Lately I have been following a lot of vegetarian/vegan youtubers. This recipe was really interesting as you had to freeze tofu and defrost it to get it to a texture that resembles meat. Because tofu comes sealed it is safe to freeze, defrost and freeze again. To get the peel apart texture of vegan meat, freeze smooth tofu, then defrost completely in the fridge, then freeze again and defrost. It will be important to use smooth tofu as you want to make sure the tofu contains enough water and forms pockets of frozen water in the tofu as it freezes. This gives the tofu the layers.

When you are ready to make your tofu nuggets, defrost the tofu in a strainer in order to remove as much of the liquid as you can.

Press the tofu and squeeze the liquid out.

Then tear the tofu up into bite sized pieces.

To marinade the tofu, I opted to use this chicken broth mix (which is not vegan). You can make this vegatarian by using veggie broth. Soak the tofu in some strong broth. I reduced the amount of water when making the broth.

After you soak the tofu for at least an hour or overnight, squeeze out any extra broth. Season some flour and bread crumbs/panko crumbs with some broth mix and pepper.

Mix one or two eggs with some sesame oil to make an egg mix.

Now to coat the tofu. First start with a flour layer.

Then dip it into the egg mixture.

Finally dip it into the bread crumb mixture.

If you have an airfryer, use it to crisp up the tofu. Airfry (425 Degrees) for 15-20 minutes or until the tofu nuggets are browned.

The tofu has a meaty texture, however it was kind of spongy and slightly soggy. I would probably try to squeeze out the tofu a little more.

Serve with any dipping sauce you like. I think adding the chicken bouillon to the flour and panko crumbs helped season the tofu.

Tofu Chicken Nuggets

• block of soft tofu
• flour
• panko crumbs or bread crumbs
• chicken broth mix/bouillon or veggie mix
• egg
• sesame oil

Begin by prepping your tofu. Do not open up your tofu block. Place directly into the freezer and freeze overnight. Then remove frozen tofu and place in the fridge to defrost. This took about a day and half. Then place this block back into the freezer to freeze until you are ready to make the chicken nuggets. You want to use soft tofu as it contains more water which when frozen will create pockets in your tofu making the layers.

When you are ready to make the tofu nuggets, defrost the tofu in the fridge. When the tofu block is defrosted enough, remove the tofu from the package and place on a strainer. Try placing something heavy like a dish on top to help drain the water. This will take about a day. Squeeze as much liquid as you can. Then tear the tofu into pieces.

In a bowl mix together your broth mix following the instructions but adding slightly less water. You want to make the broth slightly concentrated. Soak the tofu pieces in the broth for a couple hours or overnight.

Before flouring the tofu, squeeze as most of the broth out. There should still be enough to flavor the tofu.

Mix the egg and 2 tsp of sesame oil in a small bowl. In two separate bowls mix together flour and some bouillon mix (about 1 cup flour to 3 tsp of bouillon) and mix together the panko crumbs with some bouillon powder (same ratio as the flour mix).

Begin dipping your tofu in the flour mix, then egg mix, then panko mix. Continue until all of the pieces are coated.

Preheat your Airfryer (or oven to 425 degrees). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the outside gets brown.

Serve with any dipping sauce you like. If you want to add some other seasonings to the panko crust adjust by reducing the amount of bouillon and add your spices.

Enjoy!

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