Happy Fourth of July! Buffalo Tofu Style

So, I’ve made the Buffalo Tempeh in Appetite for Reduction, and it didn’t seem right. I think part of the problem is our tempeh–it’s crumbly and weirdly hard, instead of being soft and sturdy. So the texture was always super weird, and the flavors seemed to be fighting each other all the time. Enter my brilliant idea–awesome dry-fried tofu, marinated in buffalo sauce! Bonus: comes with crunchy bits, just like the buffalo chicken you might be missing.

Buffalo Tofu (makes 4 servings)

• 1 block firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and drained
• 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot (you can use other hot sauce, but you shouldn’t!)
• 1/2 cup veggie broth

Can you believe that’s all the ingredients? Crazy, right? Anyway, slice your tofu into 1/4 inch thick slices. You can fry them up that way, or cut them into whatever fancy shapes you want. Even dinosaurs! Or buffaloes! Now, mix your hot sauce together with the broth. Use 1/2 cup of this mixture to marinade the tofu in for half an hour (reserve the leftover marinade). When that’s done, heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. You don’t want your tofu to stick! Place the tofu in the pan, and fry until it is nice and crispy on both sides (obviously flipping once during cooking). When it’s done to your liking, pour all of the leftover marinade (should be about 3/4 of a cup left, total) into the pan. Cook until the liquid is reduced into a thicker sauce, about 5 minutes.

Today, I served this up with Avocado Potato Salad from Vegan Brunch, and Ranch Dip from the Happy Herbivore. And with carrots and celery sticks, of course!