Vegan Fried Tofu Tacos with Purple Cabbage & Heirloom Carrot Slaw

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2016

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Tacos are kind of like pizza in that they are endlessly customizable & virtually everyone loves them. I have no great revelation here except that it is kind of hard to pan fry breaded tofu & have it look pretty but who cares? These are TACOS & nobody cares what they look like – only what they taste like. And these were very tasty. Because the tofu was fried & I added avocado – I wanted to keep the rest pretty light – so I added no cheese or cream sauce but you certainly could. I made a very simple slaw with very little vegan mayo in it & it worked great because it added color & crunch but not much in the way of calories. If calories don’t concern you, you could make the slaw with a creamier dressing, add more mayo or even use a different dressing altogether – like an Asian miso salad dressing or something. As I said – tacos are endlessly customizable so make these to suit yourself. One pound of tofu will likely fry up to make enough filling for 6-10 tacos – depending on the size of your tortillas & your appetites. Like with pizza – I am just making suggestions here as to ingredients but you can add ones you want, lose ones you hate, and fill them as densely or sparingly as you please. They are tacos – almost impossible to fuck up.

Purple Cabbage & Heirloom Carrot Slaw

Makes enough slaw for 6-10 tacos

INGREDIENTS

1/4 large head purple cabbage – chopped or grated (I used the grating blade in my food processor)

5 heirloom (or regular) carrots – grated (I used the grating blade in my food processor)

5 scallions – sliced finely

1 small bunch cilantro – chopped

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 cup vegan mayo

S&P

DIRECTIONS

Mix everything up & season with S&P. Add more mayo if you like a wetter slaw

Set aside.

Vegan Fried Tofu Tacos

makes 6-10 tacos (as far as tofu goes – the other ingredient ratios are up to you)

1 lb extra firm tofu – cubed

Corn tortillas

Avocado – sliced

Tomato – diced

Cilantro

1 TBS sriracha

1 TBS agave nectar

1/2 cup corn meal

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp chili powder

S&P

1/4 cup olive oil

Potential garnish: grated cheese, sour cream, diced onion, corn, black beans, cilantro, jalapenos, lime wedges

DIRECTIONS

Toss the cubed tofu in the sriracha & agave. In a large bowl, mix the corn meal with the cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder & some S&P. Toss the tofu in the corn meal until it is well covered.

Heat the olive oil in a pan large enough to hold all the tofu – or do it in shifts. If the tofu is too crowded – it might start breaking up. Fry – carefully tuning once in a while – until it is all browned. Never fear if some breading falls off. You are gonna drop lots of goodies on top of the tofu so pretty is not important.

I like to warm my corn tortillas over the burners of my stove until they get some char marks. You can do this – or not – but I recommend it.

Assemble your tacos! Layer some slaw, then tofu, tomato, avocado & cilantro and/or whatever toppings you have chosen. Shove them in your face. Swill a beer. Eat more tacos. Have no regrets!