Tofu Scramble

Tofu scramble is an easy and versatile dish to make.  It’s delicious and satisfying, and while I usually make it as part of brunch, it’s also satisfying enough for dinner.  Serve it with your favorite sides. It pairs wonderfully with potatoes, grains, vegan sausages (my favorite store-bought are Field Roast’s apple-sage breakfast links), and toast.

Below is my basic recipe.  You can use any vegetables you like.  I find myself making the particular combination in the recipe below, or something like it, most often. It’s colorful, tasty, and reminds me of the “Eggs McFlahive” my husband used to make for me decades ago when we were dating and I loved scrambled eggs and omelets. (Yes he continued cooking for me after we got married, but eventually stopped the eggs.)  I also like using onions and mushrooms as a base for lots of dishes both for taste and nutrition. Dr. Joel Fuhrman encourages eating “G-BOMBS” – Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, Seeds – every day. He says these foods are the most nutrient dense and “are extremely effective at preventing chronic disease and promoting health and longevity.”

A few tips for making scramble:

Nasoya extra firm tofuUsing an extra firm or firm tofu gives a great texture. Silken doesn’t work well for scramble.  As with most dishes using regular tofu, it’s best to press as much water as possible out of the tofu before cooking for both texture and flavor.  If you don’t have a tofu press, simply wrap the tofu in a clean dish towel or paper towels, set it between 2 plates, and put some sort of weight – a big can of tomatoes or books as in the picture.tofu scramble mis en place

Related to the picture, it’s always helpful to gather and prep all your ingredients before staring to cook.

Turmeric is a nice ingredient to include because it gives the scramble an appealing yellow color. It’s also one of those healthful ingredients – with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties – that’s good to incorporate into your diet as much as possible. You don’t use much in this recipe, and it doesn’t do much flavor-wise, so it’s optional.

The nutritional yeast does add to the flavor as well as the nutrition, but the dish still works well without it.

You can vary your scramble in almost infinite ways, using your favorite – or whatever is on-hand – produce and herb-spice flavor profiles.

RECIPE –  Serves 2-4

Ingredients

  • As needed, olive or canola oil
  • 16-ounce package, firm or extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
  • ½ teaspoon, turmeric
  • 3 tablespoons, nutritional yeast flakes
  • ½-1 teaspoon, onion powder
  • ½-1 teaspoon, garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon, tamari sauce
  • To taste, Salt and pepper (you won’t need much salt because of tamari, so go easy)
  • As needed, optional spices such as hot pepper flakes/cayenne, chili, cumin
  • Vegetables: (Can add whatever you like)
  • 1 small onion, sliced thin
  • 4-5 mushrooms, sliced
  • Few handfuls  baby spinach
  • 1  tomato, chopped

Instructions

tofu scramble startedHeat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of oil so that the bottom of the skillet is lightly coated. Break the tofu into pieces and add to the hot skillet. Let the tofu cook, stirring occasionally, until the tofu has released its extra water, and is starting to turn golden.

tofu scramble starting to turn goldenAdd the turmeric, nutritional yeast flakes, onion and garlic powders, and any optional spices, and stir to combine well.

Add about 2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet, or you could use water instead.  Add in onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes. tofu scramble finishedSeason with pepper and a pinch of salt, and let cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the spinach and combine. As the spinach begins to wilt, drizzle in the tamari or soy sauce, stirring until well combined.  Adjust seasoning per taste and serve.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *