Crunchy Tofu Sandwich
1 lb. extra firm tofu (not silken)
1 cup flour or bread crumbs for coating
1/4 cup corn meal,
1/2 tsp each of salt, paprika, parsley, garlic powder
dash of sugar
1/4 teaspoon turmeric for beautiful color
2 slices of bread (or more)
red onion
mustard
vegan mayo
Carefully slice the tofu long ways into about 4-6 slices. Roll each slice up in saran wrap, put in a freezer bag and freeze for at least 24 hours. completely defrost tofu, wrap in a towel and place on a big plate. Put a cookie sheet on top weighted down with heavy cans and press for 30 minutes or until very dry. while tofu is pressing mix together the flour, cornmeal and spices. Roll tofu in flour mixture then! Important: let it sit (On a plate) and molecularly bond with the flour for 15 min.- hour.
Heat a little oil in a pan and panfry on med-high heat until golden and crispy on each side. put one slice on a piece of bread and top with red onion, vegan mayonnaise and mustard and put another slice of bread on top...yum!
Note: If you are serving this for only yourself place unused tofu slices in a plastic bag in the fridge after you press it. It will last for about 4 days this way and makes many easy meals...all your have to do is get it out and roll it in flour and fry it!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Delicious! Freezing tofu makes a big difference in texture and flavor, so don't skip that step. I took a clue from the submitted pictures and used avocados rather than vegan mayo and found very tasty. I skipped the mustard since I'm not big on that. I found the flavor to be a lot like fried chicken as someone else had mentioned. This'll probably become a regular on my menu.
Thanks!
Re: Ccompson
I haven't actually tried this recipe, but I have made things similar to it. I find that if you cut up the pieces smaller, like into square chunks, you get a higher "breading" to tofu ratio, and it increases the spice flavor. This is what I usually do when I make mine, but it can make the sandwiches more difficult to eat because the little pieces fall out. Using a pita pocket instead of regular bread can fix that, though.
Also, Chemistry major alert!
Is there really a molecular bonding process happening between the tofu and flour? I imagine there are weak forces--maybe intermolecular interactions like van der Waal's forces or London Dispersion forces, but does the tofu really bond with the flour? It may just dissolve more and more into the small amounts of water present in the pressed tofu as time goes on. Not sure, but interesting.
I made this recipe this evening and it was fantastic! Tastes like breaded chicken, but better.
To think I used to see tofu as something that had to be cold, slimy, and tasteless.
Changes I made:
- You don't have to slice the tofu before freezing; you can just put the whole pack in the freezer when you've bought it, defrost it by submerging in a bowl of warm water several hours (replace water when it cools), and then slicing it into 4 slabs before pressing. Probably about the same level of difficulty either way, just thought I'd note it.
-I didn't have paprika, so I used the same amount of chili powder.
-I would have liked a thicker breading, since the spices and corn meal were so delicious, but the dried tofu couldn't hold much even though I let it sit for three bouts of fifteen minutes each after rolling it in the mix. Maybe adding egg replacer, water, soy ilk would let more stick?
This was super delicious!