Peanut Crusted Tofu

A few weeks ago, Cody & I drove up to Colorado with our "married friends" to see Manchester Orchestra (If you haven't checked them out yet, you really need to get a move on! We JUST found out they're coming to Albuquerque May 9. Yesssss.....). I posted a recipe for some delicious Seitan Buffalo Wings that I recreated from our trip, now I'm going to post another Colorado favorite.

Before the concert, we went to this brewery in downtown Colorado Springs and I can't remember the name of it for the life of me. Cody & I split a salad (yes, we split a salad) and drank a couple of tasty beers. The salad had this amazing ginger sesame dressing, soba noodles, shredded carrot, bean sprouts, a massive fried wonton, and peanut crusted tofu. The tofu was amazing! Since I almost always have tofu in my fridge, I decided to try my hand at this dish.



*The plate looks kinda boring and lacks color. I should've thrown some kale on there or something. How unattractive!

Peanut Crusted Tofu
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

1 (14 ounce) package extra firm tofu, drained
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons peanut oil
Cooking spray

1. Cut tofu crosswise into 8 equal pieces. Cut each piece into two triangles. Arrange tofu in a single layer on several layers of heavy-duty paper towels. Cover tofu with additional paper towels. Place a cutting board on top of tofu. Place a few heavy cans of whateveryouhaveinyourcabinet on cutting board. Let stand 20 minutes. Pat tofu dry with paper towels.

2. Combine soy milk and lemon juice in a shallow dish. Let curdle. Place flour in a separate shallow dish (add a little salt and pepper if you're feeling zesty!). Place peanuts in a food processor; process until finely ground. Combine ground peanuts, garlic powder, ginger, red pepper, and salt in a shallow dish.

3. Dredge each side of the tofu triangle in flour. Dip in the soy milk mixture, then dredge in peanut mixture. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add half of tofu; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. (Watch closely to prevent burning.) Repeat procedure with remaining 1 teaspoon oil and tofu.



I paired the tofu with some homemade gyoza. I took the "meat" recipe from HERE and carefully filled some homemade vegan wonton wrappers. I have some gyoza dipping sauce (HOT) in my fridge, so we dipped both the gyoza and the tofu in there. It was a pretty good meal! I'll definitely make it again.

Hope you have a fabulous Monday!