Crispy Hot Honey Tofu

If you ever wanted to have a tofu recipe that could win over a bonified tofu despising carnivore, I present to you my  Crispy Hot Honey Tofu.  With great trepidation I served this to my Beloved.  He ate the 2 slices I gave him and I thought perhaps he was feeling politely obliged to finish his plate, but then he turned to me and asked for another helping.  What? Has the world gone mad?  Did this just happen?

Yes.  I won Tim over to the tofu side.
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While I am not a profound lover of tofu, I do partake of it if it has some interest, flavor, crunch, anything to persuade me to eat it.  Not a fan of it right out of the package.  Not many people are, but the extra firm tofu that you can saute into a flavor laden dish or the tamari smoked tofu I've found in some stores is actually interesting and delicious.

I love this easy, crispy, crunchy application for sliced tofu that adorns each slice with hot honey after you've seared the slices with a Panko coating.  While I can easily find hot honey in most stores, I find it a bit on the pricey side so I make my own simply with ahem...honey...and then something spicy,  Typically I'm using chili garlic sauce.  We keep this on hand at all times to add a nice kick to, well...anything.  My grandson, Alex would prefer I buy this by the gallon, but for the sake of space in the fridge I buy a much smaller amount than that,  Probably 8 ounces or so at a time.

Whether you use an air fryer, like the air crisp setting on my Ninja Foodi or saute in an iron skillet like this from Smithey you'll get an equally crispy, delicious tofu.,

Crispy Hot Honey Tofu
Make 8 slices (to serve 3 or 4)

1 Block extra firm tofu, drained
1 cup milk - Coconut milk, buttermilk or dairy free unsweetened probiotic yogurt drink like that by Califia Farms.  It's a perfect dairy free buttermilk substitute, 
1 egg
1 cup panko (super crispy Japanese breadcrumb product)
1 Tablespoon  chili powder or more to taste
dash or more cayenne pepper if desired
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper 

Hot Honey - available in the honey isle (like Mike's Hot Honey ) or make your own rendition (which is a lot cheaper) with.......
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon chili paste like Asian chili garlic paste, Calabrian chili paste or even sriracha, depending on your love for heat.

Get out 2 pans or shallow bowls large enough to dunk your tofu slices in.  These are your dredge bowls.

Cut the drained tofu block into 8 equal slices and place between 2 sheets of paper towel or clean kitchen towel while you make the dredge.

In one of the dredge bowls whisk the egg and milk together with  a bit of the chili powder, and cayenne if desired.

In the other dredge bowl mix panko, chili powder, salt & pepper and cayenne together.
Dunk each tofu slice into the milk and then into the panko, coating evenly.

At this point you can place them on a sheet pan or plate to dry slightly or go directly to the next step to save some time.
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Place a large skillet over medium heat and drizzle with a bit of oil (I use a light olive oil).  When the pan is hot, place coated tofu slices in to saute for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden and crispy.

You can also air fry these in the Ninja Foodi which is available on our SHOP page.  My air fry setting takes about 10 minutes to golden perfection.

While the tofu gets nice and golden make the hot honey.  Simply mix the chili sauce of your choice in the amount of heat you like with the honey to make a lovely drizzling sauce.

Remove tofu from the skillet and immediately drizzle with the hot honey and serve.