Y’all know me, I’m not one for tofu. It’s just not my jam. Then Mary’s Test Kitchen changed my life! This is a super easy recipe but definitely takes planning ahead because the process of freezing, thawing and pressing changes the texture of the tofu to something different than it began.

Be sure to watch my video for more helpful tips

Ingredients:

• 1-2 blocks of firm tofu
• 3/4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups chickpea flour (garbanzo bean flour)
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• Oil for frying

Directions:

1. Drain the tofu and press in between some paper towels with some books to weigh it down (or use your tofu press) until you get most of the moisture out. Then put it in a bag and freeze.
2. Once frozen, take it out in the refrigerator to thaw. Once thawed, press again until most of the moisture is out. Repeat one more time.
3. Then organically break up the tofu into smaller chunks using your hands.
4. Mix 1/2 cup of the chickpea flour with the water and set aside.
5. In another bowl, combine the rest of the chickpea flour with all of the spices.
6. Coat your tofu pieces with the flour and set aside. Then add the crispy rice cereal to the remaining chickpea flour/spice mixture and break up slightly. You still want some larger pieces. Mix together.
7. Now take your floured tofu pieces and dredge in your vegan ‘egg’ mixture of chickpea flour and water and then coat in the flour/spices/cereal mixture. Repeat for all pieces.
8. In a large pot on the stove, preheat on medium some oil for a shallow fry. I use vegetable oil because it’s cheap.
9. Once oil is hot, add half of the tofu pieces and turn after a minute or two until nice and golden brown. Then place on some paper towels to drain the excess grease.
10. Repeat for the next batch.
11. Enjoy!
12. I’m sure you could use an air fryer for this but I don’t personally have one so I’m not sure what exact settings to tell you about but I’m sure it’s super simple.