I love to cook, and that should be no surprise since you’re reading my food blog. If you’re new here, welcome! If not, you’re probably aware that some of my recipes are pretty involved. I love to write recipes that are both delicious and fun. I am acutely aware of avoiding uninspiring recipes—I try to be creative and original. In short, I love to make food I love to eat.

What that means is that oftentimes, the simpler things I make are deemed not “blog-worthy.” But, I understand that beyond just flavor and creativity, convenience is also a redeeming quality. So, today I’ve decided to post something I’ve been making for a long time but didn’t think was creative enough before.

Look into almost any vegetarian’s fridge and you’re nearly guaranteed to find a block of tofu. It’s a staple but often butchered. People try to use tofu to replace meat but ignore the fact that it lacks fat and any sort of redeeming flavor. This leads to a whole whack of different ways to try and make it tasty: pressing it, marinating it, freezing it and thawing it—the list goes on and on.

But what if you want good tofu, and you want it now? Well, you’re in luck because this is my favorite way to prepare tofu without any long prep work. It’s very versatile. In this recipe, we squeeze and crumble the tofu, which allows us to remove a lot of the water, like pressing tofu, without the wait. Additionally, we cook it in a decent bit of oil and add ingredients to give it a distinct umami flavor. These two things combined allow us to achieve that flavor profile which makes meat so popular today. So, I hope the next time you need a quick protein fix, you think of this recipe!

Active time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 block extra-firm tofu
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Dash of MSG (optional, yet tasty)

Directions

1. Remove the tofu from the packaging. With clean hands, break the block into quarters. One quarter at a time, squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible.
2. Preheat a large nonstick pan on high heat. While it preheats, break the tofu down into a crumble using your hands.
3. Once hot, add the neutral oil to the pan and then add in the tofu. Then, add the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, and MSG. Toss to combine.
4. Sauté on high heat for 8-10 minutes, tossing occasionally. The tofu should be golden brown and a bit crispy by the end.
5. Serve hot and enjoy with your favorite meals.