Hey friends, welcome back today, we're going to be making some recipes using the super versatile and protein packed ingredient that is tofu
So I feel like the taste and texture of tofu on its own
It's nothing particularly special, but I think why tofu is so
Amazing is that it's just there's so much that you can do with it
and I think the magic is in how we prepare it so the different spices and
Marinades that we toss it in or the different dipping sauces that we enjoy it with
So today we're going to be sharing three epic tofu recipes to impress plus two awesome dipping sauces that go really well with them
So let's dive right in for the first recipe. We're making some delicious tofu veggie skewers together with a wicked awesome vegan tzatziki sauce
So for this recipe, we're gonna be baking our skewers in the oven but you could also barbecue them if you'd like
But because the skewers are made of wood they do tend to burn
So one way to prevent that from happening is just put these
In a bowl and then pour over top some cold water and let it sit and rest for about 15 minutes
For all of the recipes that we're going to be making today
We're going to be using some extra firm tofu
And we always want to squeeze out as much liquid as possible from this the reason being that once the liquid is gone
Then it lets the tofu absorb more of the marinade if you're marinating it
Or it just helps it crispen up faster either on the stove or in the oven now
There's a few different ways that we can do this some people use a tofu
Press for that and others just put it on a plate and then put something heavy on top of it
Something like a clean pot and then let it sit for about 15 minutes that way the liquid seeps out personally, though
I don't have a tofu press and I don't usually have the patience to wait 15 minutes
So what I just like to do is take the tofu and squeeze it with my hands
Over the sink now the trick to this is that you want to apply a really even pressure all throughout
Otherwise if you just do it to one localized area it can tend to crumble
But feel free to use whichever of these methods works best for you once the tofu has been drained
We're using about a 450 gram block here. We're then going to want to cut it into thin little bite-sized pieces
And then we can transfer it to a bowl
i'm gonna also add an optional little drizzle of olive oil and toss it to gently coat and then we can sprinkle over top a
Tablespoon of corn starch a teaspoon of garlic powder half of a teaspoon of salt and about a quarter teaspoon
of ground black pepper
And then we can toss it to coat again
One ingredient that you're going to see in every single one of the recipes that we're making today is corn starch
So when you combine corn starch together with salt and then you coat tofu pieces with it
What it tends to do is just helps it crispen up whether it's on the stove or in the oven
If you don't have cornstarch, though
You can use arrowroot starch potato starch flour even but we just find that cornstarch works the best
When it comes to crispening tofu next we can make the marinade so to a bowl or jar
We're going to add two tablespoons of olive oil along with a tablespoon of lemon juice or the juice from about half of a lemon
Along with a quarter teaspoon each of dried
Oregano dried thyme dried basil and salt and a little bit of freshly cracked black pepper
Then we can just give this all a whisk and set it aside for now
Now we're already ready to assemble the skewers. This is straightforward enough
It just involves threading the tofu onto the skewers along with whatever other veggies you think you might enjoy
So here we're adding on very thinly sliced sweet potatoes some chopped red onions some zucchini
And some bell peppers
The important thing that we just want to keep in mind here when we're preparing the veggies is just to cut them into similar sized
Chunks as the tofu that way everything cooks together at the same time and do keep in mind that ingredients like potatoes and sweet potatoes
They need to be sliced just a little bit more thinly so that it is all finished cooking at the same time as the other
veggies
We're just going to then repeat this process of layering everything until the skewer is filled up
And then I like to add a little cherry tomato on top
Now once the skewers are assembled we can then brush the marinade over top of it
So just making sure to coat it evenly on all sides
And then we can place this onto a wiring rack or your barbecue
If you're planning on barbecuing it now, we just put ours straight onto the rack here
But feel free to put some baking paper underneath if you'd like a little bit less of a mess
We can then place the rack in a preheated oven at 400 fahrenheit or 200 celsius and here
I'm, just putting a baking tray underneath it just to catch any liquid that might seep out
We're then going to bake these in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes altogether. So while the skewers are baking away
We're gonna make a dip that goes so well with it
It's a vegan tzatziki recipe you might have seen in a previous video. I showed you that I was enjoying it, but I didn't
Walk you through the steps on how to make it yourself at home and it's just too good of a recipe to not
properly show you
how to make so this is in my opinion the best vegan tzatziki recipe
So to a bowl we're going to add one cup of an unsweetened plant-based yogurt
So here i'm using soy yogurt and we're also going to add in three cloves of crushed garlic
We're going to also grate about half of a large cucumber
i'm
Just using a box grater for this
And then what we're going to want to do after we've grated it is just gather the cucumber
In your hand and then give it a squeeze we want to try to get rid of as much of the the juice and liquid
As possible and then we can transfer this to the bowl as well
and then next what we're going to want to do is pluck the leaves off of a generous about a quarter cup amount of
Fresh dill and then we can finely chop this and add it to the bowl too along with two
tablespoons of lemon juice or the juice from about one full lemon
Along with a tablespoon of olive oil a quarter teaspoon of salt and finally some freshly cracked black pepper
And we can give this all a mix and then you've got yourself some delicious tzatziki ready for the eating
Now once the skewers are baked to our liking we can remove them from the oven
Plate them up and enjoy them alongside our garlicky yogurt dip
These skewers are really simple to make but it's seriously so impressive anyone that you serve it to is really going to enjoy it
Especially when it's together with that tzatziki as a dipping sauce and grilling the veggies
It just helps to caramelize them and especially when we've brushed that herby marinade over top altogether
It kind of brings out the natural sweetness and flavors of each ingredient
For the next recipe we're making some buffalo style tofu sticks that's going to be served together with a vegan ranch dipping sauce
So first we're going to prep three shallow bowls
to the first bowl we're gonna add in about a quarter cup of corn starch then to the second bowl
We're gonna add in about half of a cup of unsweetened
Plant-based milk and finally to the third cup we're gonna add in half of a cup of bread crumbs
Along with a teaspoon of paprika powder half a teaspoon each of ground cumin and garlic powder and about a quarter teaspoon of black pepper
Then we can just give this all a mix
Next we're going to cut our
450 gram block of pre-pressed tofu into strips ours are about five centimeters long and about a centimeter or so thick
And so once we've cut up all of the tofu we can then begin the transformation process
so first
What we're going to want to do is roll the tofu sticks in some cornstarch just lightly coating it on all sides
You want to avoid any big lumps of corn starch on here?
So just using our hands we can brush off any extra starch and then we can move the strip over to the second bowl
Where we can dunk it in the plant milk
We just want to let any excess liquid drip off before we then
Transfer it to the final bowl where we're going to give it a roll in the breadcrumb mixture
Then we can transfer this to a parchment-lined baking tray
I find that this one is super fun to make especially if you're doing it together with kids or friends or family get them in
On the action with you making a little assembly line of coating dunking and rolling
So when the sticks are all spread out over the baking tray we can then pop them in a preheated oven at 430 fahrenheit
Or 220 celsius for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the tofu crisps are nice and golden
And crispy stopping to give it a flip at least once halfway if you can so while that's baking away
We're gonna make the buffalo sauce for this recipe
We'll be using about half of a cup of frank's red hot sauce
But feel free to use any other cayenne pepper hot sauce that you'd like
We just find the taste of this one works, really
Well plus we're gonna add in three tablespoons of vegan butter or you could use vegan margarine. Either is fine
Plus half of a teaspoon of onion powder then we're going to transfer the saucepan over to the stove
We want to heat it up over medium-high heat just until the butter has dissolved and it's all one uniform consistency
And when it is we can then remove the saucepan from the heat
These buffalo strips. They are delicious on their own
But if you want to elevate it take it to the next level
You can serve it with some vegan ranch dip if you'd like and we'll show you how to make it
Now one of the ingredients that we're going to be using for it is this homemade
Two-minute ranch spice mix it's something we always have in the pantry because we use it all the time
And we've shared the recipe in a previous video you might remember
But i'll leave the the breakdown of how to make this as well in the description box below
Now to make the ranch dip, all we need is to a bowl
We're going to add about half of a cup of vegan mayonnaise
Along with one tablespoon of that ranch mix plus two tablespoons of unsweetened plant-based milk
And half of a tablespoon of lemon juice or the juice from about a quarter of a lemon
Then we're gonna mix this all up and our ranch dip is ready
Now when the tofu strips are golden and they're finished baking we can then remove them from the oven
and when they are still warm
But they're cool enough to handle what we want to do is dunk the strips into the saucepan of the hot sauce mixture
And we want to let any excess liquid drip off before we then transfer this to our serving plate
We're just going to repeat this whole process until all the tofu and all of the sauce is used up
When we're ready to serve this one up
Feel free to garnish it first with a little bit of chopped up chives if you'd like
And then you're ready to enjoy these tofu strips have a really lovely texture of being really firm and saucy on the outside
But then they have this like light and soft texture on the inside
It's super flavorful and delicious just on its own. But like I said even more tasty if you dunk it straight into that ranch dip
and then one of my personal favorite ways to kind of enjoy these strips is actually to make
Little wraps out of them. I find that that tart and spice taste of the buffalo sauce
It's kind of mellowed out really nicely when it's served on some toasted tortillas together
I like to just add it with some like romaine lettuce and some fresh avocado slices
Then you can add those saucy buffalo strips to it. And then if you drizzle that vegan ranch sauce over top it is the best
For the final recipe, we're making some flavor packed spicy and garlicky tofu
So to start we've got a 450 gram block of pre-pressed tofu that we're going to cut into about one centimeter cubes
We're going to transfer these cubes over to a bowl and then we're going to sprinkle over top two tablespoons of cornstarch
A tablespoon of vegetable oil half of a teaspoon of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper
Then we're gonna gently give this all a toss to coat
And we're gonna bring it over to the stove where we're gonna add it to a large pan on high heat
And we're gonna cook this up until it's golden
A little tip about the tofu at this stage try to not disturb it
Just let it sit there for at least a couple minutes before you give it a toss
If we stir too early on that's when the tofu tends to crumble apart
So after a couple minutes
give it a toss wait another couple minutes or so and you can continue this process until the tofu is nice and
Lightly golden which usually takes about seven to ten minutes
So while the tofu is cooking away, we're gonna make the sauce for this recipe
So to a jar i'm gonna be adding in two tablespoons of maple syrup a tablespoon of gochujang, which is a korean chili paste
But feel free to use any other hot sauce here you'd like plus we're gonna add a tablespoon of soy sauce
And a tablespoon of rice vinegar and then we can just give this all a mix and set it aside for now
We're also going to do a little bit of chopping
So this is a garlicky tofu recipe that we're making so it might be no surprise that we're going to be using
Five cloves of garlic for this part we're gonna mince this all up nice and finely and then we're going to dice one large shallot
If you don't have a shallot feel free to use a regular onion here instead
And then we're going to thinly slice two red hot chili peppers. And finally we're going to thinly slice about two stalks of green onion
Now returning to the stove when the tofu is nice and golden and crispy on all sides
We're then going to transfer it to a bowl, and we're going to return the pan to the stove
adding in about two tablespoons or so of vegetable oil and when it's hot
We can then add in the garlic shallot chili and green onion mixture all at once
And we're gonna sauté this for about four to five minutes before we then reduce the heat to about medium medium high or so
And then we can pour in the sauce
We're gonna let this cook at a gentle simmer giving it an occasional stir for about four to five minutes or until the sauce
Just thickens up a little bit
And at this point we can then add the tofu back into the pan and give it all a stir to coat it up
At this point we're already ready to serve it
So when the sticky and delicious bites of tofu have been transferred to a bowl. Feel free to garnish it with some toasted sesame seeds
It's a recipe that so easily impresses. It's got a ton of flavors packed into one fun little bite size package
It's a bit spicy tangy sweet and a touch salty
It's delicious to enjoy just on its own as like a side dish or an appetizer
Or feel free to use this tofu recipe to jazz up just about any stir fry or fried rice dish
And if you know anyone who's just not a fan of the taste of tofu, I think this recipe might just convert them
So hopefully you've got a few different recipes that you can try now with tofu and all of its versatility
But I would love to know how you typically enjoy tofu yourself at home if you'd like to share
Maybe you can share what kind of sauces you usually toss it in or what dishes you enjoy it in
I think it's great inspiration for me and others who might see it as well
So see in the comments if you're looking for the full breakdown to the recipes as always
I'll leave those links for you in the description box below, but thanks so much for being here with us
Hope you hopefully hope you enjoyed because i'm signing up and we'll see you in the next video
I need positive affirmations. Sometimes alex. It's great. Thank you
Half of a cup of frank's red hots
Maybe using about half of a cups of I did it again half of a cups. What is up with me?
I've always had troubles like making it balance, you know
Man how's my hair brown?