Easy Buffalo Tofu

If you’re anything like us, you are constantly in search of the next thing you can drench in hot sauce. Buffalo tofu, being vegetarian and a great protein, calcium and iron source for veg-heads like us, seems like an obvious choice. But if we’re being honest, we always struggled with mastering buffalo tofu.

We’ve had success making buffalo cauliflower, buffalo chickpeas, even buffalo broccoli. But every attempt we’ve made at buffalo tofu has been a complete let down. Either the texture is all wrong – mushy and wet, or the flavor is too faint. That is, until today! Today is the most glorious of days… all because we successfully mastered buffalo tofu with this awesome recipe.

As it turns out, there are two secrets that are key to a good buffalo tofu. The first is that you really need to press the tofu long enough to squeeze out most of the moisture. Instead of trying to press the entire block, we first sliced the block into long, flat strips. Then we wrapped them in paper towels and placed some heavy books on top of them for a good 20 minutes. Cutting them in these thin strips made it easier to get that moisture out – a crucial step if you don’t want mushy tofu.

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The second secret to good buffalo tofu, is that you need to coat the tofu in cornstarch. This ensures that your tofu will be nice and crispy instead of soft and again, mushy. The thing that most people don’t like about tofu is it’s texture. This legit solves that problem.

So basically, all you have to do in order to make a great buffalo tofu, is press your tofu, toss it in a plastic bag with cornstarch and your favorite seasonings, cook it slightly on the stovetop until it’s golden brown, then heat some butter in a pan until it’s liquified, pour in some hot sauce, then add your tofu. That’s it. The end result is crispy buffalo tofu that tastes unbelievable.

Ingredients:

• 1 block firm tofu, pressed then sliced into cubes
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground mustard powder
• 1/4 cup butter of choice (we used vegan)
• 1/3 cup hot sauce

Directions:

1. Add cornstarch and seasonings to a plastic back and toss to blend.
2. Once tofu is sufficiently pressed and excess moisture has been removed, place it in the plastic bag, close the bag, then toss to ensure all tofu cubes are evenly coated.
3. In a large pan over medium heat, sauté tofu until it’s just golden brown on each side. Remove tofu and set aside.
4. Add butter to pan. Once melted, pour in hot sauce and stir till well combined.
5. Add tofu back in pan, tossing occasionally, and cook until outside is crispy.