Much Ado About Tofu

This Scramble was made with fresh rosemary and sage.

The Hungry Vegan Bear is channeling a bit of old Billy boy to talk about tofu, because tofu can be as frustrating as iambic pentameter.  Tofu, which most of you already know, tastes like bean or bean curd (shocking) or as I like to believe, wet tissue.  This is the challenge of tofu.  And I really like challenges.  There is nothing quite as thrilling as creating a dish with no barriers, which is how I see tofu.  It's basically a blank sheet, waiting for you to write something down.  Create.  Imagine.
I've tasted countless Tofu Scrambles over the years and in a handful of cities-Portland, Dublin (no easy task, my friends), San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Venice Beach, but I've never jumped for joy for the Tofu Scramble in any of these cities.  The majority of the time they were too greasy, with limp/sad looking tofu (nothing worse than sad tofu, very depressing), or drowning in some slop resembling gravy. I'm baffled that I could never find a descent Tofu Scramble considering when I first became a vegan this is what I made ALL THE TIME.  Seriously.  There wasn't a night after I schlepped home from work to my ratty apartment that I wasn't cooking Tofu Scramble.
Although, I have to say my worst encounter with a Tofu Scramble was when I was visiting my older brother and his family in Minneapolis.   My brother, who is an omnivore and usually a very talented cook, took it upon himself to make a vegan dish that evening.  He made the dish with raisins and curry.  Okay, I have nothing against my brother, neither curry nor raisins, but it did remind me of a scene in Better Off Dead when the green blob with raisins crawls off Lane's plate.  Yeesh, kinda scarred me for life.
Today I'd like to share what I think makes a delicious Tofu Scramble and in a word, fresh.  Gather up your favorite fresh veggies and herbs, because this is the secret to taking nothing tofu and makin' it into somethin'.

This Tofu Scramble I threw together is morning.
I used fresh cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, and olive oil.

Tools
knife
cutting board
fry pan
salad spinner
plastic spoon
plate or bowl

Ingredients
1/2 block firm or medium tofu
1/3 red or green pepper
1 Roma tomato
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno
4 cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 Tsp olive oil
red pepper
black pepper medley
pinch of salt

As you can note from the photo, I like to cube my tofu.  Normally, I would say drain the tofu and dry it out with a strainer or a towel, but normally I'm in a rush and I don't have the time, so I drain it and cube the tofu and as the tofu sits I heat up my fry pan with the olive oil.  Once the pan is sizzling hot I dump in the tofu.  The secret to cooking tofu is fluctuating the heat.  I like a nice golden brown and crunchy tofu, which is why I play the temperature game plus my stove is electric and it's old, allowing more time to begin preparation for the vegetables and herbs.

As the tofu cooks, I begin to add in some of my spices, such as the salt, black pepper, and red pepper.  Add in the fresh garlic (use either a garlic press or slice the garlic-today I sliced into thin pieces).

Slice or chop your veggies and set on the side for a moment.  Then begin to clean the fresh herbs.  I used cilantro, so I had to do a bit of prepping, such as cleaning and spinning off the water.

Once the tofu is a golden brown dump onto a plate or bowl.  Use the same fry pan for the veggies and if you find your veggies sticking to the pan then it might be necessary to add more olive oil.  I have several Teflon pans ranging in sizes, but my favorite one is my KitchenAid pan.  It's huge and it's heavy.  Needless to say, if I ever need to stop a burglar in his tracks I'd probably use this pan to do the job.  Plus, food rarely sticks to the surface, which is a godsend when working with tofu.

Next add the fresh cilantro, adding the tomatoes last.  There is nothing worse than a sagging and slopping looking tomato.  Most of the time vegetables are overcooked, but try to cook them al dente to give your Tofu Scramble some crunch and refreshing flavor.  Finally, add the cooked tofu back to the pan, give it a few stirs to reheat.  Also, this will allow the spices to mingle a bit more.

Serving size is for one person.