Crispy Sumac Tofu Sticks

When I was in Ottawa a couple of weeks ago, I stopped into a new restaurant for a late breakfast. I had these delicious tofu sticks served with toast and home fries. I have came up with something similar that is just as delicious. We had it for dinner rather than breakfast since I usually train first thing in the morning and don’t have time for cooking.

You can easily half this recipe for 2 people, which I have done on several occasions. You can serve with dip too (I like a spicy mayo with mine). You can use whatever cooking oil you want for this recipe. I have tried it with grapeseed oil and coconut oil with success. You can also do it with extra-virgin olive oil, but keep the temperature a bit lower because there will be some smoke!

INGREDIENTS
– 1 block of extra-firm tofu, pressed
– 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
– 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
– 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
– 2 teaspoons garlic powder
– 2 teaspoons onion powder
– 2 teaspoons sumac seasoning
– 2 teaspoons oregano
– 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
– oil (high-smoke point, such as grapeseed oil) or coconut oil, for frying

DIRECTIONS
1. Press your tofu for at least 15 minutes to remove excess water. Pat dry when done.
2. Mix together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar, and let sit so that it curdles a bit.
3. Combine 1/4 cup flour with the garlic powder, onion powder, sumac, oregano, and salt. Put aside.
4. Cut your tofu into cubes.
5. Heat up your pan on medium heat and cover the bottom with a good layer of oil for frying. I used a cast iron pan.
6. Coat your tofu with the remainder of the flour (1/4 cup) and shake off excess flour. I will often put into a container with a lid and then shake to evenly distribute the flour.
7. Dip the tofu sticks, on at a time, into the milk mixture. Then immediate dip each tofu stick into the flour/seasoning mixture and then into the pan. Repeat process until your pan is full (you do not want to crowd the pan, so it may take 2-3 batches).
8. Rotate the tofu sticks so that each side gets evenly brown. Serve warm.