I've been enjoying cooking and experimenting with my new air fryer for oil free frying and cooking.
Thought I'd give tofu a try 3 different ways - untreated, dredged in corn starch and dredged in rice flour.
I used no other seasoning. All I did was drain some extra firm tofu and slice it. I didn't pat it dry at all.
1) The first try was the plain tofu. Just straight into the air fryer. I turned my temperature all the way up which was 392 on my particular fryer. It took about 15 minutes for me. I am at a high altitude so your mileage may vary.
2) Next up was tofu dredged in cornstarch. It seemed to take a bit longer to brown.
3) Last was tofu dredged in rice flour. This one seemed to take the longest time to brown.
Here are the results:
Plain tofu - Color was a golden yellow hue. Texture was firm, spongy and chewy. Pleasant mouthful. This is a photo of the plain tofu on its own.
Corn starch dredged tofu - whiter in appearance with a shiny hard surface, felt like glass or shellac. Once I bit into it, it had a very hard and crunchy shell but it was soft and chewy on the inside. It also softened with soy sauce.
Rice flour dredged tofu - also white in appearance with a lighter and crispier outside. Biting into it was crispy but not hard and very chewy and soft on the inside. The soy sauce also softened this one.
Conclusion -
I enjoyed all 3 applications and would use them in different ways.
I enjoyed all 3 applications and would use them in different ways.
1) The first, untreated, was just like baked tofu
2) The second, dredged in cornstarch was like deep fried tofu
3) The third, rice flour dredged tofu was very similar in texture to stir-fried tofu.
All in all, I happily will not be going back to traditional baking which seemed to take a lot longer. Also the need to press the tofu is not necessary unless you want a real compacted result.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
