Crisp Tofu Croutons- A Tasty Snack or Salad-Booster

This is perhaps too simple to be called a recipe- it's nothing more than a simple way to make plain extra-firm tofu into something a little more... snackable. It's hard to go wrong with anything fried, and these have the added benefit of the protein and vitamins of tofu, making it easier to justify them... Obviously, I'm not advocating for you to fry all your tofu, but it beats chips in more than a few ways if crispy and golden-fried is what you're after.

I call them croutons because they make salads a bit more exciting if you add them in, rather than traditional bread croutons. They've got a good mixture of crisp exterior and moist interior that melds well with a lot of additional flavours, as I detail in my variants.

For me, this is an ideal snack for when you're watching a movie or TV and want some finger food. This was actually something I made when I had leftover oil in a wok from frying other stuff I didn't want to go to waste- but it turned out to be really addictive for something you can make with the bare-bones basics whenever. Still, I plan to come up with recipes for soups and salads that call for croutons just to have an excuse to make more...

Crisp Tofu Croutons

1 Lb. Extra-firm tofu, cut into 2-3 cm cubes
2 TBSP cornstarch or flour (rice flour would likely work fine as well)
Enough vegetable oil for shallow-frying in a skillet or wok (peanut or canola work great)

One of the following seasoning mixes:
Salt and Pepper: 2 Tsp. Salt plus 2 TBSP freshly ground black pepper

Garlic-Herb: 2 Tsp. Garlic salt (or 2 Tsp. Salt plus 1 Tsp. garlic powder) plus 1 TBSP herbes de Provence or Italian dried herb mix

Five-Spice: 2 Tsp. Salt plus 2 Tsp. five-spice mixture

Lemongrass-Chili: 2 Tsp. Salt plus 1 TBSP fresh or frozen minced lemongrass (not dried!) plus 1/2 TBSP red chili flakes

Heat the oil on medium-high heat, taking care for it not to smoke.

Toss the tofu cubes with the flour or starch. Add to the oil (carefully- don't let it splatter on you!) and fry until golden-brown, flipping and adjusting the heat as necessary to keep from burning.

Drain on paper towels or a metal rack to remove excess oil. Toss with the seasoning mixture of your choice and add a little more salt to taste.

Thanksgiving Tofu-Turkey with Apple-Leek-Walnut Stuffing - A Festive Seitan Roast

Though this recipe comes too late for Canadian thanksgiving, I'm pretty sure America hasn't had theirs yet, so this recipe is still relevant in the immediate future! I've always wanted to try making a version of the famous Tofurkey with my own stuffing recipe, and I'd say this one turned out great. The "meat" is made from seitan, tofu and a bit of chickpea flour along with oil and seasonings, and is both steamed and baked for a long time... but that's how it supposedly is with a real bird, too, so just set it cooking on the side while you're preparing other things. Other than that, it's surprisingly labour-unintensive, with the filling being the only thing that requires more than a pop into the blender/mixer/steamer/oven. Still, it's not difficult to make at all, and got raving reviews. Adding a little mushroomey oil like truffle or porcini is really good, and not all that expensive for the tiny amount you need to make a dish extra special with it. I'd highly recommend investing in even a small bottle!

I served this roast with the extra stuffing, cranberry sauce, a mushroom-brandy gravy and loads of side dishes. The mixture of textures and flavours you get from the stuffing, the meat, and the crisped-up outer layer makes it into a serious centrepiece for the dinner. My next steps are to adapt it to have an even more crispy beancurd skin like my previous sunday roast, to figure out how long it takes to cook a more densely meaty loaf (in proportion to the stuffing, I'd like there to be a bit more) and to refine my gravy recipe so I can post it as well!

Even if you're also Canadian and have already celebrated thanksgiving, or don't have thankgiving holiday at all, you should still try this roast. I promise you won't miss the bird.
Thanksgiving Tofu-Turkey Roast with Apple-Leek-Walnut Stuffing

For the "Turkey":
1 C. Vital wheat gluten
1/3 C. Besan/chickpea flour
200 g. Extra-firm or firm tofu
1 Tsp. Vegan Worcestershire sauce, optional
2 Tsp. Poultry seasoning, or a mixture of the following herbs to taste: sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, white pepper, a tiny bit of nutmeg
1/4 C. Oil
3 TBSP Nutritional yeast
1 TBSP Soya sauce
Salt, to taste
1 Tsp. Garlic powder
2 Tsp. Onion powder
1 Tsp. Fresh black pepper
Soya milk, unsweetened (about 1/2 C.)
1/2 C. Faux chicken or mushroom broth

To Baste:
about 1 C. Broth, same as used above
2 TBSP Olive or coconut oil
1 TBSP Soya sauce
Juice of one orange

To finish:
1 TBSP Oil
2 Tsp. Poultry seasoning

Blend the tofu, oil, soya sauce, worcestershire sauce (if using) and enough soya milk to make a very smooth paste in a blender or food processor. Add the broth and blend well.

Separately, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and knead well in a breadmaker or standmixer (or by hand, with some persistence), adding a little more soya milk if the mixture is too dry. Knead for 15 minutes (or more, by hand) until you get a very stringy, stretchy, flexible dough. Let rest for 10 minutes, then roll out and form a larger rectangle on an oiled surface.

Spread filling (you will use about half of the recipe) and tuck the ends of the seitan rectangle around it, pinching the "seams" to seal the filling in tightly: basically, treat it like a giant turnover or dumpling and encase the stuffing well.

Wrap up with a clean tea towel or cheesecloth and place in a steamer. Steam for about 90 minutes, then remove from cheesecloth and put into a large baking pan or dish.

Prepare a basting liquid by mixing well: this will keep your loaf moist throughout the lengthy baking process. Bake for about 2 hours at 230℃, basting with some of the liquid every 15-20 minutes, and covering the roast with aluminium foil for all but the first and last 15 minutes.

When the roast is almost done, brush with the oil and sprinkle with the poultry seasoning and bake uncovered for the last 15 minutes to give a nice, crispy brown top.

Serve with the leftover stuffing, cranberry sauce and/or gravy.

For the Stuffing:
1 Loaf stale white bread, in chunks of about 1-2''
1 TBSP. Olive oil
3 TBSP. Vegan butter
A little truffle or porcini oil, optional
2 Tart apples, e.g. Granny Smith, peeled and diced finely
3 Leek stems, halved, finely sliced and rinsed well to clean: white and light green parts only
(NOTE: don't throw out the darker green parts- use them to make vegetable soup stock!)
4 Ribs celery, finely chopped
1 Yellow onion, diced finely
4 Sage leaves, cut finely
Salt and pepper
Poultry seasoning to taste (about 2 Tsp.)
2 TBSP fresh minced parsley
1/4 C. Dried cranberries, optional
1/2 C. Walnut pieces
Some vegetable broth

Toss the bread pieces with the olive oil and a teaspoon of poultry seasoning.

In a 170℃ oven, toast the bread pieces for 10 minutes, or until a bit dry. Toast the walnuts for around 5 minutes, watching carefully so they don't burn.

In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP of the vegan butter and add the apples, onion, and leeks. Cook on medium-high heat until the ingredients begin to become browned and caramelized, adding more fat as necessary. 

When the leeks are cooked through, sprinkle with the salt, seasoning and herbs. Add the celery, sage and other herbs and let the celery soften. Add the cranberries (if using), and let cook covered for about 5 minutes. Add the walnuts, remaining butter and bread pieces and stir well to combine, adding vegetable broth to moisten as necessary. Finish with a drizzle of truffle or porcini oil.