Weekly Eat - Chicken-Fried Tofu

This recipe is so flexible, you can make it a ton of different ways:

Vegan, replacing egg with egg replacer (redundancy dept. of redundancy)
Gluten free, by dredging in GF all-purpose flour first, using GF breadcrumbs second (I make it this way most often because the crust holds up superbly, even between slices of tomato and lettuce!)
Healthy, by drizzling with olive oil and baking rather than frying (directions below)
Parmesan, by mixing some cheese into the breading mix and stuffing with a little more, plus herbs
Sesame, by adding seeds to the breading mix and drizzling with sesame oil when baking

Last night, I made it just veg - the recipe's below. Check out that golden, crispy crust:

This either ends up next to a pile of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and collards, or in a big ol' club sammich, like so:

Pretty killer. And, honestly, best right out of the pan. I've been known to go through a third of a block of tofu just standing at the fry station! With fakon, onions, tomato, lettuce, plus mustard and mayo, you've got something between a BLT and a Club Sandwich - yeah, you might pull a muscle opening wide enough to get that whole thing in your mouth BUT it'll be well worth it.

Classic Chicken Fried Tofu
serves 3-4

1 block extra firm tofu
1 cup hot water mixed with dash garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, dash sesame oil, dash Bragg's
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
Fresh black pepper
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup panko
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 eggs mixed with 1 tablespoon water, beaten

Corn or Vegetable oil, for frying

Slice your tofu shortways into 8 pieces and marinate in the water+garlic+salt+Bragg's for 30 mins.

On a plate, mix your flour, salt and pepper. On another, mix your yeast, panko, onion and garlic powders.

Scramble your eggs in a bowl big enough to fit a piece of tofu.

Straight from the marinade (let a tad drip off) dredge the tofu first in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, being careful not to rub the coating off as you go (wash your fingertips between tofu slices - accumulated egg/flour will mess with your coating). Set aside on a dry plate or cutting board. Repeat until all slices have been dredged.

Heat your oil to medium-high and put out a plate lined with paper toweling. Three at a time is what fits best in my 10 inch skillet, but break up your batches as you see fit! They'll need less than a minute a side, then carefully flip, another minute, remove to toweling to drain.

The only bummer about frying these babies is that the oil collects a fair amount of refuse, which you then have to skim off/strain out. Baking them in the oven is cleaner, but makes for a drier slice (if you decide to go this route, bake them in a preheated 375f oven for 20 minutes each side, until the crust nicely golden and firm to the touch).

Try this on your "I don't like Tofu" pals and convert them. Or make it for your inaugural spring picnic this weekend, perhaps?

A little retro, a little weirdo - Waldorf Salad Quesadilla

Happy New Year my dears!

This is totally one of those things I'd never make for myself, but that my clients LOVE. Sweet, tart, slightly creamy. Desert for lunch, a little.

Of course, my ability to love Waldorf Salad goes up exponentially when it's sammiched in between two quesadillas and a bunch of sharp cheddar. Mmmmm hmmmm. If you'd prefer to preserve the illusion of healthy lunch, however, eat it atop lettuce or in a wrap. The addition of tofu makes it a super-complete meal.

Tofu Waldorf Salad

1 block firm tofu, diced to 1/2 inch sized pieces
Vegetable oil, to fry

1 granny smith apple, cored, diced
1 small bunch grapes, destemmed, cut in half
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
2/3 cup candied pecans, cut in fourths
Parsley, chives, scallions - about 1/4 cup fresh herbs, minced
Black pepper, lots
1/3 cup dried cherries or cranberries, rehydrated a bit with boiling water for 10 minutes
1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/4 cup sour cream
Dash lemon juice

Heat vegetable oil to fry in a a large pot or wok - fry tofu in batches to golden-crust land. Drain well on paper towels and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes or so. 

The rest is easy peasy. Mix everything but the mayo, sour cream, and lemon juice in a large salad bowl. Mix the remaining three ingredients in a small bowl and using a scraper, add to salad, toss, and serve. Best made the day before to let the flavors meld a bit.

This is kind of like the Club Sammich Quesadilla I posted last month - a weird quesadillafication of a classic salad sandwich. I figured it'd be hella delicious since apples and sharp cheddar are soooo tasty together, and it was. This is a thick quesadilla, so we're going to do this with an oven broiler instead of the skillet, so you don't lost filling when you flip.

Waldorf Quesadilla

2 10-inch burrito tortillas
1 cup Tofu Waldorf Salad
2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Lay one tortilla out on a pizza pan and sprinkle half the cheddar over. Spoon the salad over the cheese, spreading, until it uniformly covers the tortilla. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar over the salad and press the second tortilla onto the stack firmly. 

Use the top rack position in your oven and broil the quesadilla on high for 2-3 minutes, until the tortilla starts to brown in spots. Using a plate to flip, cover the quesadilla with a plate, flip the whole thing over, and carefully slide the quesadilla back onto the pizza pan. Return to the oven to broil the over side.

Let cool 5 minutes and slice. Deeeeelicious!