Jerk Tofu (Air Fryer)

Learn how to make this delicious, super easy Jamaican jerk tofu, using your air fryer. This recipe is full of bold Jamaican flavours and is accompanied with my homemade jerk bbq sauce for dipping.

Finally some jerk recipes are making there way on the blog. A lot of you have been asking for jerk recipes for quite some time now.

I finally decided to get the ball rolling and hop on the jerk wagon with a plant based recipe.

Of course, we know jerk is a style of cooking that is native to Jamaica. I have already covered the definition of what jerk is in my Jamaican Jerk Paste post.

To save myself from repeating the same thing, please head over to that post where I give a mini history lesson.

Anyway, there are some missing components from this recipe which makes it less authentic.

For instance, I won't be using any pimento wood/leaves which is key to the authenticity. Also, I will be using my air fryer to make this recipe rather than a jerk pan or a pit.

The air fryer this a great alternative to using the oven, it is trendy, quick and very much convenient and is my first choice for so many recipes including this one.

The preparation

Tofu is a very popular plant based choice for many vegans. I like to use tofu that is organic, firm and smoked.

The smokey aspect is particularly important because food that has been cooked using the jerk method would usually has a smokey taste from being barbecued and cooked on a bed of pimento leaves and wood.

If you cannot obtain smoked tofu, you can compensate by using liquid smoke instead. This is a concentrated liquid version of smoke and this will yield a smokey taste.

You will want to make this recipe in two parts, as tofu is completely tasteless, we need to give it some flavour by seasoning it first of all.

Make sure you are using tofu that is EXTRA FIRM OR SUPER FIRM. This is very important or else your tofu won't hold up and just turn to mush before you have even started the recipe.

I like to use my all purpose seasoning for this because you really cannot go wrong with it, it always works its magic and creates a great base for many of my recipes.

Combine that with some starch and oil, I like to use tapioca starch as this is considered a clean, neutral tasting starch.

The starch mixture is important for giving the tofu that crispy coating before moving onto the marinade.

For the marinade, you can use my homemade recipe or a storebought version. Walkerswood is a very reputable brand and one that many people use when it comes to using a high quality commercial brand.

For this particular recipe I used Walkerswood (mild version) and not my own homemade paste simply because I didn't have some of the ingredients to hand to make my own paste at the time.

It is very important to note that you will need the stuff that looks like a thick-ish paste not the sauce.

The sauce will be used during the final steps once the tofu has been "crisped". You may need to use a tablespoon or two of water to thin down the texture.

Then the tofu is air fried again to lock in that jerk flavour and served with my homemade jerk bbq sauce, it's that easy!

The steps 

• Place the tofu in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
• Preheat the air fryer.
• In a small bowl, add the tapioca starch, all purpose seasoning, liquid smoke and olive oil.
• Mix together to form a slurry.
• Do a taste test and add salt pink and black pepper accordingly.

• Pour the slurry into the bowl with the tofu and toss so the tofu pieces are completely coated.
• Place the tofu in the air fryer basket.
• Air fryer at 180C/356F for 8 minutes or until golden.
• Meanwhile in another small bowl mix together the jerk paste with the jerk bbq sauce.
• Once golden remove the tofu from the basket and transfer into a medium sized bowl.

• Pour the jerk over the crispy tofu.
• Place in the air fryer basket again.
• Air fry for 180C/356F for 5 minutes.
• Remove the tofu from the basket and serve with the dipping sauce.

Notes and tips 

• You can use my homemade Jerk Paste or a reputable commercial brand such as Walkerswood (mild or hot and spicy).
• Having tested regular tofu vs smoked I find this recipe works best with tofu that is smoked along with the liquid smoke which I feel amplifies the results even more.
• Make sure to follow the recipe and air fry the tofu in 2 parts.
• For best results eat the tofu immediately while it is still warm.
• If you need to reheat the tofu, place it in the air fryer (wrapped in foil) for a few minutes.
• The Tofoo Co smoked organic tofu doesn't need to be pressed out prior to chopping it up.
• Make sure you are using tofu that is EXTRA FIRM OR SUPER FIRM or it may not hold up.
• Be sure to do a taste test as you go along, you may want to add more sauce, seasoning etc...
• This is the link you will need for my Jamaican Jerk BBQ Sauce recipe.

More recipes to try

• Air Fryer Corn on the Cob in Foil
• Chayote Fries
• Oyster Mushrooms (Vegan Fried Chicken)
• Breadfruit Fries
• Air Fryer Date Sugar
• Kale Chips (No Oil)
• Pineapple Rings
• Curried Chickpeas (No Oil)
• Yuca Fries
• Plantain Chips (Air Fried)

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