Quick Food Fix: Crusted Tofu

Breakfasts on weekday's in my house is cereal/ oatmeal for the kids. A hot coffee which becomes warm by the time I get to it and then a lot of 'running out the door'

Yes, Yes I know, breakfast should be the biggest meal yada yada yada. I swear whoever came up with that either woke up at 5 to ensure that happens or just preached and didn’t practice. 

So yes, breakfast is definitely not the biggest meal in my house, it’s just the most rushed!

However, the other day, I had an extra '20 minutes' at hand! so instead of sitting and sipping on my hot coffee, I said let me try this 'Hot breakfast on a weekday thing'

It worked out, it was quick to put together, was delicious and well I did enjoy it. However, it was once in a blue moon thing of a weekday breakfast for me, definitely hard to keep up. 

Recipe for the crusted tofu

Ingredients: 

1 package extra-firm tofu

Wet ingredients:

3 tsp All purpose Flour/ Chickpea Flour

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Water to mix

Dry ingredients:

3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons white sesame seeds

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (Takmariya)

2 tsp Crushed Peanuts (optional)

Salt, pepper, red chili as per taste 

Oil for toasting/ frying on a pan

Scallions, sliced 

For the nuoc cham: Dipping Sauce:

1 tsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp chilli sauce (optional)

2 red Thai chilies: thinly sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

Optional: Drain the tofu for as much time as possible — 20 minutes to an hour. It makes the crisping portion quicker, however if you don’t drain no worries, just let the tofu crisp for a few more minutes!

The nuoc cham/ Dipping Sauce: 

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients! Ta Da

Prep: 

1. Mix Chickpea flour/ All Purpose flour with 1 teaspoon of water to a smooth and runny paste. 

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a plate.

Process

1. Cut the drained tofu into cubes

2. Submerge the tofu into the Flour-Water mixture,

3. Then coat the tofu in the sesame-panko mix.

4. Repeat with the remaining cubes

5. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and add about 2 to 3 teaspoons of oil. 

6. Place the tofu cubes into the frying pan. 

7. Crisp tofu slices for about 3 to 4 minutes a side, then transfer to a serving platter. 

8. Garnish with scallions. 

Enjoy a healthy, quick to put together 'dish' with the dipping sauce. 

Full disclosure, I feel this would be a better appetizer recipe, it was filling for breakfast for sure, however the flavors are strong and I had 2 breath mints before work to ensure that no one else knew about my 'breakfast of a king' mood!