Sisig Tofu – Air Fryer
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This long weekend, we craved sisig, so, I cooked Sisig Tofu-Air Fryer. It was Filipino sisig without the meat overload and with no grease. What a great way to enjoy the flavors of the regular sisig we love – citrusy-sweet, salty and spicy all at once.
Since the lockdown last year due to the pandemic, we’ve been more conscious of eating less grease, and often less meat. The Air Fryer has helped. If you don’t own an Air Fryer, I shared how to cook this stovetop, as well.
Sisig Tofu is as versatile as it is spicy. Serve it as an appetizer, as a side, or a main dish in itself. I liked how the crunchy tofu cubes came out of the Air Fryer, ready to be swirled around in the calamansi-toyo sauce. The chopped bird’s eyes chilies gave it the right amount of spicy punch. The best thing was, this sisig cooked quickly. And if you don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen, this is the recipe for you. This Sisig Tofu was the comfort meal we needed, as we took a pause this three-day weekend.
Sisig Tofu - Air Fryer
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Cast iron skillet
Ingredients
For marinade:
- 1 cup toyo (soy sauce)
- ¼ cup calamansi juice (or use lemon)
For Sisig Tofu
- 1 block (16 oz.) Extra firm Tofu, cut into 2-inch square cubes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, to coat tofu
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 whole white or red onion, sliced
- ½ of a whole red bell pepper, sliced, seeded
- 2 stalks scallions, chopped
- 2 pieces siling labuyo (bird's eye chilies)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For stovetop cooking:
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, if deep frying tofu instead of using Air Fryer
Instructions
To marinate tofu:
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy sauce and calamansi juice.Cut up the tofu into 2-inch sized cubes. Soak the cubes in the marinade for 15 minutes. Do not soak longer than this.After 15 minutes, drain and reserve the marinade liquid.Pat dry the tofu cubes with paper towels.
To cook tofu in the Air Fryer:
- In a small bowl, combine the flour and garlic powder.Coat and dredge the tofu cubes with the flour mixture.
- Using a fork or a pair of tongs, place the tofu cubes inside the Air Fryer basket. Line the cubes parallel to each other. Do NOT overlap or they won't be crunchy.*If cubes do not fit all at once, divide the tofu and cook in batches in the Air Fryer.
- Fry tofu cubes in the Air Fryer at 400 F for 13 to 15 minutes.When done, drain the tofu cubes on parchment paper or paper towels.
To make the Sisig sauce:
- In a cast iron skillet, over medium-high heat, pour the vegetable oil.When oil is hot enough in 1 to 2 minutes, saute the garlic, onions, bell peppers.Pour the reserved marinade of calamansi - soy sauce.Add the chopped bird's eye chilies, red pepper flakes, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the Sisig Tofu which was cooked in the Air Fryer.Spoon some of the sauce over the tofu cubes.Serve hot and sizzling.
To cook Sisig Tofu stovetop:
- Cut the tofu in 2-inch cubes. Marinate in a bowl with soy sauce and calamansi for 15 minutes.Drain and reserve the marinade liquid. Pat dry the tofu with paper towels.
- Coat the tofu cubes with a mixture of flour and garlic powder. Set aside.In a skillet, over medium-high heat, pour the 1/4 cup vegetable oil. When oil is hot, deep-fry the coated tofu cubes for 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Gently turn them around once to fry evenly. Drain the tofu cubes on parchment paper or paper towels. Set aside.
- Discard the excess oil from the skillet. Leave only 2 tablespoons to saute the sauce.Over medium heat, saute the garlic, onions, red peppers, scallions, bird's eye chillies. Pour the calamansi-soy sauce marinade. Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes.Return the fried tofu to the skillet. Simmer for 1 minutes. Serve sizzling.
Cook's comments:
- I mentioned differences in Air Fryer brands in a past blog post. Read it here.Use only EXTRA FIRM Tofu. Do not cut the tofu smaller than 2-inch cubes or it crumbles when cooking.Adjust spice level to your preferences by adding or omitting chilies or red pepper flakes according to taste.For a Filipino Pork Sisig recipe, click here.
Nutrition
Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided in the recipe links is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.
Copyright Notice: Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE my original recipe, stories, photos or videos. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos, essays, stories and recipe content on your websites, books, films, television shows, videos, without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe or content on media outlets mentioned above, please ASK MY PERMISSION, or re-write it in your own words and link back to my blog AsianInAmericaMag.com to give proper attribution. It is the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]
