Cubed and steamed with sesame seeds, sesame seed oil, lots of chopped garlic, paprika, chile pepper, and soy sauce, eaten over rice. Fiery, healthy, and delicious.

I, too, like to add the tofu at the end of the stir-fry process.
I give the tofu pieces a dusting of cornstarch and pinch of salt before throwing them into a nonstick pan with a little (half tablespoon) oil. They crisp up sooo well this way!

I use the technique you described above to sear the tofu, but I also often first sprinkle it with sesame seeds, which form a bit of a crust. Really good that way.

I always coat tofu with some beaten egg before lightly frying. (I suppose if you're vegan that's counterproductive.)

I'm confused by the description of "battered and fried" tofu.

I've only ever encountered fried tofu, never battered. Freshly deep fried tofu is super crispy on the outside and custardy inside. The outside of fried tofu gets softer when it is allowed to sit but will recrisp in the oven or they can be stuffed and baked or steamed. This is all the fried tofu I've had and seen growing up and made at home or at restaurants or in the Asian market, etc., as tofu doesn't need batter to fry up beautifully with a puffy crispy skin.

What is your tofu battered with?

I LOVE Baked Tofu (and you can use less oil!)

i love fried tofu but lately have had great luck with baking it. marinate the cubed tofu in any soy based asian type marinade. last time i did soy, balsamic vinegar (had no mirin on hand) and some honey. spread out in a baking dish and into a 350degree oven. you can do all sorts of variations. after taking it out of the oven, i had it over the next few days with veg and rice and tossed some in soup and my favorite was throwing it in a wrap with some julienned vegetables and a little hummus for an amazing wrap!

I eat tofu nearly every day for lunch. I sprinkle it generously with powdered adobo and fry it in a nonstick pan with a spray of Pam. Delicious!

We don't use any oil and never need to press tofu. Instead, we use one of those small George Foreman grills and 'dry fry' the tofu (after first cutting it into rectangles or triangles). Once it's done, you'll find that it readily sucks up your marinade or sauce, and has a great texture too, without the extra fat. We got the idea from Vegan Yum Yum's blog (http://veganyumyum.com/2008/06/sweet-chili-lime-tofu-with-wok-steamed-collards-and-quinoa/) and this is what we've evolved to. Especially great since we're trying to lose weight!

agedashi tofu is battered I think.

Tofu in a 375 deg oven or toaster for about 10-15 minutes. Good crisp w/o the oil. Works great if you've marinated the tofu beforehand, since it does tend to dry out a bit. Works well in curries and such for the same reason.

The dry fry method is excellent and works quite well for a crispy golden brown tofu. And that Vegan Yum Yum tofu recipe is out of this world.

I crisp it up in my cast iron, the way you described with a tablespoon or 2 of oil and seperate before everything else. Usually with equal parts toasted sesame oil and evoo. Sometimes I make slabs sometimes cubes. :)

When I use it in soup, curry or something very saucy I put it in at the end without crisping.

I guess I always assumed deep-fried tofu had some sort of batter or coating on it to give it a crispy crust, like other fried foods. Maybe I've been wrong all this time!

The yummiest tofu dish I had was at a friend's house. She coated it in nutritional yeast, salt, and some herbs, then baked it. It had a wonderful crisp, savoury outside.

I like to fry mine up in a non stick pan with a little bit of oil and cook them until they are really firm.

I love to marinade mine with tandoori paste and yogurt and then fry them up too!

I like to season them and toss them with cornstarch before shallow frying (you don't need a TON of oil, but you need an even layer). It makes for the most amazing crust – crispy and golden! Just make sure the season them well before hand because this method does not develop a ton of flavour.

@Tazer - I agree that agedashi tofu seems like it has a batter on it but I think most of the time the tofu has just tossed in some cornstarch (or potato starch).

@ Emma Christensen - I guess not everyone grew up with a mom deep frying tofu to make tofu puffs to stuff and little fried tofu cubes to add to things so it might not be intuitive to think tofu could develop that crispy skin all on its own. But it can!!

As a vegetarian just started to cook with tofu, I'm loving this thread/ In my limited experience, my favorite tofu is tossed in onion power, paprika, and cayenne, fried in oil until crispy and served in homemade bbq sauce. I always end up breaking a few pieces, so I'll definitely try this technique --and all the others suggested in the comments, too!

So, the method above does use fat. I clicked on the article looking for a way to use no fat. I think I'll try the dry-fry method from the comments.

this is my fave tofu recipe:
http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/lynn-the-power-of-pyrex/

i love tofu, but i've never cooked with it. i bought some last week at the grocery and have been wondering the best way to try...this is going to be it!!! can't wait!

I use extra firm tofu that's been drained well and slice it into thinnish rectangles and dry cook it in a pan.

I used a waffle iron to cook thin slices of tofu once. It was fantastic.

For those vegans that want to coat, but obviously have to avoid the egg--mix a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar with about a cup of soy milk and let it curdle and thicken. Then, dip your tofu into the mixture and then into seasoned breadcrumbs. Place on a sprayed baking pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes at 375. mmmmmmm!

a nice variation on battered tofu is my new favourite food:
toss cubed tofu in a skillet with a touch of oil (or butter, if you prefer.) lightly brown all sides. Pour nutritional yeast over cubes to cover, then shake a few splashes of bragg's over. stir to coat, adding a touch more braggs as needed. let it crisp up, about 3 or 4 minutes. DELICIOUS!

Like a number of others, I cube x-firm tofu and fry it in a very thin layer of oil, without stirring. Then I turn each one over. If I'm making stir fry, I do this first, then stir fry the veggies and then add back the tofu before I add the sauce.

For those who haven't tried this, you absolutely must!

Toss cubed tofu with a mix of tamari, nutritional yeast and olive oil. It should be well coated and a bit drippy. Allow it to absorb for a few minutes before either pan-frying or baking it in the oven.

It tastes great as the protein portion of a meal that includes grains and steamed veggies. You can then drizzle a healthy oil and additional tamari and yeast over the whole plate.

Yum! Because of this quick tip I am finally able to correctly fry tofu. In the past the tofu would stick and not crisp up correctly...though I have gotten a new pan since I've tried. Thanks!