Crispy Tofu Karaage (V)

Often times, those who switch to a plant-based lifestyle look at it with a negative perspective.

I’ll never get to enjoy all of my favorite foods again…
I have to eat boring healthy meals that taste bland…
Here are all of the things I CAN’T eat from now on…

Everything stems from your mindset. Your outlook on a place, time, event, person, etc will determine their experience. I’m going to cut to the chase here. I loved fried foods like French fries, nuggets, donuts, and every other disgustingly indulgent American food in the book. To be honest, I still enjoy all of these items because they’re undeniably delicious and will always hold a place in my heart. I have so many fond memories eating them as a child - if only my parents could’ve filled my lunchboxes with carrots instead of cereal for snacks!

We grow up and decide to adopt healthier eating habits because, although it’s not what we want at the moment, it’s what our body needs for the long run.

My top childhood food was chicken karaage, Japanese fried chicken with lemon juice squeezed on top. Chicken karaage can be spotted on most ramen shop menus or as an option at izakaya restaurants. If you've never tried chicken karaage and want to make your own healthier alternative, here’s a recipe that only takes 20 minutes to create! This item is ideal as the protein for a bento box, a crispy addition to Japanese vegetable curry, or all by itself for appetizer.

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Crispy Tofu Karaage

TOFU KARAAGE

Makes 2-3 servings | 20 minutes (35 for oven)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 block of firm tofu, frozen at least 2 hours before cooking

  • 3 tbsp potato starch

  • 3 tbsp GF all purpose flour

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 2 tbsp shoyu

  • 1 tbsp dry sake

  • 1 tbsp water

  • 1 tbsp sugar or mirin

  • black pepper to taste

  • 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat your oven if you’re using this method instead to 375 degrees.

  2. Take frozen tofu out of the fridge and microwave for 2 minutes. The texture should be hard yet able to crumble with your hands

  3. Break the tofu into random sized pieces to replicate chicken nuggets.

  4. Mix your wet ingredients on a plate and place the tofu flat so they can eat soak up the marinade. Let this sit for 15 minutes

  5. Prep your batter by mixing together the dry ingredients into a bowl.

  6. When the marination time is up, coat each piece twice in the dry mix and place into the air fryer or oven

  7. For the oven method, place your pieces on a tray with parchment paper lined beneath. Bake for 30-35 minutes, checking halfway through. For the air fryer method, turn the heat up to 380 degrees and cook for 13-15 minutes, tossing the pieces around midway to ensure each side is cooked evenly.

  8. Remove the tofu once they’re done and squeeze lemon juice on top! Enjoy

DVF, Meal PrepBryn YasuiComment