tofu bacon

I value simplicity, which is why I love the fact that I can create pound of "bacon" out of a block of tofu, some tamari, a little liquid smoke, and nutritional yeast!

1 lb. extra firm tofu
2 T nutritional yeast
2 T tamari
1 t liquid smoke
canola oil

I'll tell you straight up that this makes a mess. I've got a fancy pants restaurant style griddle that's built into my stove, and an industrial strength hood, but I still only make this when my stove is already a disaster from other cooking adventures. I promise though, it's worth the hassle, I usually double the recipe :)

Drain and press the tofu, then cut it into the thinnest strips possible along the long side. It should look something like this:

Cutting the strips is the trickiest part, but it's not that hard if you've got a really sharp non-serrated knife.

Coat a griddle with canola (or whatever) oil. I can set specific temperatures on my griddle, so I heat it to 350 degrees. If you're using a regular griddle or a frying pan, medium-high heat will work.

Add the tofu strips to the heated griddle or pan and cook it for 10 minutes, then flip it and cook it another 10 minutes. You might want to flip it again and cook a bit longer. When it's done, it should look something like this:

While you're waiting for the tofu to cook, mix together the tamari and liquid smoke.

Transfer the cooked tofu to a frying pan, and add the tamari mixture. Stir the tofu until it's well coated, then turn the heat to medium and sprinkle the tofu with the nutritional yeast. Stir, and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the tofu is covered with sticky yeast:

My favorite way to serve this is on BLT's, one of the sandwiches I missed most when I went veg:

Not only is this good tofu bacon, it's good bacon. I swear, it's a ringer for the real deal, but with much less saturated fat.

I know I could just buy "Fakin' Bacon", but I love a challenge in the kitchen, and I love knowing how to cook with the most basic ingredients :)