panko breaded air fried tofu with peanut sauce and green onion
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I’ve hated tofu every one of the few times I’ve tried to prepare it. Undoubtedly because I’m doing something wrong. And it’s just OK when I have it at a restaurant. But this looks and sounds pretty good and straightforward. I’ll give it a shot!
I hate it when absolutely nothing is done to it. Like just plopping a square of it fresh out of a store bought package in some soup, like how I was introduced to it.
But when actually prepared in some way, even iust as simple as dredging it in flour and egg and then deep frying it, it’s really good.
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I’ve hated tofu every one of the few times I’ve tried to prepare it. Undoubtedly because I’m doing something wrong. And it’s just OK when I have it at a restaurant. But this looks and sounds pretty good and straightforward. I’ll give it a shot!
My girlfriend was the same as you until I made tofu tacos for her. I don’t blame anyone who hates tofu, because it’s easy to fuck up. I had to experiment a lot to get it dialed in to my preference.
Tofu tacos:
Prepare your taco ingredients of choice, lettuce tomatoes salsa etc.
Take the tofu (extra firm variety if your store carries it), drain package in the sink, and press for 30 minutes. To press, wrap the tofu in a few paper towels or a dishcloth. Set on a flat surface and on top, place a cutting board and a medium sized book (200pg hardback 8"x5.5" or similar).
After pressing, cut the tofu into 1" cubes. Drizzle with oil of your choice, get them completely coated in a thin layer. (I like avocado, best to avoid olive for this recipe). Scoop from underneath at the side to avoid tearing them apart. Then take taco seasoning and mix it with corn starch at a 2:1 ratio of seasoning:starch. Add this to the cubes, try to coat them evenly but it’s not an exact science. Now air fry at 350f for about 15 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown.
The key to tofu is to season the fuck out of it. It has no flavor except for what you give to it. If you would use 1 packet for meat, use 1.5 for the same weight of tofu, with whatever you’re doing. Lately I’ve been into marinating it and then freezing it in the marinade for maximum flavor penetration. It’s incredibly versatile.
Godspeed!
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My girlfriend was the same as you until I made tofu tacos for her. I don’t blame anyone who hates tofu, because it’s easy to fuck up. I had to experiment a lot to get it dialed in to my preference.
Tofu tacos:
Prepare your taco ingredients of choice, lettuce tomatoes salsa etc.
Take the tofu (extra firm variety if your store carries it), drain package in the sink, and press for 30 minutes. To press, wrap the tofu in a few paper towels or a dishcloth. Set on a flat surface and on top, place a cutting board and a medium sized book (200pg hardback 8"x5.5" or similar).
After pressing, cut the tofu into 1" cubes. Drizzle with oil of your choice, get them completely coated in a thin layer. (I like avocado, best to avoid olive for this recipe). Scoop from underneath at the side to avoid tearing them apart. Then take taco seasoning and mix it with corn starch at a 2:1 ratio of seasoning:starch. Add this to the cubes, try to coat them evenly but it’s not an exact science. Now air fry at 350f for about 15 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown.
The key to tofu is to season the fuck out of it. It has no flavor except for what you give to it. If you would use 1 packet for meat, use 1.5 for the same weight of tofu, with whatever you’re doing. Lately I’ve been into marinating it and then freezing it in the marinade for maximum flavor penetration. It’s incredibly versatile.
Godspeed!
great recipe!! thanks!
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thank you
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just press the firm tofu into the panko, arrange it carefully in the air fryer and drizzle it with sesame oil and cook for 8 minutes at 400°. this is one of my favorite foods.
How do you keep the panko from being blown off in the air fryer? I use the air fryer a lot but usually go back to traditional deep frying when I use panko.
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How do you keep the panko from being blown off in the air fryer? I use the air fryer a lot but usually go back to traditional deep frying when I use panko.
i don’t press the tofu much. I put the panko in a bowl and put in each tofu piece one at a time and just press down prettyy hard and rotate the piece to get the edges. It sticks no problem!
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My girlfriend was the same as you until I made tofu tacos for her. I don’t blame anyone who hates tofu, because it’s easy to fuck up. I had to experiment a lot to get it dialed in to my preference.
Tofu tacos:
Prepare your taco ingredients of choice, lettuce tomatoes salsa etc.
Take the tofu (extra firm variety if your store carries it), drain package in the sink, and press for 30 minutes. To press, wrap the tofu in a few paper towels or a dishcloth. Set on a flat surface and on top, place a cutting board and a medium sized book (200pg hardback 8"x5.5" or similar).
After pressing, cut the tofu into 1" cubes. Drizzle with oil of your choice, get them completely coated in a thin layer. (I like avocado, best to avoid olive for this recipe). Scoop from underneath at the side to avoid tearing them apart. Then take taco seasoning and mix it with corn starch at a 2:1 ratio of seasoning:starch. Add this to the cubes, try to coat them evenly but it’s not an exact science. Now air fry at 350f for about 15 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown.
The key to tofu is to season the fuck out of it. It has no flavor except for what you give to it. If you would use 1 packet for meat, use 1.5 for the same weight of tofu, with whatever you’re doing. Lately I’ve been into marinating it and then freezing it in the marinade for maximum flavor penetration. It’s incredibly versatile.
Godspeed!
So for an idiot who likes tofu when going to a Mongolian bbq because they are sauce sponges but never cooked with it, is the pressing it for getting the water out?
And is there a problem with going over the 30 minutes, like does it cause issues overpressing? I ask because the 30 minute wait time is something that’ll drive me up the wall when I decide to cook, but could set this up before I go get a shower when getting home from work.
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Wow. I’ve been vegan or vegetarian for decades and I’ve never heard of blanching tofu. Gonna have to try that tonight!
very curious if it makes a difference for you
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So for an idiot who likes tofu when going to a Mongolian bbq because they are sauce sponges but never cooked with it, is the pressing it for getting the water out?
And is there a problem with going over the 30 minutes, like does it cause issues overpressing? I ask because the 30 minute wait time is something that’ll drive me up the wall when I decide to cook, but could set this up before I go get a shower when getting home from work.
Yes, the pressing removes the water. I press tofu essentially every time I use it.
No problem at all going over 30, that’s just my minimum time. You want to have enough weight to squish the water out but not so much that the brick crumbles. You can slice it lengthwise before pressing to help avoid this, or prep multiple blocks at once. You can also press it and then put it in the fridge, in a container or wrapped in plastic. It should keep for at least a day in that form.
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great recipe!! thanks!
Happy to share
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don’t do it with hot oil or you’ll tear gas your kitchen, learned that the hard way.
garlic oil is AMAZING in the air fryer too and brings people to the kitchen.
Good to know!
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i tried that recently and didn’t notice any difference
️ i just cut it up and squeeze it with my hands usually. I have been told freezing it after slicing is good and keep meaning to try that one.I think maybe it depends on the tofu.
with the air fryer being so extra dry you don’t run into the same problems as pan frying where you want no moisture at all so it might be that, too.
We have done the freezing before. Take the whole block, drain it, freeze it, thaw it in the fridge, press dry again. The downside is it takes days to do this step, but it changes the texture to something very close to chicken nuggets lol. We typically cut it into fingers or big cubes and toss in corn starch before air frying/deep frying.
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just press the firm tofu into the panko, arrange it carefully in the air fryer and drizzle it with sesame oil and cook for 8 minutes at 400°. this is one of my favorite foods.
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just press the firm tofu into the panko, arrange it carefully in the air fryer and drizzle it with sesame oil and cook for 8 minutes at 400°. this is one of my favorite foods.
The effort/reward ratio on this looks out of this world
