Step 1: Marinating the Tofu
- 1 - 20 oz (567 gr) pkg extra firm tofu, frozen and thawed*
- 1/2 cup Faux Chicken Bouillon Powder Stock
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp Poultry Seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder (2 garlic cloves, minced)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
To start, first, freeze, thaw, and then press out any moisture from the tofu. Alternatively, you can skip the freezing and thawing.
Next, break up the tofu into pieces that are just a bit bigger than bite-sized. Add the pieces to a large shallow dish.
For the marinade, we like to start with hot stock. Here is a recipe for a delicious Faux Chicken Bouillon Powder, to which we just added approximately 1 1/2 tbsp of the powder with 1/2 cup of water to. Next, add all of the remaining ingredients to the stock. Here is a recipe for poultry seasoning, if you don’t have any on hand.
Note: If you are using a stock that has no salt, add enough salt to season the marinade—about a 1 tsp or so.
Once the marinade is made, taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. It should taste just slightly salty, as the tofu still needs to be added, which is very neutral in flavor.
Allow the tofu to marinate for 1 to 2 hours, or even overnight.
Step 2: Preparing the Breading
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Poultry Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne or chipotle powder, optional
To prepare the breading, first place the cornstarch into a shallow dish.
Next, in a separate dish, combine the flour and all of the remaining ingredients. Again, here is our recipe for Poultry Seasoning, if you need it.
Once the tofu is ready, strain it from the marinade—gently shaking the tofu in the strainer to ensure it’s not too wet. Note that the marinade can be saved and used later.
Working in batches, first dredge the tofu into the cornstarch—the cornstarch gives the tofu extra crunch and texture. Next, shake off the excess cornstarch and then place transfer the tofu to the flour mixture.
Repeat this process until all the tofu has been evenly coated with both the cornstarch and flour mixture.
Step 3: Cooking & Finishing the Tofu
- 2 to 4 tbsp cooking oil (canola, vegetable or grapeseed)
To cook the tofu, heat the oil over medium-high heat, in a large fry pan. The amount of oil needed will ultimately depend on the pan you are using and how evenly golden you want the tofu to be.
Once the oil is hot, gently add the tofu and shallow-fry for a couple of minutes on each side, or until crispy and golden all around. Depending on the size of your fry pan, you may need to do this in a couple of batches.
To remove any excess oil, place the cooked tofu onto a tray lined with a paper towel as you remove it from the frypan.
While the tofu is still hot, season with a bit more nutritional yeast, garlic, and onions powder and/or salt and pepper, if desired.
Step 4: Serving the Tofu
Serve the tofu with your favorite dipping sauces (see notes below for ideas) and a salad—or do as we did here and serve with Mashed Potatoes, steamed vegetables and a Simple Gravy or try this Miso-Sesame Sauce. Alternatively, this Mashed Cauliflower is also delcious.
Chef's Notes
For this particular recipe, we did several experiments. We baked the tofu, shallow-fried, deep-fried it, marinated it in different flavor combinations. We even made our own non-dairy ‘buttermilk’. In the end, the final recipe not only ended up being the simplest, but it also ended up being the one we liked the most. With that said, feel free to experiment with different seasonings and cooking methods.
For the dipping sauces, there are a few that go particularly well with this tofu. Here are a couple of our favorites:
Sriracha Mayonnaise: 1/4 cup plant-based mayonnaise + 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
‘Honey’ Dijon: 1/4 cup plant-based mayonnaise + 2 tablespoons Vegan Honey (or agave) + pinch turmeric + 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Alternatively, this dressing from this Dijon Maple Slaw also goes well with the tofu.
Note regarding the tofu: There have been times when we have forgotten to freeze the tofu in advance. In these cases, we have just gone ahead and broken up the tofu, frozen it, then placed it into the marinade frozen and then let it defrost in the marinade—while this does add a tiny bit more water, it’s still a good solution in a pinch.
And in case you were curious about Leo — you can follow him and his brother Rudi at Leo & Rudi on Instagram :-)