On Tofu

The protein closest to my heart.

Welcome to the Friday Recipe post for paid subscribers! This recipe for fried tofu is great on its own or with tons of toppings on a sandwich. On Tuesday, all subscribers will receive a recap of my September trip to Scotland, complete with recommendations. As always, check out my past posts here and learn more about my day job here. Thanks for reading!

As a vegetarian, I eat less tofu than you might expect. Generally, I do not miss meat—I’ve been opting out of meat in some way, shape, or form since 2012, so I’m used to skipping chicken broth and cooking more beans than any one person should. But every so often, I start to feel left out of things. That’s when I reach for the tofu in my fridge.

A few weeks ago, Colin ordered a fried chicken sandwich for dinner, and I basically drooled the whole time he ate it. I needed what he had: protein dredged in a spicy batter and fried. Enter this recipe, which is delish in a salad, on noodles, or on a sando. Before we talk recipe, though, here’s some non-negotiables if you’re really trying to make the best tofu you can:

• Always go for the extra firm tofu, and even then, drain the sh*t out of it. You can do this by setting the block of tofu on a plate lined with paper towels, adding another plate on top, and putting a can of beans on the plate.

• Use really hot oil. Like most fried foods, this breaded tofu will crisp up when it hits oil that’s ideally about 350F. Adding food you’re trying to fry to oil that isn’t hot enough will land you with soggy, oily sadness. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test the oil by adding a breadcrumb and seeing if the oil bubbles rapidly.

• If you’re keeping the tofu in the oven, use a sheet tray with a cooling rack placed inside of it. The circulation of the low heat will be able to hit all the sides of the tofu evenly and keep everything crisp.

Fried Tofu

This styling really says “I started my blog ten minutes ago.” Photo taken circa 2018.