My Easy Mango Chipotle Glazed Tofu, with sparkling sweet, spicy, tangy and salty notes, makes a tasty and simple finger food for a full-blown event or a party of one. This recipe has only eight ingredients, and it takes under 20 minutes to put together. A vegan, nut-free and gluten-free recipe.
The year 2018 is almost at an end, and happily so, I think, for most of us. We’ve earned a delicious start to the New Year, and here’s how I am going to make mine as tasty as possible — with this Easy Mango Chipotle Glazed Tofu.
Tofu, being a blank slate, does really well with bright, tropical flavors, and there’s really no better way to taste the sun than to bite into a mango.
How to make this easy Mango Chipotle Glazed Tofu:
- There are just three steps here: mix your marinade ingredients, cut your tofu in a dice, and then let it all cook happily away in a skillet or wok.
- You can use extra firm or super firm tofu in this recipe — I prefer super firm simply because it holds its shape better during the stir-frying, although extra-firm will absorb flavors better, being more porous. It’s your call.
- Use pureed mango out of a can, like I did, for convenience (it’s available year-round!) and great mango flavor. I use pureed Indian mangoes because, frankly, the stuff we get here in the United States is not a mango. If you do decided to puree mangoes yourself, go with a very sweet mango, like champagne.
- I used garam masala to add smokiness to my mango chipotle glazed tofu, but you can also use curry powder or, if you don’t have that, use a teaspoon of cumin powder.
- You can sub sriracha sauce for the chipotle, if you’d rather.
- If you like some sticky glaze on the tofu when you eat it, don’t let the glaze reduce all the way. Turn off the heat when the tofu is still a little saucy. When I serve this as a finger food, I prefer that the tofu is dry enough to be picked up with a toothpick, so I let the glaze reduce all the way until it crusts the tofu.
- This is a great dish to make ahead. The longer the tofu stands, the better it absorbs the flavors — and the better it tastes.
These are the ingredients you’ll need for the easy Mango Chipotle Glazed Tofu:
- Mango puree
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- Dijon mustard
- Garam masala
- Sesame seeds
- Lemon or lime
- Vegetable oil
- Tofu
That’s all. You can top the tofu with some cilantro or sliced scallions for a pop of green freshness. Stick some toothpicks in it and see your guests’ faces light up with happy smiles.
- 1 16-oz block super firm tofu (cut into cubes. Make slightly larger cubes-- mine were around 1/2 inch square)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup mango puree
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 chipotle chili pepper with 1 tsp of the accompanying adobo sauce (finely chop the pepper.Sriracha sauce works here too!)
- 1 tsp garam masala (can sub with curry powder or cumin powder)
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt to taste (optional)
- 1 tbsp cilantro (optional, for garnish. Chop finely if using)
Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok. Add the tofu cubes and saute for a few minutes, until the tofu starts to turn golden.
While the tofu is cooking, make the glaze by mixing the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, except the cilantro. I made the salt optional -- I like a dash, because it enhances the other flavors.
Pour the mango glaze into the tofu and mix well. Cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes or until the glaze has reduced. At this point you can leave the tofu a little saucy, if you like it that way, or, if you're serving this as a finger food, let the liquid cook away until the glaze crusts to the tofu.
Turn off the heat and squeeze on the lemon or lime juice. Sprinkle on the cilantro if using.
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