breaded tofu tacos + spicy slaw

I decided to bring a little bit of California to Maui.  These amazing tacos are simple, yet packed with tons of flavors & textures.  The tofu is breaded with a chickpea batter and topped with a spicy cabbage slaw (which I could eat straight out of the bowl!) and some vegetables that we roasted at the last minute.

  

Chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour makes a smooth batter which coats and sticks to the tofu easily without having to use eggs.  I’ve been using chickpea flour for quite some time, if you haven’t tried it, I recommend that you go out and get some right away.  I added a few of my favorite spices and some greek yogurt to make it taste even better.

  

Make sure that the oil is hot enough!  That’s what makes it crispy- there’s nothing worse that soggy, greasy food!  Right?  And you don’t need to deep fry these, all you need is about 1/4″ of oil in the bottom of your skillet.

  

This slaw is my friend Terri’s creation.  I don’t think she used as much sour cream as I did though!  It comes together very fast and goes perfectly with the hot tofu sticks.

breaded tofu tacos with spicy slaw

makes 8 tacos

ingredients:

slaw

1/4 of a head of green cabbage, sliced thin

1  jalapeño or serrano, chopped fine

2T fresh cilantro, chopped

2T sour cream

zest of 1/2 a lime

1T fresh lime juice

salt & pepper to taste

(adjust the seasonings to your taste)

chickpea batter

1c chickpea flour

1t ground cumin

1t ground coriander

1/4t red chili powder

2T plain greek yogurt

2-3T water – you may need more

salt & pepper to taste

everything else

1 package firm tofu (try to buy non gmo tofu)

your favorite corn tortillas

sunflower, peanut or light olive oil for frying

fresh cilantro

fresh limes

optional

roasted veggies

how to:

First drain & press the tofu.  If you don’t have a tofu press, line a plate or small baking sheet with paper towels.  Lay the tofu on top and some more paper towel.  Then cover with another plate or baking sheet and weigh it down with something heavy like some canned tomatoes.  Let that sit while you prep the batter and make the slaw.  A lot of water will be released, so you may want to drain it a few times.

Meanwhile combine all of the ingredients for the batter in a mixing bowl, adding the water last.  You may need to adjust the amount of water depending on how well the batter comes together-it should be the consistency of pancake batter.  Stir until the lumps are gone.  Give it a taste and adjust the salt if needed.  Set aside.

In another bowl combine all of the slaw ingredients and mix well.  Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350.  You be heating up the tortillas.

Heat up a skillet on medium heat with about 1/4″ of oil.  While that’s happening, cut the tofu into 16 strips.  I usually cut 8 ‘slices’ then cut those into half.  Check to see if the oil is up to temp by dropping a tiny bit of batter into the skillet.  If it bubbles around the edges and rises to the surface quickly, it’s ready.

Dip 2 strips of tofu at a time into the batter and coat evenly.  You may need to scrape the batter off a bit if it’s too thick.  Slowly place the strips one at a time into the hot skillet.  As the tofu turns a golden brown around the edges, turn them until they are golden on each side.  Remove them from the skillet and place separately onto a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.  Repeat with the rest of the tofu. I had to do this 2 batches because my skillet only fit 8 strips at a time.  Before you start your second batch of tofu, warm up your corn tortillas in the oven for about 4-5 minutes.

Remove and place 2 tofu strips on each taco.  Top with the cabbage slaw, some fresh cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.  Serve

enjoy!

option:  you can add some roasted veggies on top of the tofu before adding the slaw.