Tofu Scramble

A few years ago, before most restaurants had explicitly vegan/vegetarian items on the menu, my great-aunt told me about the humble tofu scramble, which now frequents many brunch menus. When she told me about this dish, I was just a naive 13-year-old who didn’t understand why anyone would choose to make a scramble out of tofu instead of eggs, a much more common dish at my home so I nodded politely and completely wrote the idea off. I don’t know if anyone reading this has eaten overcooked microwave eggs before, but they were my parents go to breakfast for me as a kid and also my own personal nightmare. Hmm, maybe this is why I’ve never been a big breakfast eater… But I digress.

Flash forward five years and I’m sitting in a little cafe in my college town ordering a tofu scramble trying to counteract the night before. I don’t know if it was my hungry, hungover state or if it truly was, but the first bite was magical.

Missing the dish when I went home, I started playing around with ingredients and I think I’ve finally perfected the tofu scramble. I’m so excited to share it with y’all!

This is my go-to dish because it is so easy! Since I’m usually only cooking for one, I almost never finish a block of tofu without it going bad. So to reduce my waste, I usually cut it into portions and freeze it. This gives it a whole different texture (more crumbly and dry), but it works perfectly for scrambles- after you unthaw it of course. You can unthaw the tofu by letting it sit out in the fridge for a couple of hours or for a quicker solution, just run it under warm water and squeeze out the excess liquid.

Recipe (serves 1)

1/4 of a 16 oz block of extra firm tofu

1/2 small onion chopped

1/2 red bell pepper chopped

3 TBS Cumin

1-2 TBS olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the red bell pepper and onion until the onion is translucent.
2. Crumble the tofu and add it to the pan.
3. Mix in the cumin, salt, and pepper. You can adjust the amount of cumin, but I like the tofu to be completely coated in it.
4. Using a spatula, press down on the tofu until it sizzles. It should form a light brown crust on it.
5. Remove from pan and transfer to a plate.
6. Serve with a piece of wholemeal toast such as Ezekiel brand or half an avocado, a handful of greens and 1/4 cup of salsa or siracha for dipping.

**This post is my opinion only and does not contain sponsored content**