Description

Inspired by fried chicken breading, I made this to recreate a spicy chicken sandwich with breaded tofu. Our first attempt turned out good enough that we decided to write it down.

Ingredients

1 package firm tofu
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Dredging Mixture
1 cup flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Optional but highly recommended. Press tofu at least a day in advance. Once frozen, let it thaw and press again. Then it is ready to use in the recipe. The act of freezing the tofu will create small tears in the tofu that changes the texture to be more like a chicken nugget. This gives it more chew and hold when eating instead of a mushier texture when you don’t do it.

Press tofu to remove excess water for at least 1/2 hour. Cut the block in half and then split down the middle to make 4 small “stakes”. Mix buttermilk, hot sauce, salt and ground pepper, then soak tofu in mixture for 1 hour minimum.

Heat vegetable to 350 degrees. It should be 1/2 to 3/4 inch deep. Take tofu out of marinade. One at a time place into dredge mixture, the back into marinade and back to flour. Do this 2-3 times till it has a nice coating built up. Then carefully place tofu into frying oil being careful not to drop and to lay it away from you so it doesn’t splash oil on you. Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until crispy and golden brown. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel or wire rack in a baking sheet.