Almost Chicken Fried Tofu

Country Fried Tofu with Mustard Greens and a Raspberry Chipotle sauce
I tend to make dishes only once, which translates to never having made the dish prior. As soon as I started cooking this I knew there were going to be things I wanted to change for an unlikely "next time."

Raspberry Chipotle sauce.
First of all, I get that this sauce is SO played out, but I'd never made one myself. And despite the accusations and turned up nose I may give to a restaurant using such a sauce, I still think the combo of sweet and spicy is a match made in..

Into a small sauce pot over medium heat:

• 1/4 pint (6oz) of fresh raspberries
• 2.5 Tbl chipotles canned in adobo, chopped (More depending on how much heat you prefer)
  
• 1 Tbl additional adobo sauce
• 1 Tbl packed brown sugs (this should probably be increased slightly)
  
• 2-3 tsp Raw unfiltered organic Apple Cider Vinegar
• kosher salt + cracked black pepper, to taste

Let this simmer and reduce to your liking. I didn't put this through a chinois or any sort of sieve because I was lazy and I prefered the appearance of a rustic sauce. However, I would recommend doing so, as raspberry seeds are not very palatable.

For the Country Fried Tofu

• 1/2 block firm tofu drained, cut into 4 slices and set on towels during prep to absorb as much water as possible. I only used half, since I was eating alone and put the other half in a Tupperware with water and into the freezer. I would recommend, if you have the time, freeze your tofu and then thaw before cooking. This gives it a much more dynamic texture, as well as in general it will better absorb any marinade.
• 1 c Buttermilk, pour into a bowl, mix in about 1/4-1/2 c of your seasoned flour and whisk together.
  
• Seasoned flour. You can make it yourself with AP, Wheat flour or even cornmeal, seasoned with salt and pepper. I used this kind from a box called "Kentucky Kernel" which is pretty delicious.

1. Dredge the tofu in the seasoned flour
2. Then transfer the tofu into your buttermilk batter
3. last step is back into your dry seasoned flour.

Don't get me wrong, this is crazy messy. If you plan to become a fry queen, I would invest in some restaurant purpose rubber gloves. Do not start battering your tofu until your oil is hot. And do not put your tofu into the oil until it is hot! I put enough oil in the pan to rise to the center of the slice of tofu, so that it will cook evenly when it is flipped. I don't have a temperature the oil is supposed to be at, I can just kinda tell its ready.
So as each slice is battered, lay it gently into the hot oil, do this in a direction away from yourself so if it splashes, yo ass won't get burned! Fry until GBD, then flip.

Finally drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil, pretty huh?:

Mustard Greens

Pretty straight forward. I got my pan hot, sauteed some garlic in a bit of oil then tossed in the greens and wilted them. I think this dish would be much better with a collard or turnip green. I love mustard greens, but the flavor was all wrong for this dish in the end.



TA DA!