Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Press your tofu for 15-30 minutes.
Once the tofu is pressed, tear it up into small 1 to 2-inch pieces. Place the pieces in a large bowl and blot them dry with a clean kitchen towel, removing as much moisture as you can.
To the bowl, add the oil, salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat. Then, add the nutritional yeast, arrowroot starch, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Toss with a spatula to evenly coat all of the pieces.
Spread the coated tofu bits out on your prepared baking sheet, giving each piece as much space as possible. Slide the baking sheet into the oven. Bake tofu until golden brown and crisp/dry on the edges, about 30 minutes. Stir and flip the tofu at the 15 minute mark.
While tofu is baking, prep the sauce and greens.
In a medium bowl, combine the tahini, garlic, lime juice, hot sauce, salt and ¼ cup water. Whisk until the tahini pales in color and the mixture is super creamy and slightly fluid. If it needs more water, add it by the tablespoon until you’ve reached the desired consistency. Set aside.
Slice the kale, cabbage and green onions thinly and place in a large bowl. Toss the greens with the lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Assemble the tofu bowls
Spoon a portion of warm rice into an individual serving bowl. Top with some of the lightly dressed kale and cabbage mix. Then, top that with some of the crispy popcorn tofu. Drizzle some spicy garlic tahini on top and enjoy immediately!
Equipment
Tofu Press
Recipe Notes
The tahini sauce can be made up to 5 days in advance and held in the fridge. It may need a tiny bit of water added and some re-whisking to get it back to pourable consistency.
Cholula is my default hot sauce. Use whichever one you like!
You could use cornstarch or potato starch instead of arrowroot.
This crispy tofu bowl layers oven-baked 'popcorn' tofu, warm rice, and lightly dressed kale and cabbage, finished with a spicy garlic tahini, ready in about 40 minutes.