99.99% of my attempts to recreate a beloved restaurant recipe end up as total, abject failures.  So, when I tried to unvent two of our very favourite tofu wraps; the Smoked Tofu Wrap from The Manx in Ottawa, and the Twister from Mondragon I had high hopes and low expectations.  I am so pleased to announce that it was a total success.  My food photography does it absolutely no justice whatsoever:

"I deserve better than this!" ~ delicious tofu

This seems like a lot of steps but they’re really not difficult and most of them take no effort whatsoever.

Southern Baked Smoked Tofu

Step 1:  Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch strips.  Drain and dry fry the tofu using the method described here.  This is really the key to getting the chewy, dare I say meaty texture of restaurant grade tofu.

Step 2: Marinate the tofu.  You can really use anything you have on hand to give the tofu some flavour.  If you want the smoked flavour make sure to include liquid smoke.  I used something like:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. liquid smoked
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 small chopped onion

Cover and refrigerate for at least half an hour

Step 3: Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Beat an egg with 1 tbsp water. *If you want to keep this recipe vegan you can use just water or a little soy milk or whatever will glue the coating to the tofu.*  In a large glass container with a lid or Ziploc freezer bag combine:

1/2 cup panko
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp garlic salt or powder
1/4 tsp onion salt or powder
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using garlic and onion salt)
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

Dip the tofu strips in egg, dredge in flour mixture.

Step 4: Coat a large baking sheet with canola or vegetable oil. Spread tofu in an even layer.  Bake for 30 minutes, turning occasionally until all sides are brown.

Serve on a flour tortilla with sesame dressing and / or guacamole, lettuce and red onion.  Enjoy!