The Versatile Tofu Crumble
Making tofu crispy was a fixation of mine for years. Delicious tofu is all about the texture but it can seem impossible to get right when you’re starting out. Before I learned about Ben’s Crispy Tofu tricks (see his awesome recipe here!), I spent lots of time frying tofu chunks in pans of oil while the outside still managed to stick to the pan and the inside still managed to feel soft and bland.
After many stovetop adventures gone awry, I decided to take my tofu experiments into the oven. Many people say that baking before frying can be a great way to get moisture out, and can be key to those delicious tofu chunks that we all dream about. Unfortunately, time seems to always be my limited ingredient when it comes to cooking, so the idea of baking AND frying on the stovetop just seemed like too much. Call me lazy, but I was always cooking between classes and club meetings in college while also trying to finish an assignment before a midnight deadline (we’ve all been there), so the less dishes and steps involved, the better!
Fast forward through more kitchen adventures and I finally landed on flavorful, crispy tofu crumbles that make a stellar filling for tacos and burritos, a satisfying topping on salads and bowls, or even just a poppable snack. I tend to make a big batch of it and use it in multiple things throughout the week to be efficient, and it never gets old.
Since this recipe was born out of my search for easy, fast, delicious food, it also only uses staples that you’ll find in your fridge and pantry. Ketchup?! Oh heck yeah, ketchup adds some great flavor and moisture to this recipe and can be used to make things more flavorful than you’d think! Did you know that ketchup has all five of the essential tastes—sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami? We love this fun New Yorker article about ketchup. And soy sauce in a recipe with Mexican spices?! Soy sauce provides all the salt for this recipe along with some additional flavorful depth. You’ll be surprised how well they work together.
So, here we go! A simple recipe (that you can modify to make spicier or more mild if you choose) that I swear will become your new go-to when you’re looking for that meat-style flavor but want to stick to plant based options.
A few simple ingredients and a load of staple spices make this tofu crumble an easy-go to.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoons medium heat hot sauce: I always have Valentina on hand so that’s what I used in this recipe. You could use spicier if you want more of a kick, or even use a salsa if that’s what you have on hand.
1 block of extra firm tofu: drained
1 teaspoon garlic powder: could sub 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder:
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil: avocado or other vegetable oil would work as well
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drain tofu and press to get out as much moisture as possible.
Place tofu in large bowl and add all other ingredients.
Mix with a spatula, breaking up the tofu until the largest pieces are no larger than a quarter, about the size of small marbles. Make sure that the sauces and spices are evenly distributed through the tofu mix.
Pour oil onto a baking sheet and spread so the whole sheet is covered evenly.
Spoon the tofu onto baking sheet, distributing so that there is an even layer of tofu across the whole sheet.
Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and carefully but quickly stir around so that pieces get flipped around to a different side.
Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the top of the tofu is a medium brown and the edges are crispy.
Add to your taco, salad, bowl or whatever you want, and enjoy!
Can be stored and reheated in the microwave for 4 days.
Best Practices:
As always:
Avoid packaged produce, or really anything packaged for that matter. This is not to say that you’ll always have the option, but when you do, go for it! For example, you may sometimes see onions in their own plastic packages, garlic in its own plastic-mesh bags, or ginger vacuum sealed. These are all very often available sans any container, so take the opportunity to use your hands, smell the produce, build that relationship with your ingredients! That being said, the spices for example, might be difficult to avoid without packaging. Pick your battles and fight them well!
Try to bring your own bags when you go shopping for these ingredients.
Make sure you’re not buying more than you think you’ll reasonably use! Most of these ingredients keep for a very long time, so with those if you buy a bit more than you needed, you’ll have plenty of time to use them in the future. Tofu usually has an expiration date so plan ahead and store in an airtight container if you only use part of the block.
These ingredients have been chosen with several things in mind:
Most of these ingredients are household staples that are relatively inexpensive and last a long time. Tofu is a popular protein for those who wish to reduce (or avoid all together) consumption of meat, so the recipe aims to heighten the eating experience for those people! As soybeans are one of the most prominent crops cultivated globally, there are inevitably many companies that grow and harvest them using unsustainable practices. We encourage you to shop organically, in bulk, and review your products sustainability rating using the Cornucopia Institutes scorecard .
It is likely that the most well known producers of the soy sauce are located in Asia, while hot sauce and ketchup are mass produced. There may be fantastic options that are located more locally and I would encourage you to explore those options! You might be able to save on significant shipping emissions and will be able to support and connect with local businesses.
Did you try this recipe? Tag @groundedgrub on instagram or facebook and hashtag it #groundedgrub!
