Faken (Veggie Bacon)

"Desperation inspires all sorts of creativity! As is, this is good and tasty marinated tofu. This is going to sound strange, but do yourself a favor and make this one a little fatter (just a little!)...." See more Once you have sliced the tofu (and buy firm so that you can get it into very small slices - dry out the pieces on a clean kitchen towel for about an hour, flipping once. (Do the evening before if you prefer, then wrap and store in fridge). Next lay tofu in single layer on jelly roll pan - or any pan with sides. Brush each piece with vegetable oil, then flip the pieces over and do the same on the other side, using about 1/2 cup oil, in all. I have also used Earth Balance vegetable shortening for this step by brushing it, softened, onto each tofu piece. (Earth Balance is an all-natural, non-hydrogenated form of vegetable shortening). Let the tofu pieces soak up the fat, then continue with the other steps. For Fakin Bacon salad crumbles, bake in the oven until tofu is hard, but not yet all the way dry (about 40 minutes to 1 hour on moderate, 300 degree heat). Remove from oven and let set out for an hour. Once cool, crumble with a fork into bits and sprinkle on salad. Very good with a nice meatless Cobb salad (with avocado, radish, onion, yeast or soy cheese, etc.), and with eggs, nuts, and cheese (if your an ovo-lacto vegetarian). "

"WOW! This stuff is great, I’ve been a vegetarian going on seven years and have been looking for a good side dish for an omelet. The maple syrup caramelizes to give a crispy texture (I added a little ..." See moremore than the recipe called for) and the liquid smoked gave it kind of a bacon flavor. Even my decidedly carnivorous boyfriend wolfed it down."

"This is really good as a tofu breakfast meat, but it honestly doesn't satisfy my craving for real bacon. I would recommend doubling the marinade, and marinating it overnight. When I tried frying it..." See more, the sauce went all sticky and messy and the pieces fell apart. The second time I baked them at 375 for 15 minutes on each side, and liberally sprayed the tofu sides with pam. Turned out crispy and meaty the second time around in the oven."