Crispy Cajun Tofu Sticks: "
My approach to tofu these days is to coat it in some kind of spice mixture before doing anything else. This is a great way to add lots of flavour to the otherwise neutral bean curd. After coating with spices you can fry it, grill it, coat it with sauce . . . whatever suits your fancy. This tofu is dipped in soymilk and coated with bread crumbs (cereal, actually) to provide some crispy crunch. I think these would have been even better with some kind of dipping sauce, so I am open to suggestions.INGREDIENTS
- 1 pkg extra firm tofu, cut into sticks
- 3/4 cup soymilk
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- bread crumbs, or crushed cereal
Spice Mix
- 2 tsp (smoked) paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- cayenne pepper to taste
METHOD
1. Mix together ingredients for spice mixture in a large bowl. Add in tofu sticks and gently toss to coat.
2. Mix together soy milk and vinegar. Dip a tofu stick in mixture, then toss in bread crumbs or crushed cereal to coat. Repeat with remaining sticks.
3. From here you have two options: 1. Fry in 350 degree oil; or 2. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 mins, turning half way through.
That sounds great!
ReplyDeleteMy all-time favorite tofu recipe, which wins over avowed carnivores:
(From The Grit Cookbook, essentially)
Golden Bowl
Ingredients:
Extra Firm tofu (1 block per 2 people)
nutritional yeast
soy sauce
brown rice
sesame seeds (optional)
Make the brown rice however you make rice.
Toast the sesame seeds if you are going to use them. I've just started doing it because it is fun.
To prepare the tofu, drain the package(s) a few hours early and put them on a plat coated with paper towels, then put more paper towels on top of them, something flat,and then some weight, like a can of something. This will help the excess moisture eek out.
After you let it sit like that for a while, Cut it into cubes about the size of dice. Coat a pan or wok with cooking spray and throw the tofu in over medium-high heat. Stir it around frequently, allowing it to brown some, and then add some soy sauce (enough to coat all of the tofu bits) and nutritional yeast. Saute that some more until it is nice and toasty looking, then transfer to a paper towel lined bowl and wash the pan fully with soap and water. Really.
When the pan is clean, coat it again with cooking spray and throw the once-cooked tofu back in the pan. Repeat: the soy sauce will make it harder to tell how done it is of course, but just make sure it is all golden and crispy looking. Add some more soy sauce and nutritional yeast. Nutritional Yeast tastes kinda like parmesan cheese, so apply liberally. It is yummy. When the twice-cooked tofu looks a lot like crispy chicken bits, you are done!
Put the rice in a bowl, put tofu on top (half a block per serving...or less, really, but man this is good stuff), add more soy sauce and nutritional yeast to taste, and throw sesame seeds on the whole thing if you decide to use them. Enjoy!
omg... that sounds amazing!!!! Thanks for sharing! I think I am going to try sharing 1 recipe a week. I've gotten very into trying new recipes all the time. I got an amazing one for wilted sauteed spinach. It was delicious!!! And healthy!!
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