Vegan Buffalo Tofu Hot Wings Food

BUFFALO TOFU WINGS

Steps:

• Remove tofu from its wrapping and drain the water. Use a tofu press or create your own at home. To create your own, wrap the tofu in a clean kitchen towel or folded paper towels. Place tofu on a plate and top with heavy objects. This could include a cutting board and some books, cans of food, jars of nut butter, etc. Anything heavy will do the trick. Let tofu sit for 15-30 minutes. After, remove the objects and unwrap the tofu. Most of the moisture will have soaked into the towel.
• Slice the block of tofu into rectangular strips. I recommend creating 9-12 strips.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine flour, plant-based milk, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together. Add plant-based milk and whisk together once more.
• Add panko breadcrumbs to a bowl.
• Using a fork, dip one strip of tofu in the wet batter. Flip to coat the other side. Tap off any excess batter. Immediately dip the battered tofu in the breadcrumbs. Toss a few times to evenly coat the tofu. Transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat until all strips are coated.
• Bake tofu wings for 25 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
• Combine buffalo sauce and butter in a bowl. Microwave for 1 minute to melt the butter, then mix together.
• Remove tofu wings from the oven. Dip one wing in the buffalo sauce. Flip to coat both sides. Tap off any excess sauce. Repeat with all wings.
• Serve the buffalo tofu wings immediately OR bake the wings for another 15 minutes. For crispy wings, I recommend baking them again. Serve with celery sticks and vegan ranch dip. Enjoy!

VEGAN BUFFALO TOFU HOT WINGS

Steps:

• Once your tofu has been well-pressed, you can slice it into thin "finger" shapes, slabs, cubes, or whatever shape you like best.
• In a shallow pan or a zip-closing plastic bag, combine the cornstarch, garlic salt, mustard powder and black pepper. Carefully add the tofu, gently tossing to make sure that all sides of the tofu are well coated with the cornstarch mixture.
• Heat the oil in a sauté pan or skillet over medium heat, using a non-stick pan if you have it to reduce the amount of oil needed. Add tofu and pan-fry on all sides just until it is just lightly golden brown. Once the tofu has cooked, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
• Using the same pan (or a different one, your choice), heat the vegan margarine or butter substitute over very low heat. Once it is melted, add in the wing sauce, stirring just until combined well. Add the cooked tofu, gently turning to coat well on all sides with the wing sauce mixture.
• Once that is completely heated, you can take the tofu off of the stovetop heat and serve it while it is warm.
• Serve with some vegan ranch dressing if you'd like.

CRISPY BAKED BUFFALO TOFU WINGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 ºF and lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet.
• If using extra-firm tofu press out the extra water: Slice your tofu into 6 width-wise slabs and wrap in a lint-free towel or paper towel. Place some weights over the wrapped tofu, like a heavy cast iron skillet or books atop a baking sheet. Let drain for about 20-30 minutes before continuing.
• Cut your tofu into 18 'wings' or ~1/2" sticks. Cut the block of tofu into 6 slices width-wise if you haven't already for pressing, then slice each of those slabs into 3 slices lengthwise.
• Put the cornstarch (or arrowroot or tapioca starch) in one bowl, the plant milk in a second bowl, and mix together the bread crumb mixture in a third bowl. Pour some of the bread crumb mixture onto a plate.
• Dip each tofu 'wing' into the starch, followed by the milk, then roll in the breadcrumbs on the plate. Place the wing onto the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining 'wings.' Use one hand for the starch and bread crumbs and your other for the milk to keep breading from clumping on your fingers. Add more of the breadcrumb mixture to the plate as needed.
• Bake the prepared tofu at 425 ºF for 25 minutes, flip, then bake an additional 10-15 minutes until the tofu wings are nice and crispy.
• While they're baking, make the buffalo sauce. Melt the vegan butter and stir in the hot sauce, granulated garlic, and salt.
• Put the tofu wings in a large mixing bowl and toss with the buffalo sauce to coat. Serve immediately.
• Leftover buffalo tofu wings can be re-crisped in the oven.

BUFFALO TOFU 'WINGS'

Steps:

• Slice tofu into 6 slices. Lay flat onto a clean kitchen towel. Fold towel over to cover tofu completely. Cover with a baking sheet and set a 3- to 5-pound weight on top. Press tofu for about 30 minutes.
• Combine cornstarch, flour, bouillon, garlic powder, and cayenne powder in a shallow bowl. Pour soy milk into another bowl.
• Cut each slice of tofu in half, for 12 'wings' total. Dip each slice in soy milk; roll into the cornstarch mixture. Place coated slices on a plate.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the coated tofu slices. Fry, flipping halfway, until crispy on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes total. Add hot sauce and margarine to the saucepan and stir to coat the tofu.