RECIPE: Tofu Jerky
Mike Richichi
actually fortunate, as I have a chance to finish the drying of my tofu
jerky. I remember about a year ago buying some in the local health
food supermarket, and it was great, but expensive. I said, "Ha. I
could make this myself for a fraction of the price." I was right--my
version is just as good, I think, and you can be creative.
Tofu Jerky
1/2 c. soy sauce
3-4 T liquid smoke
1/8 c. water
1 T onion powder
1 t garlic powder (or 1 clove crushed fresh garlic if you're brave)
1 T (or more) fresh ground black pepper (be liberal with this)
1 t honey (or some other sweetener, or skip it)
1 lb firm or extra firm tofu
Cut and drain the tofu. I usually take a 1 lb cube, cut it in half,
and then slice it into strips on its short side. Strips should be about
4-5 mm in thickness. They may look big, but they'll shrink to about
half their size.
Mix all the marinade ingredients together well. Put the tofu in a single
layer in a shallow baking pan or cookie sheet and pour the marinade over
it. Let soak for several hours or overnight.
Drain excess liquid (and reuse!) and dry tofu in food dehydrator or
warm (200 F) oven. This will take probably 4-8 hours, depending
on weather. If you live in a sunny, dry climate (Colorado in the
summer), you can sun dry it, it'll take all day. If you dry indoors in
the winter, your house gets filled with a wonderful smoky smell.
If you're drying in the oven, you'll need to flip the tofu over hourly
so it dries evenly.
The stuff is delicious and keeps indefinitely. Dry the stuff until
it's very chewy, but not crispy.
Be creative:
Use low-sodium soy if you want less salt (it is rather salty)
Use tabasco or ground cayenne if you want it hot.
Chili powder makes chili jerky.
Oregano and basil makes pizza jerky.
The possibilities are endless.
Just have fun with it!
(all measures in this recipe are approximate, adjust all of them to
taste or requirements)
Have fun!
Mike Richichi, Dept. of Physics, Colorado State Univ.
rich...@lamar.colostate.edu rich...@wboson.physics.colostate.edu
rich...@gluon.physics.colostate.edu (NeXTMail capable)
"Eigenvalues, not family values" --S. Ball