Nashville Hot Tofu. It was the first recipe I published on here. How time flies. Many of these sandwiches later and now I’m bringing you a revamped, improved version of my first ever DTTG recipe.

As always, if you dig this recipe, tag me at @draggedthroughthegarden on instagram and we can talk about our mutual love of cayenne pepper.

Nashville Hot Tofu. They’re tears of joy I promise.

NASHVILLE HOT TOFU 2.0

prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 40 minutes

“That’s hot.” - Paris Hilton

The most important part about this recipe is the spice mix. You can adjust the cayenne to your liking but it is certainly going to be spicy. The kale has cayenne in it too. We will start with the spices and the batter.

What you’ll need:

extra firm tofu
salt
pepper
nutmeg
cayenne
garlic powder
onion powder
smoked paprika
cumin
thyme (fresh or dried)
brown sugar
butter
apple cider vinegar
soy milk (or almond)
frank’s red hot sauce

Not pictured: brown sugar. These will make up your spice mix.

First, grab a bowl. A roomy bowl. Add all of these spices into it. Go heavy on the garlic and onion powder. Then go really heavy on the cayenne. At least four or five tablespoons I’m talking. Then after that, throw a heaping scoop of brown sugar in there too and give everything a good stir.

If you are using fresh thyme, remove the leaves from the sprigs and add those too.

Give it a taste and see if it needs more cayenne, garlic powder or brown sugar. It’s gonna be hot but also sweet.

Next, take your extra firm tofu and press the liquid out of it. Wrap it in paper towels and throw a couple cast irons on it. You want it to flatten out nicely too.

These are the extra firm sprouted tofus from Trader Joe’s, pressed. I recommend them.

Now preheat your oven to 400° and put on that Juvenile album. Next you’re going to put your batter together. It’s going to be sorta buttermilky but with a few alterations.

Melt down a little butter in a bowl. Then add soy milk to the bowl along with a generous splash of apple cider vinegar. Toss a tablespoon or so of Frank’s into the bowl and a few dashes of cayenne.

This will function as your buttermilk/batter thing. Let it sit for a second.

Get out a baking sheet and put a little oil on it. Have that ready because you’re going to batter your tofu and then throw it in the spice mix and place it on the baking sheet.

Coat each thing of tofu in batter and let the excess drip off so you don’t get your spice mix soggy and weird. Dredge your wet tofu in the spice mix and coat as thoroughly as possible. Do this for all the tofu you have.

Your situation should be somewhat similar to this.

Pop them into the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes to check on them. While those are cooking, you can get the rest of your sandwich components ready. Typically, Nashville Hot whatever is served on white bread. You can do that or use whatever bread you wanna use. I used a toasted pretzel roll.

What you’ll need:

bread
olive oil
kale
sandwich pickles
mayo
maple syrup
cayenne
red onion

In a pan, heat up some olive oil and toss a bunch of kale in there. Once it starts to cook, add maple syrup and cayenne pepper right onto the kale. Once it’s cooked, set it aside. Take your buns and toast them right in the same pan, if you use buns of course. Cut up some red onions and open up that jar of sandwich pickles.

I do equal parts maple and cayenne but adjust how you deem fit.

Check the status of your tofu in the oven. The texture should be somewhat crisp on the outside but the whole tofu itself should be moderately spongy. Flip your tofu and cook it for another 10 minutes, followed by a quick 1-2 minute broil. This will add a little char to your outer layer.

Once your tofu is ready, throw some mayo on your bread with pickles and red onion. Add your tofu and then top with the maple-cayenne kale. Don’t burn your mouth off.