Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Tofu "Chorizo" Street Tacos

I live in SF's Mission, where a taco is and always has been a flat, relatively soft tortilla with grilled meat (or, sometimes, other fillings) piled on it, and I sometimes forget that a lot of people think of a taco as a hard tortilla formed into a sort of U-shape with stuff like lettuce in it in addition to the meat. This was another improvised recipe that I realized is not only vegetarian but vegan, but even if you're a meat eater (like me), I think it's good enough that it can stand up next to any Al Pastor or Carne Asada. Freezing the tofu is a trick I discovered by accident, and it works great to give it a different texture. Any chili powder will work, but if you have access to different varieties, I prefer New Mexico or Chimayo chili powder.


Ingredients:
1 block firm tofu
8 corn tortillas
Small onion, chopped fine
Handful of cilantro, chopped
1 ripe avocado
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon chili powder (more or less, to taste)
Dash cumin
Dash garlic powder
Tomato salsa

 Makes 4 servings/8 tacos

Do Ahead:
Cut tofu into small cubes (about the size of craps table dice or smaller) and freeze in a plastic bag.

To prepare:
Tortilla on the burner.
Thaw tofu (you can do it in hot water if you're in a hurry) Squeeze out all excess moisture from tofu. Chop/crumble tofu.
Heat cooking oil in skillet and, when hot, add tofu and half of the chopped onion. Keep the tofu moving with a spatula so it doesn't stick to bottom of pan. Cook until the tofu is slightly browned. Add chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder and cook for about 30 seconds more. The tofu and spice mix should be reddish and look sort of like cooked chorizo. Remove from heat.
Heat tortillas -- you can either do this in a warm oven for a few minutes or, like I do, directly over a burner. Set a burner to low, toss the tortilla directly onto it, and keep a close eye on it (don't go do something else while the tortilla is heating unless you want a tortilla fire on your hands!) When the edges of the tortilla just start to singe, flip it over and do the other side. Repeat for all 8 tortillas.
Arrange two tortillas on a plate, add the tofu "chorizo", garnish with chopped onion, cilantro, avocado, and tomato salsa, and enjoy. 



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