Spicy Tofu Bites With A ‘Meaty’, Crispy & Chewy Texture

March 22, 2025/Stefanie Taylor/No Comments

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If you’re in need a protein rich and filling snack (or even a side dish to a meal), check out these spicy tofu bites with a true meaty and chewy texture. Tofu is FILLING for relatively few calories, and will satiate you in just a few chunks until your next meal.

So, next time you feel like a quick and easy snack, knock yourself up some spicy tofu bites and prepare for the ultra in satiation.

What’s So Good About Tofu?

plain tofu chunks

There’s much to love about tofu because it is in fact a complete protein and can be used as a ‘meat’ substitute in any meal. It’s versatile and can be used in many dishes. These include:-

Chopped into chunks in curries
Minced into chili
Tofu scramble
Tofu fried rice
Add to Chinese style stir-fry’s
Sticky Teriyaki tofu
Add to soups and stews
Air fry or bake into a crispy snack
Serve as a side dish to a meal
Turn into schnitzel

How To Prepare Tofu

There a a few different methods of prep for your tofu and you will use them according to the dish you are making. Again, tofu is a highly versatile product that can be use in a great variety of ways.

The tofu we are talking about in this post is what is known as firm tofu. You can get other varieties such as silken (which is much softer), but generally used in sweet dishes and desserts, so we won’t be focusing on that for the purpose of this post.

Firm tofu usually comes in a pool of fluid, which is quite normal so do not be concerned about this. You can simply drain it away anyway.

Many people also like to use a tofu press to squeeze out a lot more of the natural water content, but this is by no means absolutely necessary. You can in fact take the tofu between the palms of your hands and gently squeeze out excess fluid over your kitchen sink. You do not need to concern yourself with getting every little bit of fluid out as that will be impossible, but do what you can.

Here’s some examples of how you can prepare your tofu for use:-

DICE – Dice your tofu into bitesize pieces if you want to add it to curries, soups and Chinese style stir-fry’s. We have also used diced tofu for these spicy tofu bites.
SCRAMBLE – Yes, you can make scrambles tofu (which tastes remarkably similar to scrambled eggs) by laying it on a chopping board and gently using a manual potato masher to mash through it. Don’t over-do this process. One mash through any one part of the tofu is enough.
SLICE – You can slice your tofu thin if you want to make it chewier and meatier textured. This is perfect for use in sandwiches.
MINCE MEAT – You can finely chop your tofu on a chopping board with a large knife and until it is the texture of ground beef. You can then use it as a filling for burgers or as the mincemeat element to stews or chilis.

Freezing Tofu

Some people prefer to squeeze excess fluid from their tofu and freeze it before use. You then have to thaw before use, but the purpose of this extra step is to change the texture.

Something about the freezing process completely changes the texture of your tofu and it becomes meatier and drier. This is a personal preference and you do not need to do this.

What Type Of Tofu Should I Buy?

If you look around your local supermarket or Asian stores you will find an abundance of firm tofu from a plethora of brands. Most just come as they are, plain, but more and more are being pre-flavoured or smoked, which can be very helpful when it comes to making crispy tofu bites.

Tofu without any spices is bland and pretty tasteless, that’s why you either need to buy it with herbs and spices already infused, or you’ll need to add your own.

Buy organic!

When it comes to tofu, always buy organic so you can be sure of purity and non GMO ingredients. Most supermarket tofu is already organic, but do check labels. The Asian store tofu is more often non-organic as it comes in much bigger bulk, so be wary of this too.

Tofu is inexpensive (or it should be), even the organic should not be too pricey.

How To Make Spicy Tofu Bites

For this dish in particular, you will need to drain as much excess fluid from your tofu as possible if you want your spicy bites to be chewy and meaty in texture. Do this with a tofu press or a really good hand squeezing (which may be difficult if your tofu is delicate).

You could also try the freezing method to change your tofu’s texture, but this will require pre-preparation. You must also thoroughly defrost before using frozen tofu.

Once your tofu is prepped, you can pretty much spice it up however you like. The world is your oyster with this, but the flavours we use here are tried and tested and already delicious.

Once you’ve picked your spices, you simply toss your pre-cubed tofu in a mix of those spices with a dash of tamari, soy sauce or liquid aminos. You’ll also need a little cornstarch to help with crispiness. You don’t want to use to much of these fluids as you really do not want to over saturate your tofu, thus affecting texture. But you will need a little of one of these for umami taste and a little saltiness – it needs it!