A friend and I tricked her husband one year by giving him “chicken” chili, where the chicken was really crispy tofu. He liked it, but he didn’t like being tricked, so I doubt he’ll eat it again. Still. He liked it. In fact, I think he said something to the effect that it was really good chicken. I am sorry that we tricked him. But still. He liked it.

Whether or not you are one of the ones who claim to hate tofu, I’d encourage you to give Crispy Tofu a try. Before I show you how to make it, I will tell you what you can do with it. It can be incorporated into main dishes in place of chicken or ground beef. Its bland flavor absorbs the flavor of the dish, making it fit right in. The magic, though, is its texture. When cooked (I’ll talk about that in a minute), your mouth will think it feels like meat.

You can use Crispy Tofu with cubed, sauteed potates, ala “Eggz and Potatoes” — really yummy. Or add it to a stir fry.

Now, I will walk you through the steps of making it.

First you need to buy organic, non-GMO, extra firm tofu. I like the White Wave brand. Then you freeze it, right in its package. When tofu freezes, it takes on a completely different texture — airy and chewy. Then you take it out of the freezer and thaw it, still in its package — either in the refrigerator or in a bowl of cool water on the counter.

Once thawed, it is time to drain it. Take the tofu out of the package and squeeze out as much water as you can with your (clean) hands, right over the sink. Then set the tofu on a plate that has been layered up with a few paper towels or a fabric towel. Put a plate on top of the tofu and then add a weight, such as a big can of some canned food. Let it sit this way for 15 to 30 minutes, while any remaining water presses out.

Now it is time for the cooking. This is the fun part.

Either cube the tofu with a knife, or break it into ground-beef like chunks. Breaking it into chunks can be done with your (again, clean) hands or with a wooden spoon right in the pan.

Speaking of the pan, the best pan to use is a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or wok. I am very thankful for my cast-iron wok. (About 6 years ago at Christmas, I returned a gift sweater that didn’t fit and chose this pan instead. )

Put a liberal amount of oil — coconut, red palm, extra virgin olive, or grapeseed — in the pan. I’d say about 1/4 cup. Turn the heat to medium or medium-high. Add the tofu. Salt and pepper the tofu very well. Garlic powder is good to add here, too.

My salted and peppered cubed tofu, ready to cook.

Scraping the pan as needed with a flat wooden spoon or spatula, allow the tofu to crisp up and brown thoroughly. Adjust the heat if the oil is smoking. You don’t want smoking. Just enough heat to get the tofu nice and crisp. The better seasoned your pan is, the better the tofu will be, because the crispy parts will stay on the tofu instead of sticking to the pan.

My cubed tofu, nice and crisp.

When it is well browned and crispy, it is almost done. If you have any left — because it is so tasty, you’ll want to keep taste-testing it — taste for seasonings one more time. Add more salt, pepper, or garlic powder. Now you can also add anything else you like — cumin, nutritional yeast, paprika, cayenne, or tumeric…

The Crispy Tofu is ready for you to eat all of it right away, as is, because it is just that good — or add it to a main dish, create a stir fry, add to fried rice, to diced potatoes, etc.

I’ll show you what I did with my Crispy Tofu on Tuesday evening.

I added big chunks of red onions and let them saute:

Then I added cooked brown basmati rice. I shoved the tofu to the side of the pan, and used the free side to warm up and chop up the rice. This way my rice-chopping didn’t chop up the tofu. I also had to add oil to the rice for its warming and frying.

To finish it up, I added a couple handfuls of sprouted mung beans and more salt and pepper to taste.

And that was our dinner. It reheated very well the next morning, when I packed it in a thermos for our day-out lunch on the road.

So… who’s ready to try Crispy Tofu?

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon

Tofu Dressing with Almond and Mustard 

• 1/2 package soft tofu
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons natural sweetener such as agave or xylitol
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (could increase to 1 teaspoon depending on your preference)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in blender container. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate unused portion. Mix well before serving.

© Copyright 2007 by Wardeh Harmon