This recipe was sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. All opinions are my own.
Tofu Satay cooks up incredibly quickly in the air fryer. It’s perfect dipped in my quick-and-easy, blender peanut sauce. Serve it as an appetizer or entree!
When I was a kid, we would go out for Thai food once a week, on average, and I so looked forward to Thai food night!
My family orders big when we eat out, and we’d order mee grob, massaman curry, and at least one order of chicken satay. This Tofu Satay is me trying to veganize that childhood favorite.
Like most of my tofu recipes, pressing before you make your Tofu Satay is super important. In this recipe, pressing does two things:
1. Gets the water out, so the marinade can soak in.
Tofu is very watery, and when you press out the extra water, it gets thirsty, which is ideal for soaking in alllll of the flavor.
2. Makes your tofu more firm.
Yes, the tofu will soak in marinade, but you’d not adding back nearly as much liquid as you press out.
I’ve measured the water many times, and 10 minutes of pressing in the EZ Tofu Press gets out as much as 1/2 cup of water. A half hour of marinating doesn’t put back that much liquid, so you end up with firmer, more toothsome tofu. Perfect for skewers!
Ready to make some Tofu Satay? Check out the recipe video, and get the written directions below!
Air Fryer Tofu Satay
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- juice of 1 fresh lime
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger - no need to peel, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 block tofu - see video, cut into strips
- 1 batch 5-Minute Peanut Butter Sauce - Use the full 6 tablespoons of water that the recipe calls for
Instructions
- Combine the soy sauce, lime juice, maple syrup, ginger, sriracha, and garlic in your blender or food processor, and puree until smooth.
- Pour the marinade over the tofu strips*, and marinate for 15-30 minutes. While the tofu marinates, soak 6 bamboo skewers in enough water to cover.
- When your marinating time is up, use a wire cutter to cut your skewers in half, so you now have 6 half-sized skewers. A full bamboo skewer won't fit into your air fryer basket, but these half-skewers will! Remove any splinters from the cut skewers, then, skewer 1 tofu strip onto each little stick. Make sure you are sticking the UNCUT side through your tofu. You do not need to eat any splinters today!
- Transfer the mini tofu skewers to your air fryer. Cook at 370F for 15 minutes, DO NOT SHAKE. While the tofu cooks, make your 5-Minute Peanut Butter Sauce, if you haven't already.
- When the air fryer beeps, you are ready to eat!
Notes
Nutrition
Marc
April 24, 2017 at 8:28 amSwedish pancakes with butter and sugar was a favorite of mine.
Milt
April 24, 2017 at 8:24 amI enjoyed delicious,Baked Mozzarella Sticks.
Rob
April 24, 2017 at 8:18 amI always liked some tasty Lasagna.
Jill
April 23, 2017 at 10:36 pmLearning how to make cookies and cupcakes when I was little!
Maryann D.
April 23, 2017 at 6:44 pmI loved when my mother made soup when I was a child. Any of her soups were wonderful and I try to make them like she did now.
Fiona
April 23, 2017 at 5:50 pmMy favorite childhood for memory is making crispy fried tofu with sweet sauce at home, and then bring them to school for my best friends to try 🙂
Thank You
Richard Brandt
April 23, 2017 at 5:44 pmMy favorite childhood for memory is my mom’s fried chicken and gravy.
Elicia
April 23, 2017 at 1:30 pmWatching my Baba bake and cook. She died in January and I would love to go back in time to watch and taste her food.
Becky Striepe
April 23, 2017 at 2:03 pmI am so sorry to hear about your Baba. I know what you mean. I’d give anything to cook with my Nani Dorothy again.
Christine
April 23, 2017 at 12:36 pmYum! This looks so good. Definitely on my “to-make” list.
Becky Striepe
April 23, 2017 at 1:42 pmThank you, Christine!
angie w
April 23, 2017 at 10:05 amHaving the apple pot pie my gram would make 🙂
Dolores
April 22, 2017 at 11:16 pmMy favorite memory is cooking with my Mother!
Janet
April 22, 2017 at 6:41 amEvery Wednesday night my mom would make spaghetti. Oh it was so good. There is a picture of me in my high chair was spaghetti sauce all over my house looking quite happy.
Jenna
April 22, 2017 at 1:07 amThis recipe sounds so delicious! My favorite memory is pot pies! So comforting and filling! Yummmm!
Terri Cole
April 21, 2017 at 10:24 pmAll my favorite childhood food memories center around my grandma’s kitchen. She made everything from scratch, cakes, pies, doughnuts. She taught me how to cook and she even wrote down the beloved German potato salad recipe for us. My daughter and I have successfully veganized several of my childhood favorites, including that famous potato salad, and a Christmas macaroon that has cornflakes as an ingredient!
Now if I could just make a vegan version of Grandma’s bread pudding with caramel sauce, I could die happy. LOL!
Becky Striepe
April 21, 2017 at 10:35 pmAw, I love this! All of my Nani Dorothy’s recipes got lost, and it breaks my heart. I’d love to veganize her chocolate cake or matzoh ball soup!
Gail
April 21, 2017 at 12:44 pmFavorite childhood food memories. Watermelon! YUM!
Becky Striepe
April 21, 2017 at 1:16 pmYum!
Scott
April 21, 2017 at 12:43 pmBest childhood food memory is my mom’s beef stew! I’ve come along way since then since we are 100% plant based now.
Becky Striepe
April 21, 2017 at 1:16 pmAw my dad made a good beef stew also. It was even better the next day!
Scott
April 21, 2017 at 12:40 pmWe eat tofu very often and this tool and recipe all look/sound amazing!
Libby
April 21, 2017 at 12:11 pmMy favorite child food memory – while in Dallas, there was a vegetarian restaurant and I had the best sub sandwich. First time I ever had avocado OR sprouts!
Becky Striepe
April 21, 2017 at 1:15 pmOh wow! I bet that was gamechanging.
Linda @ Veganosity
April 20, 2017 at 7:52 pmTofu Satay is the best! I’m drooling over that peanut sauce.
Becky Striepe
April 20, 2017 at 7:57 pmThank you, Linda!
Mel |avirtualvegan.com
April 20, 2017 at 1:41 amThis tofu looks so good! I could easily eat the whole lot dipped in that gorgeous sauce!
Becky Striepe
April 20, 2017 at 7:50 amThank you, Mel!
Stephanie
April 19, 2017 at 9:36 pmThis recipe looks so yummy. I loved watching my mom cook in the kitchen when I was younger…and getting to taste all the food. 🙂
Sarah
April 19, 2017 at 2:15 amI’m so impressed! I hadn’t had thai food until I was in my 20s! You’re so cultured 🙂 Peanut Satay is my favorite thing ever—we’ll have to give these a try!
Becky Striepe
April 19, 2017 at 10:55 amHa! We were lucky in the food department. At the time, though, my friends mostly thought we are weird food. Good preparation for going vegan later, where everyone thinks that again!
Dianne
April 18, 2017 at 5:27 pmThis looks amazing! You know exactly how I like my tofu!
Becky Striepe
April 18, 2017 at 5:42 pmThank you, Dianne!
Sadie
April 18, 2017 at 2:21 pmI”m so excited to try this recipe in my air fryer!
My favorite childhood food memory is making chicken and dumplings with my grandmother. It’s the ultimate comfort food to me. I have a photo of me standing on a chair to be able to reach the counter and roll out the dough. I need to find a way to vegan-ize the recipe!
Becky Striepe
April 18, 2017 at 3:00 pmAw that is so sweet!!
Janeen
April 18, 2017 at 12:18 pmOH this recipe is wonderful !!!! Great idea using sticks, sure it makes turning in oven easier also. Thanks for recipe and chance to win
Mary Ellen | VNutrition
April 18, 2017 at 10:29 amThai food is amazing and so is this tofu! I wish my parents took me for Thai when I was little, it was the same old McDonald’s for us as a treat (blah). Love the video!
Becky Striepe
April 18, 2017 at 12:38 pmAw thank you! At the time, most of my classmates thought our food was sooooo weird.
Kristina
April 17, 2017 at 5:48 pmas we head into summer and BBQ parties, I love a food on a stick! 🙂 this is my kind of tofu – love the flavors!
Becky Striepe
April 17, 2017 at 8:37 pmThank you, Kristina! I agree: sticks make any food special.
Kristina
April 19, 2017 at 12:02 pmthis video is mesmerizing. cannot stop watching. 🙂
Becky Striepe
April 19, 2017 at 12:35 pmAw thank you! <3
Jenna Urben
April 17, 2017 at 4:58 pmGreat post and a great giveaway! My favorite childhood food is my moms banana bread. She added chocolate chips and nuts, sometimes even peanut butter!
Becky Striepe
April 17, 2017 at 8:37 pmPeanut butter in banana bread is genius!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
April 17, 2017 at 4:14 pmI’m drooling! I love Thai food so much! We usually have it every weekend, but our local restaurant doesn’t serve tofu satay. I should suggest it to them since they make everything else vegan for us. Anyway, my food memories are of things at home, like Lipton’s onion dip with potato chips and eating black olives off my fingers. And licking the “stuff” out of Oreos and leaving the cookies behind. LOL
Becky Striepe
April 17, 2017 at 8:36 pmOoh you totally should! And ruffled chips with Lipton dip will forger remind me of grade school sleepovers. So fun!
sarah
April 17, 2017 at 3:20 pmmaking oatmeal cookies with my granny 🙂
Becky Striepe
April 17, 2017 at 3:32 pmAw, I love that!
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite
April 17, 2017 at 3:10 pmI love satay sauce! And anything on sticks is right up my alley. Looks delicious!
Becky Striepe
April 17, 2017 at 3:32 pmThank you, Sophia! I agree – skewers male everything more delicious.
Ginny
April 17, 2017 at 2:30 pmSuch a great video to go along with your recipe. You really help it showing the steps. I am jumping on this recipe right away!
Becky Striepe
April 17, 2017 at 2:50 pmEnjoy it, Ginny!
Jenn
April 17, 2017 at 12:45 pmI’m feeling a little behind the times lately since I don’t (yet) have an air fryer. It soared to the top of kitchen must haves pretty darn quickly. I think I need one if for no other reason than this tofu satay! LOVE crispy tofu – so totally addictive. NEED!
Becky Striepe
April 17, 2017 at 2:19 pmThank you, Jenn! It’s so good!