crispy everything spice buffalo tofu salad with avocado ranch
Sexy tofu for a healthy and filling Tuesday dinner salad. Everything spice is everything you need.
I was once an expert at cooking tofu –
Sorry. I mean botching it.
I avoided tofu for several years when I first eliminated meat since I viewed it, as many omnivores do, as a squishy sponge-like block of smashed plants. My learning curve straightened out in very small steps. First, I learned to press tofu so the squish eased away. Then, how frying is king and to not really attempt baking unless I had a daiquiri in my system first. Third, that cornstarch isn’t really necessary on its own, but a good dredge achieved by using ingredients I might use for battering chicken. Which is what this here is, with a good few twists to put some spice in your lettuce bowl.
Homemade buffalo sauce is wonderfully easy: just butter and hot sauce are the integral ingredients, but I add a touch of garlic, honey, cider vinegar, and Worcestershire for a hint more umami. Find my original buffalo sauce recipe with these Buffalo Jackfruit Tacos. An apt Taco Wednesday try. If you really don’t feel like it, store bought is dandy.
The three-bowl dredge is the method of choice. Flour, milk with a touch of buffalo sauce mixed in, and panko infused with everything spice because it’s oh-so nice. Clean your nasty paws between stations because this might muck up the adhesion of each component. I like to set aside a fourth bowl of just water to rinse my fingers. The process goes flour, milk, then panko. Then a hot summer date into the fry pan.
A good crispy tofu demands a fair bit of oil. Not quite a shallow fry, but enough to comfortably coat the bottom of a big skillet. 3-4 tablespoons is good, and it must be a heat tolerant oil. Extra virgin olive oil is my usual choice saute fat, but the higher smoke point pure olive oil or safflower oil are better in this case. You want a golden, evenly seared surface, not a batch of burn spots everywhere. Not cute.
The avocado ranch is eyerolling good. I plopped it on practically every random lunch bowl I ate for a week or so. Fresh herbs, creamy avocado, Greek yogurt (hell, you can try plant-based yogurt if you wish and make this recipe entirely vegan!), garlic, lemon, and vinegar meld together for a thick, tangy, fresh, healthy, how many more words can I squeeze out of my pores, dressing.
The rest of the salad is easy. Romaine lettuce, carrots, roasted sweet potatoes, and a few slices of cucumber. Fancy plating optional. Then just drown the tofu in more buffalo sauce and avocado ranch all over the bowl, lick the spoon, don’t tell your boyfriend, and chow the fork down.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you’ve made!
Some more flavorful leaves to munch:
Roasted Delicata Squash and Pomegranate Salad with Caramelized Shallot Vinaigrette
Baja Tempeh Taco Salad with Chili Honey Lime Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 block firm or extra firm tofu
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk (oat, whole, or buttermilk all work)
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tbsp everything seasoning, homemade or storebought
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce, homemade or store bought
- 1 lb sweet potatoes, shoestringed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 6-8 cups salad greens (I used chopped romaine lettuce)
- 1 avocado, quartered
- 2 carrots, sliced thinly or shaved into ribbons with a julienne peeler
avocado ranch
- 1 avocado
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, packed
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, packed
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- juice of one lemon (about 2-3 tbsp)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor or a high-speed blender, combine all the ingredients for the avocado ranch and blend until silky smooth. Taste for salt and pepper. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Drain the tofu well and press for at least 15 minutes. If you have a tofu press, use this. If not, I stack a layer of 3-4 paper towels on a plate, set the tofu atop, 3-4 more paper towels, a second plate, and a heavy bottom skillet to serve as my "press." I usually leave mine for upwards of an hour, changing the towels at least once, but 15 minutes is swell.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Slice the sweet potatoes thinly ("shoestring") and toss with chili powder, garlic powder, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 20 minutes, turning once halfway. Set aside to cool.
- Prepare your dredging station. Add flour to one bowl, milk and 1/4 cup buffalo sauce to a second bowl, and to the third whisk together panko, everything seasoning, parsley, and salt.
- Heat 3-4 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. The oil should not smoke but should sizzle nicely when water is flicked onto the surface.
- Slice tofu into four large rectangles. Dredge both sides first in the flour, then dip in milk. Set into the panko mixture and press firmly to allow the crumbs to adhere. Turn and repeat on the second side, sweeping some onto the outside edges of the brick as well. I find it helpful to rinse my hands after each pass in the dredging stations to prevent clumps. Repeat with all four slices of tofu.
- Set tofu pieces in oil and fry 3 minutes on one side, then flip and fry an additional 3 minutes until golden and crisp. Line a clean plate with paper towels and set finished tofu atop to drain. After a few minutes, remove the paper towel. Drizzle tofu with buffalo sauce to your liking. I used a lot because, well, buffalo sauce.
- Assemble the salads! Spread greens in a salad bowl. Top with avocado slices, carrots, and cucumbers. Slide tofu filet overtop and spoon avocado ranch all over the dishes. Serve immediately – tofu doesn't stay very crisp for long so these are best noshed as soon as can be!
