Wafer Tofu – Absolute Rules
Waffle makers are very good at making food hot and crispy, which is why I love my tofu (and my SPAM , prosciutto chips and potato tortillas ). I also love tofu, and tofu with waffles – with its small square cups – contains a sauce like no other.
Most tofu (medium to very hard that is sold in water) requires little preparation. As A.A. Newton in his Tofu Manifesto , a simple soak in hot salted water is all you need to flavor and fortify the tofu so it doesn’t fall apart during the waffle:
Before preparing the other ingredients, I bring 2-3 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of table salt to a boil in a saucepan. Then I turn off the heat, put the diced or diced tofu in, and let it sit while I cook the rest of the recipe. After 15-20 minutes, I drain the water and either blot the tofu dry with clean towels or leave it in the colander until I need it.
Planks are better for sculpting than cubes or crumbs, but the above procedure works great with them. After the tofu is dry, set the waffle iron to the highest temperature and press a couple of boards between the burners. It will sizzle and scream, but that’s good – the moisture leaves the tofu, which means it becomes crispy. Unlike many other delicacies in waffles, tofu takes a while to become crispy – about five minutes – but you have to completely forget about it to burn.
When the tofu is pale golden in color, take it out of the waffle iron and decide how you want to season it. My current favorites are chili oil and a mixture of infused soy sauce and hot honey, but you can sprinkle it on any sauce you want and it stays crispy on the outside and deliciously chewy on the inside. (I fancy a McRib-style sandwich with BBQ smoky sauce, and I’m kind of in awe.)
Use waffle tofu like any protein. Chop it up and toss it into a bowl of rice, place it in a sandwich, or use it as “bread” for a sandwich (like a breakfast sandwich). You can also just dip it in the sauce until you’ve eaten a whole block of texture-pleasing tofu waffles, but I don’t know anything about that.