Cinnamon Tofu Crunch

As you all probably know, Tofu isn’t on my list of all-time favs. I mean, it’s fine. I’m more than happy to add it to a stir-fry, but in general I feel if god wanted us to eat soy, he wouldn’t have made bacon.

But then I saw this recipe over on 101 Cookbooks for caramelized tofu, and I realized, hey, tofu is just like anything else on Yshua’s green earth – all it needs is a little (read: a lot) of sugar and fat added and it’s delicious.

Because I don’t normally keep fresh spices around, I ignored the savory parts of her recipe, and just went with extra sweet. So here’s my take on a decidedly un-healthy way to prepare ‘da ‘fu, inspired by 101 c.

– You gotta use the extra firm tofu. I don’t know myself what makes it extra firm (I assume not rennet), but the regular stuff always falls apart on me.

– Slice the tofu up and cook in a little extra virgin until it is golden-brown on each side. I flip it over with a fork. I find spatula-ing it around can break it up, even with the extra firm stuff.

– Add two cloves of crushed garlic. (I was worried about this part – thought it might burn, but once the sugar was in there, it just got golden and candy-like.)

– Sprinkle on three tablespoons of brown sugar, rotating the tofu to get it nice and covered all over. Do the same with cinnamon, and just a little salt.

– Turn the heat down to low and cook for another 10 or so, getting each side a little more golden-brown.

– Take the tofu out and put your veggies in the pan – I had collard greens on hand do I made those. I didn’t add anything else to them, aside from (clearly too much) oil, but they were pretty tasty, just with the leftover sugary-garlic taste left in the pan.