3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
pinch sea salt
3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari (but not Bragg's)
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons liquid smoke hickory flavor
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into thin bacony lengths
2 tablespoons light frying oil (canola, peanut or safflower)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (I use Red Star Torula)
1. Mix the maple syrup, salt, soy sauce, liquid smoke and vegan Worcestershire sauce. Place tofu strips in a shallow pan and marinate in the mixture for 5-10 minutes.
2. Remove strips and reserve marinade. Fry tofu strips in hot oil over medium heat until they are crispy on the outside, 5-10 minutes each side. Make sure they are somewhat crispy though, you don't want them mushy.
3. When crisp, pour the remaining marinade into the pan and toss with marinade, remove from pan, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and serve.
Best on BLTs. You can also slow bake the marinated tofu, basting it as you go, but frying is much faster and gives a more authentic taste. Totally satisfies my cravings for salty/fatty/sweet/crispy/savory foods.