Drunken “Steak” Tofu

Steak in our family has always been the Hatfields vs. the McCoys.  People either like it well done or still able to be revived with a little CPR and maybe a set of paddles.  (Clear!)  There is literally no happy medium, although people have learned to settle. To an extent.

My mother will never get tired of medium rare and I recently watched my sister go completely over to the dark side and transform into a total vampire by ordering steak tartare.  Blech!!!!!  My father and sisters-in-law like something in a lovely shade of gray, approaching shoe leather.

Every holiday, it’s like watching an episode of Gray’s Anatomy.

The grill doctors hover over the patient and take its temperature, wrap it to keep it warm, prescribe mandatory rest and massage it with oils.

They carefully weigh it, debate how many minutes per side, and when it comes time to carve it up, it is a delicate operation that only certain people are deemed worthy enough to attempt, and even that is after great discussion and advice about whether to go against the grain or with the grain.

Tofu is just so much better for so very many reasons.

It is happy no matter what its temperature, it’s full of energy, so it doesn’t need to rest, and I’m pretty sure there is no wrong way to slice or dice it.  Plus, you can make it taste like pretty much anything you want, and it goes along gladly.

So here is my version of steak, which is, in my opinion, way better than the other kind.

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 Tablespoons vegan Worcestershire
• 1-2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• flour for dipping
• 4 slices toasted or stale bread
• 4 Tablespoons steak rub

Directions:

1. Drain and press tofu to eliminate water.  Either use a tofu press or cover the tofu with a clean dish cloth or paper towels and place a plate on top with a can on it for weight.  Let it drain 1/2 hour to 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, make the marinade: combine the wine through the salt in a deep, flat dish and whisk to combine.
3. When the tofu is drained, cut the block into 1/2 inch slices and put into the marinade.  Cover and marinate overnight or at least for an hour. If the tofu is not completely submerged in the marinade, turn or rotate the pieces around occasionally.
4. When you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 400 and  take out 2 plates.  Put a scoop of flour on one plate.  Blitz the bread into breadcrumbs and combine them with the steak rub and place the mixture on the second plate.
5. Remove the tofu from the marinade one piece at a time  and dip in the flour, coating both sides lightly.  Dip back in the marinade briefly, just enough to wet, then dip into the breadcrumb mixture.  Place on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes per side.

Enjoy!