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Sweet and Spicy Crispy Baked Firecracker Tofu Wings – an addictive vegan appetizer that will leave you wanting more. This is a super easy and delicious tofu recipe that’s perfect for Game Day, parties, movie night, or any occasion that calls for crowd-pleasing snacks.
I am not in the habit of calling a recipe “addicting,” but if anything would deserve that kind of etiquette, it would be these Firecracker Tofu Wings. They are perfectly crispy on the outside, soft and on the inside, and soak up all of the sweet and spicy firecracker sauce! Like takeout, just way better plus all plant-based and lower in artificial ingredients than the takeout version.
Every bite of these baked tofu wings is absolutely delicious and you will find yourself automatically reaching for the next wing while still munching on the first one! Don’t say I did not warn you! Bookmark this one for your next movie night or Game Day.
What is firecracker sauce?
Firecracker sauce is a simple sweet and hot Asian-inspired stir-fry sauce that goes well with just about anything and is especially great for spicing up anything rather neutral-tasting – from cauliflower to tofu!
Traditional restaurant-style firecracker sauce has a hefty dose of sugar to make it more sweet than hot. With my sauce, I go a bit heavier on the spice and flavor and lower on the sugar. Anything from 2 1/2 – 3 tbsp will be just enough. Start with 2/1 tbsp and add some more to taste. You might not even need the whole amount.
More vegan appetizer and snacks :
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries with vegan Chipotle Ranch
- Baked Garlic Fries with Garlic Tahini Sauce.
- Nashville hot cauliflower bites
- Spicy Pepper Crisp Cauliflower bites with celery ranch
- Mango Sriracha Cauliflower Bites
Vegan Firecracker Tofu Wings
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 3 Tbsp Sriracha sauce
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 3 Tbsp hot sauce
- 2 ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ - 1 tsp cayenne powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ½ - 3 Tbsp sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tsp cornstarch, or use potato starch
Tofu
- 12 to 14 oz pack of extra firm tofu, pressed for 15 mins then sliced into thin strips
Breadcrumb Coating
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉
- Make the firecracker sauce, add all the ingredients in a shallow cooking pan. Heat the sauce over medium heat, whisk well to incorporate cornstarch and sugar until well combined
- Bring the mixture to a boil, sauce will thicken slightly so keep whisking. Simmer for 1 minute then switch off the heat, let the sauce cool to a warm state so that it thickens a bit more
- In the meantime, slice your tofu if you haven’t already and dip strips in the sauce using tongs, the coating on all sides.
- Make your breadcrumb coating, mix well and place in a shallow bowl
- Dip tofu slices from the sauce into the breadcrumb mixture, coating all sides again. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat for all tofu strips
- Bake at 400℉ for 20-25 minutes or until crisp
- Serve these strips with the remaining firecracker sauce on the side, or add all the strips to the firecracker pan and toss well to coat, using tongs to turn each piece to coat and cook together, serving immediately.
- Serve with vegan ranch and top with thinly sliced green onions or scallions
Video
Notes
- Airfry: air fry at 400 deg f and check at 10 mins . Shake and continue if needed
- glutenfree: use gf breadcrumbs to make Glutenfree
- You can use any hot sauce of choice depending on your tolerance.
- Cayenne powder can be substituted with chili powder. For less spicy, use smoked paprika.
- The tofu needs to be pressed to get rid of excess moisture which would make the breading soggy.
- To press tofu, wrap the whole block of tofu in a double layer of clean kitchen towels or a clean tea towel then put it on a large plate. Put something heavy such as a frying pan on top, and weight it down further with cans and jars, and leave for 30 mins.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- Tofu – here you will need extra firm tofu. Anything softer will not hold up to the coating process. Plus we want our tofu wings to be dippable. Soft tofu will end up breaking in half when dipping into any sauce.
- Hot sauce — you can use a milder one such as Frank’s.
- Sriracha — If you want your sauce a little less spicy, you can omit this and use ketchup or more hot sauce. If using ketchup, lower the amount of sugar.
- I like to add some white vinegar to add a bit of acidity to the firecracker sauce
- as of dried spices, I like adding some garlic powder and cayenne powder to the sauce. You can play around with the amounts depending on your taste.
- To thicken the sauce, I add some cornstarch.
- the crispy coating is a simple blend of breadcrumbs, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Don’t skip the salt – nothing sadder than an unsalted breading.
Tips & Substitutions:
- I use regular white sugar for this recipe but you could go with coconut sugar to make it refined sugar-free.
- You can use any hot sauce of choice depending on your tolerance. Frank’s tends to be rather mild.
- for less spicy, use smoked paprika.
- We are using garlic powder here, which should not be confused with garlic salt. If you only have garlic salt, use 1 tsp and skip the 1/2 tsp of salt.
- The tofu needs to be pressed for making tofu wings to get rid of excess moisture which would make the breading soggy.
- To press tofu, wrap the whole block of tofu in a double layer of clean kitchen towels or a clean tea towel then put it on a large plate with a lip. Put something heavy such as a frying pan on top, weight it down further with cans and jars, and leave for 30 mins.
How to make Vegan Firecracker Tofu Wings:
Preheat oven to 400℉
Make the firecracker sauce, add all the ingredients in a shallow cooking pan. Heat the sauce over medium heat, whisk well to incorporate cornstarch and sugar until well combined.
Bring the mixture to a boil. The sauce will thicken slightly so keep whisking. Simmer for 1 minute then switch off the heat, let the sauce cool to a warm state so that it thickens a bit more.
In the meantime, slice your tofu if you haven’t already and dip strips in the sauce using tongs, the coating on all sides.
Make your breadcrumb coating, mix well and place in a shallow bowl.
Dip tofu slices from the sauce into the breadcrumb mixture, coating all sides again. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat for all tofu strips
How to serve Vegan Firecracker Tofu Wings:
This sounds great. Cannot wait. In place of sugar can I use coconut or date syrup or coconut sugar?
Yes use either. Cook longer to thicken when using syrups
These were fantastic. I did use the coconut syrup. We’ll be having these again very soon. Delicious!
Just made this. Double-dipping is the ONE! Doesn’t taste like tofu. Thanks!
Yay!!
These look amazing!! Do you think I could sub chickpea tofu?
Yes! Use my chickpea tofu recipe which makes firm chickpea tofu . Softer chickpea tofu might not work.
Hey! I am looking to make this recipe tomorrow. would corn flakes work instead of bread crumbs?
Yes should work. Crush them so that they are small enough and stick easily
I made them and they came out amazing! Thank you for this wonderful recipe you never disappoint!
Yay
Thnks for sharing your recipes🙂
Thank you for good vibes
These are so good! They crisp up nicely, and the flavor is great! We’ll definitely make these again.
Thanks!!
Loved the firecracker sauce!!!
firecracker tofu wings is so tasty and yummiest fast food i ever eat.
yay!!
Wow these are amazing!! Thank you for the recipe!
Yay
Hi, I was wondering if you thought 4 of these “tofu wings” was equivalent to one serving? Thanks,I am trying tonight!
Yes 3-4 depending on how you slice them
Made these today! I reduced the hot sauce and sauce and cayenne a bit and the kids loved them too
Awesome!!