Tofu Crumble

Tofu has got to be one of my favorite ingredients ever. It comes in different textures – silken, soft, firm, extra firm. It is so versatile and super nutritious too. There’s so many ways to prepare it. You can marinate it and then grill it, pan fry it, stir fry it, bake it, etc. You can incorporate it in soup or in a stew. Steamed tofu is great too. For dessert, tofu can be used to make ice cream, pie, or cheesecake and more cheesecake.

Tofu can be enjoyed raw as well. (Just make sure you’re using tofu from airtight packages and that the tofu hasn’t been sitting around opened for days.) Here’s a recipe for tofu crumbles using firm tofu. These tofu crumbles are pretty basic and can be used as a topping for many dishes, e.g. scooped onto a salad or added to a sandwich or wrap. If raw tofu is not your thing, you can cook it in a pan with some olive oil and it’ll kind of resemble scrambled eggs.



The basic idea is to press the tofu and then crumble the tofu with your hands. The tofu should reach a ricotta-like consistency. Then, season and flavor the tofu as you like.

Pressing the tofu changes the texture, drains out the water, and makes the tofu a bit firmer. A simple way to press tofu is to place the block of tofu between some paper towels in a large flat plate. Then, place another flat plate and then put a heavy weight on the plate. Let it sit for about an hour.

Here’s one recipe that I tried for flavoring the tofu crumble. I decided to go with a simple herbs and olive oil blend.

Ingredients:

7.5 oz firm tofu, pressed and drained
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl, crumble up the tofu with your hands.
Add lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.
Mash until it reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese, a few minutes.
Add olive oil and stir.
Add nutritional yeast and combine all ingredients well.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Here’s another variation for tofu crumble. This one has curry powder!

Ingredients:

7.5 oz firm tofu, pressed and drained
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Same as above.

Enjoy in a sandwich!

Or in a salad!