Easy Tofu Bacon
Salty and smoky, fried and chewy. Strips of tofu are soaked in a simple but deeply flavoured marinade, then pan-fried to perfection for this easy vegan tofu bacon.
Servings: 12 slices
Ingredients
- ½ block (140 g or 5 oz) extra firm tofu
Marinade
- 2 tbsp soy sauce tamari for gluten-free
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- ¼ tsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp dried rosemary ground
- 1 pinch black pepper ground
Frying
- 2 tsp vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
Preparation
- Wrap the tofu in a clean cloth or paper towel and gently squeeze it to press out some excess water. This will help the tofu soak up the marinade better. If your tofu isn't very firm, then press with a weight on top until firm.
- Slice the tofu into strips. Thinner slices will give a crisper texture, whereas thicker slices will make more chewy vegan bacon.
- Mix all the ingredients for the marinade - soy sauce, liquid smoke, maple syrup, rosemary and black pepper. Dip the tofu slices in the marinade and leave to marinate in a shallow dish or bowl for at least 15 minutes. See notes for tips.
Cooking
- In a large frying pan, heat up the oil on medium-high heat.
- Add the marinated tofu slices to the pan in a single layer, reserving the marinade. Fry for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown and slightly crisp.
- If your frying pan is not big enough, cook all the tofu in batches, then add it all back into the pan before continuing to the next step.
- Turn the heat down to medium and pour on the remaining marinade to evenly cover the tofu.
- Continue to gently cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the tofu strips have turned dark brown.
- Bonus: If you don't want to waste all the flavour left behind in the frying pan, add a tiny splash of water and stir it around to take up all that fried smoky goodness. Use the 'bacon juice' as you please.
Notes
Best eaten when freshly made.
Marinating tips
Make sure all the tofu is well coated with marinade. To do this, we place the marinade in a shallow dish and dip each slice into the liquid on both sides, then sit it down in the dish. Towards the end of the marinating, we use a teaspoon to pick up marinade from the dish and pour some over each slice. If you know you want to make tofu bacon in advance, try marinating the tofu for a few hours or overnight in the fridge. The tofu soaks up the marinade and the colour and flavours are evenly spread throughout the whole slices of tofu.
Marinating tips
Make sure all the tofu is well coated with marinade. To do this, we place the marinade in a shallow dish and dip each slice into the liquid on both sides, then sit it down in the dish. Towards the end of the marinating, we use a teaspoon to pick up marinade from the dish and pour some over each slice. If you know you want to make tofu bacon in advance, try marinating the tofu for a few hours or overnight in the fridge. The tofu soaks up the marinade and the colour and flavours are evenly spread throughout the whole slices of tofu.
Nutrition
Serving: 10g | Calories: 25kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 172mg | Potassium: 7mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 0.1IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.3mg
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