When I first went vegan, I didn’t know much about tofu. And even after going vegan, it was a while before I took my first shot at cooking with it. But when I finally learned how to work with it in the kitchen, I was HOOKED. The key to tofu is all in how you decide to set it up for cooking. Whether that’s pressing, simply patting dry, freezing and thawing, cooking in boiling salted water, grating with a cheese grater, slicing with a vegetable peeler, or dredging in cornstarch and pan frying like in this recipe, there a so many ways to tofu, and probably many more to be discovered! Tofu really is a blank canvas for the imagination of cooks who dare to do crazy things with it, and sometimes those things work out! Anywho, enough babbling about tofu, let’s get into this recipe, which is an ABSOLUTE 💥BANGER💥
FULL RECIPE
ingredients
salt and cooking oil, as specified in the preparation instructions
1 block firm tofu, drained, pressed, and broken into 1-inch jagged pieces
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons soy sauce
2/3 cup corn starch
2 limes, juiced
3/4 cup cashews
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 large handful cilantro leaves and stems, plus more chopped cilantro for garnishing
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup agave
2 tablespoons diced chipotles in adobo
cooked white rice and pinto beans for serving
preparation
add your tofu to a glass storage container. pour 1/4 cup soy sauce over the tofu, cover with a lid, and gently shake about 15-20 seconds so that the tofu absorbs the soy sauce. add the cornstarch evenly over the tofu, cover again with a lid, and shake until all pieces are fully coated. set aside.
to a blender, add the juice of one lime, cashews, nutritional yeast, a few pinches of salt (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon) and the water. blend until creamy and bright green in color. taste and add more salt if needed. set aside.
place a nonstick pan over medium heat and allow to warm 2-3 minutes. add 3 to 4 tablespoons neutral cooking oil (avocado, grapeseed, etc.) to the pan and allow to warm 15 to 20 seconds. begin placing your tofu pieces in the pan (do not dump in all at once) and space them out evenly. allow the tofu to sear undisturbed for about 3 to 4 minutes. begin shaking the pan to release the tofu (if it doesn’t release from the pan, give it more time). begin tossing the tofu and browning until crispy and golden on all sides, about another 7 to 10 minutes. remove crispy tofu from the pan and set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel.
place the same pan back over medium heat and add the minced garlic. stir in for 20 seconds, then immediately add the 3 tablespoons soy sauce, agave, and chipotles in adobo. stir frequently and allow the sauce to cook down until it thickens to the point where you can run a spoon or spatula through the sauce and it leaves a trail in the pan where you can see the bottom of the pan, about 4 to 5 minutes. add the juice of the remaining one lime, stir in, then add the tofu back into the pan and toss all the pieces gently with a spatula until they are fully glazed, about 1 to 2 minutes.
spread your cilantro cashew cream across the bottom of a plate, then add your rice, beans, and finished tofu on top. garnish with fresh cilantro, dig in, and enjoy.
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