the flavour but is slightly milder than black pepper.
How to add more flavour to tofu- An extra step you can do is to boil the tofu in salt water before coating and frying. This will infuse the tofu with salt and give the inside of the tofu more flavour.
Step by step guide - how to make crispy salt and pepper tofu
- Break the tofu up into bite size chunks
- Coat the tofu in cornflour
- Fry the tofu pieces
- Flip the tofu making sure its golden on all sides
- Chop the veggies
- Add the veggies to the pan
- Add the seasonings
- Serve garnished with spring onion and sesame seeds
Chinese Style Salt and Pepper Tofu
Ingredients
- 280 g extra firm Tofu
- ½ an onion
- ½ red bell pepper
- ½ green bell pepper
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 2 Tbsp neutral flavoured oil
- Sesame seeds to serve
Seasoning-
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- ½ tsp MSG
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Break up the tofu in to even sized chunks. Place the tofu into a tub with a lid and sprinkle on the cornflour and give them a toss to make sure each piece is coated evenly.
- Heat up the oil in a frying pan and carefully place each coated tofu cube into the oil making sure they do not touch. (you may have to do this in batches).
- Fry the pieces until golden on all sides.
- Roughly chop the onion and bell peppers into a similar size to the tofu.
- Add the vegetables into the pan with the tofu and fry until soft.
- Put all of the seasoning ingredients together in a separate bowl and stir making sure they are well combined.
- Sprinkle the seasoning onto the tofu and vegetables and stir fry until coated
- Serve up with some rice and top with sesame seeds and spring onion.
Notes
Here are some other Chinese tofu recipes I love from other food bloggers
- Vegan kung pao tofu Recipe by From My Bowl
- Crispy Szechuan Tofu Stir Fry Recipe by Khins Kitchen
You may also like these recipes
- Creamy courgette orzo
- Lions mane mushroom steak
- Tomato chickpea curry
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