Sesame Crusted Tofu
I have FINALLY nailed tofu!!!! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you........ drum roll..... perfect pillows of crunchy (NOT greasy) goodness. Flop to the floor in a heap. Don't worry it's not difficult, a wee bit fiddly is all.
NUTRITIONAL OVERVIEW
Both TOFU and SESAME SEEDS great sources calcium. SESAME SEEDS are also a great source of copper so you'll be building healthy bones and boosting that immune system.
SESAME SEEDS (straight up super food) and is an excellent source of manganese which will help your body absorb calcium and heal any wounds you're dealing with.
Recipe
SESAME CRUSTED TOFU
SERVES 2-4 MEAL DEPENDING
PREP TIME 80+ MINS | COOK TIME 20-30 MINS | TOTAL 2 HOURS
A lot of the prep time is idle time where you could be getting on with other dishes or having a good catch up with a loved one (or show?). The cooking bit is very hands on and I think will vary cook to cook, pan to pan and stove top to stove top. Absolutely worth it though.
INGREDIENTS
1 pack extra firm tofu
chickpea brine from 1 can (flax/chia egg would work too)
1 cup corn flour
100g sesame seeds
1/8 cup soy/tamari sauce
1 tsp sriracha sauce
METHOD
1. Drain the liquid from the tofu pack then slice the block in half width ways to make it easier to press and dry out a bit. Wrap each piece in kitchen roll or a clean T-towel and squeeze gently to get as much water out as you can without ruining the block. Wrap each piece with dry roll/towel and put a board (book, anything flat) on top with something very heavy on top of that (I used a cutting board and my olive oil can but often use my casserole pot). keep the tofu under pressure for about 20-30 mins, changing the towel as it gets wet.
2. Cut the tofu into pieces (at your desired size really). I cut mine into fairly large chunks (5cm x 3cm) as then there's less to deal with!
3. In a large zip lock bag, or large shallow dish, pour in the soy or tamari and the sriracha and combine, throw in the tofu and flop it around until it's all coated (you might need to add more soy/tamari if you use a dish not a bag to marinade). Leave to marinade for 30 mins at least.
4. Take each piece out of the marinade bag and coat each one with corn flour (it'll disappear into the tofu but don't fret it) then dip in the brine and finally roll in the sesame seeds (have a big bowl full to make coating easier and more even).
5. Once they're all done heat the oil in a large non stick pan. When you think the oil is hot enough add the tofu piece by piece. I recommend having some sort of order in your head of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd... piece so you turn them all over in the same order. turn them over when you think the bottoms are starting to turn golden. Cook on four sides then transfer on to a piece of kitchen towel to drain.
6. You might need to do it in batches in which case use a slotted spoon to remove the stray sesame seeds in between.
7. Now take a bow and ignore the flour you've managed to get... everywhere? They look beautiful.
For a dipping sauce I just heated up some hoisin sauce (from a jar, sorry!) with 2 cloves of crushed garlic.
