Blackened Tofu

Oh boy… your tastebuds are in for a treat with this one. It’s spicy. It’s zesty – it’s tofu at its finest!

I know – I know … not a lot of people like tofu. But this recipe is just too good. People are turned off at the idea of tofu and honestly, I’m not entirely sure why. Well, I do actually believe the reason people don’t like it is because they’ve never had it prepared the right way. The texture/firmness is important to whatever you are trying to make. In this recipe, we want EXTRA FIRM tofu. Firm will work.. but extra firm is the absolute best.

So this is my advice: get over your mental block with tofu and try this out. It’s absolutely delicious!

Blackened Tofu

A recipe by Crystal, President of WFAS

• T = Tablespoon
• tsp = teaspoon

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu (firm will work in a pinch)
• 1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T cornstarch
• 2 T cajun seasoning (your favorite brand)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions:

1. Press the tofu to get as much liquid out as possible. You can do this with a standard tofu press OR by wrapping the tofu in paper towel, placing between 2 plates and weighting the top plate with 3 or 4 canned food items. Let the tofu press for approximately 10-20 minutes. Personally – I weigh my plates down with my big, ceramic owl cookie jar. Its heavy and has a wide base so it doesn’t slide (I also push it over against the wall so its even less likely to slide)
2. In a large ziplock bag, put in all the dry ingredients and shake. This will be the blackened tofu coating.
3. Once the tofu is pressed, heat the oil in a skillet on a medium heat.
4. Cut the tofu up. I usually make 2 cuts down the sides of the tofu block (making 3 large flat pieces) and then cut it into long strips (about 8 slides down the flat side …. hard to explain, I’ll do a YouTube video and link it in the near future). But what you end up with are about 20 little square logs of tofu.
5. Carefully put the tofu into the ziplock back with the seasoning, making sure the pieces are not stuck together. Right now, even though the tofu is extra firm, it can pull apart easily. Seal the bag up and give it a shake. The tofu should easily be coated with the seasoning mix.
6. Once coated and the oil has heated, add the tofu (carefully) into the skillet. Don’t crowd the pieces. Let them brown on one side for about 1-2 minutes before flipping. As they cook, they will toughen up, making them easier to turn.
7. Cook for around 5-8 minutes total. The tofu should be heated through and all sides cooked to a crispy appearance.

Serve on top of a salad OR serve as a wrap. As shown in the picture, I used a whole wheat tortilla (heated slightly to soften), a little vegan mayonnaise, romaine lettuce, tomato, and the blackened tofu.

Enjoy!