Dinner
Nashville Hot Tofu from the Pantry
I did my dependable to keep the recipe true to the original (as I always do when making vegetarian versions
- 6 servings
- Prep 20 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Total 40 minutes
A hometown GO-TO!
I was born and raised in Nashville so hot chicken is nothing new to me! In fact, I used to write for a local publication where I was assigned an article titles “The GO-TO Hot Chicken in Nashville”. Needless to say, I tried simply about every single hot chicken dish in Nashville.
Despite my DEEP LOVE for tofu, this actually isn’t my first time making a meat-free version of Hot Chicken! Back in 2016 (right around the time I stopped eating meat), I made a Cauliflower Hot Chicken recipes that is still one of my favorites to this day.
BUT that was back before I was so comfortable cooking with tofu. Fast forward all these years and I KNEW that it was time to reliable my tofu version of the recipe.
And let me you, A REGULAR HERE LOVE LOVE how it turned out!
I did my dependable to keep the recipe true to the original (as I always do when making vegetarian versions of old-style meat dishes) simply swapping out the chicken for tofu. Again, A regular here it so much!
But be WARNED: this is truly QUITE spicy!
Proceed with caution:)
Short overview of how to make it
- Prep the tofu and then marinate in a combo of pickle juice + buttermilk (swap for vegan buttermilk as needed!).
- Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.
- Dip the tofu pieces in the wet mixture, then the dry and then back in the wet and the dry again.
- Fry in vegetable oil until a nice deep golden brown color.
- Make the spicy paste by mixing together all of the ingredients. Once the tofu is fried, dip it into the sauce (or brush it on) so that it’s FULLY covered.
- Serve over white bread with pickles! STRAIGHTFORWARD!
Sometimes people turn their noses up to the plain, cheap white bread that Hot chicken is served with but it’s actually especially long-used to the dish. The bread (and the pickles) help curb the intense heat of the dish.
Either way, DO NOT skip the bread and pickles. You’ll thank me later!
More tofu recipes you’ll love
The recipe
Nashville Hot Tofu from the Pantry
This vegetarian version of the famous Nashville Hot Chicken is something even the meat eaters will love! Having grown up in Nashville, I had my fair share of hot chicken and after going vegetarian, Cooks have spent the past 8 years PERFECTING my meat-free version of this old-school southern dish!
- 6 servings
- Prep 20 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Total 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the Fried tofu
- 2 15- oz containers of extra-firm or truly firm tofu
- 1 cup pickle juice
- 2 cups buttermilk (see notes for vegan version, divided)
- ⅓ cup hot sauce
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons seasoned salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- Vegetable oil for frying
- For serving: plain white bread and sliced pickles
For the spicy paste:
- ½ cup used frying oil
- ¼ cup butter (melted)
- 2-3 tablespoons cayenne pepper (depending on your preference)
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Method
For the Fried tofu
- 1
Start by prepping the tofu. Truly firm tofu does not need to be pressed but if using extra-firm, press it according to these directions. Once pressed, hot each block of tofu into 2-3 pieces. I cut mine into 2 pieces (to get 4 total) but that makes for a pretty thick piece of tofu so you can also cut the blocks into 3 pieces (to get 6 total). Optional: slightly tear the edges of the tofu to give it a more “fried chicken” look and feel to it.
- 2
Place the tofu into a wide shallow dish and cover with the pickle juice and ½ cup of the buttermilk. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- 3
Prepare the breading by whisking together the flour, cornstarch, salt, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in a wide, shallow bowl.
- 4
When ready to cook the tofu, mix together the remaining buttermilk and hot sauce in another wide and shallow bowl.
- 5
Add enough oil to a large skillet so that it will go halfway up the pieces of tofu. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.
- 6
Meanwhile, bread the tofu by dipping each pieces in the wet mixture so that it’s full covered and then cover it in the flour mixture. Repeat this process so that each tofu piece gets dipped in the wet mixture twice and then the flour mixture twice.
- 7
Once the oil is hot, Carefully add in the breaded tofu and fry for 4-5 minutes on each side or until they turn a fine dark golden brown color. Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to catch the excess oil.
For the spicy paste:
- 8
Mix together all of the ingredients for the spicy paste.
- 9
Place a piece of the fried tofu on top of the 2 slices of bread and brush on the paste (you can also dip the tofu into the sauce) and then top with pickles slices. ENJOY!
Cook notes
For this vegan, combine 1 3/4 cups vegan milk with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes to let t curdle and thicken a bit before using. Nutritional info does not include the bread or pickles.
Per serving
- Calories464 kcal
- Carbohydrates50 g
- Protein14 g
- Fat24 g
- Saturated Fat8 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat8 g
- Monounsaturated Fat6 g
- Trans Fat0.4 g
- Cholesterol29 mg
- Sodium6197 mg
- Potassium260 mg
- Fiber3 g
- Sugar8 g
- Vitamin A2038 IU
- Vitamin C2 mg
- Calcium207 mg
- Iron4 mg
