This air fryer stir fry is packed with flavor and is so easy to make! The magic is in the 5-minute blender stir fry sauce.
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The stir fry sauce serves as both a marinade for the tofu and an overall sauce for your air fryer stir fry. And there's no mincing needed to make it, thanks to your blender.
Before we make the sauce, though, we need to get the tofu ready!
Preparing the tofu
Pressing your tofu is definitely critical in this recipe. Pressing is what's going to give your Baked Tofu Stir Fry that good, firm texture and allow it to drink in that marinade
I use the EZ Tofu Press to press the liquid out of my tofu, because it's quick, even, and easy. You can get enough water out for nice, firm tofu in 10-15 minutes. For this recipe, we are pressing for 10 minutes, for the sake of time.
You can get as much as a half cup of water out by pressing with the EZ Tofu Press. I have measured it!
Recipe notes
While your tofu presses, make the marinade, which is my easy vegan stir fry sauce. Just combine all of the ingredients in the blender, and puree until smooth.
Dice the pressed tofu into cubes, then cover it in the marinade, and set it aside for at least 10 minutes to soak in those flavors.
Meanwhile, this is a good time to prep the veggies! You want the bell pepper and onion pieces to be around the same size, so they will cook evenly.
You will be cooking this dish in two rounds. Round one is for cooking the tofu with the peppers and onions, because those take the longest. I recommend starting with a 17 minute cooking time, and checking on the progress at that point.
After the 17 minutes, your tofu and veggies may look ready to go. If you want them more well done, you can cook for up to five more minutes.
You are ready to add the bok choy when the tofu and other veggies look ready to serve. Bok choy cooks up that quickly in the air fryer!
Add the box choy and a bit of the stir fry sauce to the air fryer, and cook for two to four more minutes, until the bok choy is tender.
Ingredient options
If you can't find or don't care for bok choy, don't worry! You've got options. Broccoli, kale or cauliflower all work well instead. So will sliced zucchini or other summer squash.
If you're using cauliflower or summer squash, you can add it at the same time as the onions and peppers. Just stop halfway through cooking to splash on additional sauce, so things don't dry out.
In the stir fry sauce, you can use corn starch instead of the arrowroot or potato starch.
If you want to up some heat, try top with a drizzle or sriracha, raw vegan hot sauce or dried pepper hot sauce!
How to serve, store, and reheat
Serve this up over rice or noodles for an easy meal. I love this dished up over my sesame noodles!
If you have any leftover air fryer stir fry, it will keep for three to four days in the fridge. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave or pop them into the air fryer at 350° F for five to seven minutes to warm them up.
📖 Recipe
Air fryer stir fry with veggies and tofu
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1" piece fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil - optional
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot - or 2 teaspoons potato starch
- 2 tablespoons water
For the stir fry
- 1 block extra firm tofu - pressed, and cut into 1" cubes
- 1 bell pepper - cut into strips
- ¾ cup sliced onion
- 4 cups sliced baby bok choy
Instructions
Marinate the tofu
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients in your blender, and puree until smooth. Arrange the tofu in a single layer in a shallow dish, and pour the sauce over it. Marinate for at least 10 minutes. Twenty to 30 minutes is even better.
Make the stir fry
- Remove the tofu from the dish, reserving the leftover marinade. Place it in the air fryer, and top it with the bell pepper and onion. Drizzle with half of the leftover marinade.
- Air fry for 17 minutes at 400° F, shaking every 5-6 minutes, so everything cooks evenly. You can add up to 5 extra minutes of cooking time, if needed, if you want your tofu more well done. This really depends on your preference and your air fryer.
- Add the baby bok choy to the air fryer, and drizzle on the remaining marinade, tossing to coat the bok choy really well. Cook for another 2-4 minutes at 400° F, shaking after 2 minutes.
- Serve over rice or noodles.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions
This is a great question! You can certainly remove the basket and use a wooden or rubber spoon to stir the contents of your air fryer. However, it's more common to just shake the basket.
Shaking does the same work as stirring -- preventing sticking and moving the food around so it cooks evenly -- without having to dirty another utensil. It's also quicker, since you just shake for a few seconds.
Like many air fryer recipes, 400° F is the ideal temperature to use.
Your cooking time will depend on what you're making. In this recipe, you're looking at 17-20 minutes.
This air fryer stir fry recipe is already 100% vegan as-is, so you are good to go!
I do not recommend doubling this recipe, since it would overfill your air fryer basket. You won't be happy with the results!
I'd recommend making my baked tofu stir fry instead. You can double that recipe by using a larger pan.
Got a question? Tried this recipe? Leave a reply!