The Ingredient That Will Change Your Crispy Tofu Forever
Tofu might just be one of the best ways to consume your recommended daily amount of protein if you're a vegetarian, vegan, or just trying to cut down on your meat intake. As BBC Good Food points out, 100 grams of tofu delivers over 8 grams of protein, 4.2 grams of fat, and 0.7 grams of carbs, all for just 73 calories per serving.
But the truth is that not everyone can get behind tofu, let alone consider it a tasty ingredient. Complaints range from its flavor, or lack thereof, to its texture, which One Green Planet describes as "mushy and like eating a sponge."
Having said that, there is a way to enjoy tofu that even Redditors who are on the fence about the ingredient can get behind, and that is to either press it or to flash freeze it, then fry it with or without a breaded crust until it turns into a crispy, golden delight. This will ultimately take your tofu to the next level. From there, crispy tofu can be served simply with salt and pepper or with a glaze to make tofu fries, a vegan version of General Tso's chicken, or kebabs. But if you want to enjoy your crispy tofu without adding unnecessary calories or sodium to the dish, there is one other ingredient you can throw in.
Why nutritional yeast is the ingredient your crispy tofu needs
Vegan bloggers like Plant Based RD swear by nutritional yeast as the perfect ingredient not just to level up the flavor but also the nutritional content of a crispy tofu dish. In fact, the additive doesn't just add crisp to the tofu. It also gives it an extra umami flavor to it, because, as one Redditer points out, "tofu is like mushrooms: tastes bleh if you eat it raw... marinate it & it'll taste like whatever you're soaking it in." However, in this instance, you're not soaking your tofu, you're adding the nutritional yeast to the dry mix you use to coat your tofu with. Using nutritional yeast also dispenses with the need to make an additional sauce to coat the tofu with. The result is an extra crispy tofu with a cheesy, savory flavor, per MyRecipes.
Nutritional yeast, which is a cousin to baker's yeast, is also popular as a flavor additive because it also has a good whack of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, and B9. WebMD says the ingredient is also seen as a good source of potassium and zinc, plus 8 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, and 5 grams of carbs for the price of 50 calories for every two tablespoons you use. This may be just one reason why vegans love nutritional yeast.