I have to tell you that when I toyed with the idea of becoming vegetarian one of the main things that posed a problem for me was not being able to indulge in Buffalo Wings anymore.  I was a bit of a self proclaimed “wing connoisseur”. Anywhere that had wings on the menu I’d try them out! I Loved them. It’s the one true thing I’ve missed these past 10+months. I have finally found an alternative. I present to you Buffalo Tofu! and really anything you can dredge in tempura batter!

1. Your ingredients. Tempura mix, can be found on your asian foods aisle at your grocery store. Firm or extra firm tofu. We went with firm, next time I’d like to try extra firm. Butter, or if you’re like us “I can’t believe it’s not butter”. and most importantly; FRANKS RED HOT SAUCE. It really is the best.

2. We also battered up and fried onions, green beans, and bell peppers. SO GOOD!

3. Follow the directions closely on the tempura mix box. It’s really important to use ice cold water in the mix. I measured my water and then filled the rest of the measuring cup up with ice for a minute and then strained the water into the mix. I mixed it up with a chopstick, your batter will be lumpy, thats OK. You want it like that. You don’t want it to get soupy. Also in between batter sessions throw your unused batter back into the fridge so it stays nice and cool.  Then dip your yummies in the batter, coat it well and gently slide your tofu into the oil.

4. The oil: we filled a larger pot a little less than half way with regular vegetable oil. On a medium heat. Your range top is probably different than mine. You want little bubbles forming in the pot before you drop anything in there. I found that everything we fried had a different time. All ranging from 4-6 minutes. I liked mine extra crispy so usually around 6 minutes or a few seconds longer was good for me. Fry only one type of food at a time. And don’t over crowd the pot ’cause then everything just gets clumped together. Skim the pot after every batch for little fried crispies that have stayed behind. Otherwise it gets real gross in there and starts smoking. Let your yummies drain on a paper towel for a few minutes before you put wing sauce on them. Also, you’re probably going to burn yourself a little with the oil. It happens. And finally THIS is a messy process, my kitchen looked like hell when I was done. Open some windows and turn your exhaust fan on while frying, otherwise your house will STANK!

Wing Sauce: I followed the recipe on the back of the bottle. I like its taste. The perfect ratio of fire and butter! But, if you go to the website there are roughly ten bazillion different wing recipes. So really it’s all about your preference!

Wing Sauce Application: (we only actually “sauced” the tofu, we dipped the veggies into sauce and ate them that way.)

We hope you enjoy!