Need an antidote to Bacon Explosion? Try Recipe-Ready Tofu.

Half my family are blood-thirsty carnivores who lust after food like the Bacon Explosion. The other half are vegetarian. How do I pull off a family-pleasing meal without heated philosophical debate—and hours slaving over a hot stove?

My favorite solution is to cook dishes so great steak-lovers don’t notice the meals are meatless. Delicious African, Asian and other ethnic specialties often satisfy everyone.

Alternately, I substitute tofu for the meat/poultry element of many traditional recipes and make two entrees.

“Tofu? Two entrées? Are you insane?”

Hold on—and keep reading.

This ain’t your mother’s tofu.

Like me, some of you may still feel traumatized by ’70s cuisine foisted on you by progressive parents. I recollect numerous grim dishes that combined ground nuts, spinach, mushy brown rice and, yes, tofu.

If you’re still reeling from your mom’s Diet for a Small Planet culinary experiments, you don’t want to go near a slab of bland, flaccid tofu.

I’m with you.

That’s why I love the following recipe: Tofu slices are first coated in seasoned flour then sautéed to a golden brown. Recipe-Ready Tofu forms a delectable crust that deliciously soaks up any number of sauces, from Stovetop Smoky Barbecue, below, to teriyaki to curry and more, as you’ll discover in future posts.

Make-ahead-and-freeze for quick entrées

I make Recipe-Ready Tofu in quantities so it’s—you know—ready for recipes. It freezes fantastically and you can easily pull out as much as you need to please the Plant Eaters at your table.

On Sunday I served it forth with Stovetop Smoky Barbecue Sauce—and also made the same dish with chicken, see directions below.

Recipe-Ready Tofu

1 pound tofu, cut in 4 horizontal slices
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Grinding of black pepper
1 tablespoon oil

1. Cut tofu into 4 horizontal slices.
2. In shallow bowl, combine flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
3. Dip tofu slice in seasoned flour, pressing to coat tofu, see photo, above. Turn slice over and press into seasoned flour to coat other side.
4. Set seasoned tofu aside on a cutting board or plate and repeat process with remaining tofu slices.
5. In large skillet, heat oil.
6. Lay seasoned tofu into hot skillet, adjust flame and fry slices until golden brown.
7. Turn slices over and brown other side.
8. Recipe-Ready Tofu can be used immediately in your favorite recipes. Or you may store the slices by placing them on a wax paper-covered cookie sheet and freezing them. After they’re frozen, scoop from cookie tray and place in tightly sealed container—I prefer glass food storage—in freezer.

Stovetop Smoky Barbecue Tofu or Chicken

Or 1 pound Recipe-Ready Tofu or
1 whole free range chicken breast, halved, then cut in quarters, with skin on
2 teaspoons oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup catsup
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon Demerara or brown sugar
Dash Sriracha or Tabasco sauce
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup water
6-8 drops liquid smoke

1. If using tofu, follow directions for Recipe-Ready Tofu, above.
2. If using chicken, heat oil in heavy skillet. When hot, lay down chicken pieces, most-meaty side down. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. When chicken is golden on one side, turn and fry other side.
3. In the meantime, in small bowl combine catsup, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, Sriracha or Tabasco sauce, lemon juice, liquid smoke and water.
4. When chicken—or tofu—is golden on both sides, pour barbecue mixture over the pieces. Spoon mixture over chicken or tofu.
5. If cooking tofu, bring barbecue sauce to simmer, lower flame and cook gently, until sauce thickens and becomes slightly syrupy. You will need to carefully turn tofu slices over to coat with sauce on both sides.
6. If cooking chicken, cover and bring to simmer. Cook chicken 10-15 minutes, until only a little pink remains when you cut into center of meat. Remove lid and continue to simmer chicken until sauce thickens and becomes slightly syrupy. Turn chicken over to coat all sides.
7. Serve with rice or a side of Crispy Oven-Fried Potatoes.

Serves 4.