Beer Battered Tofu Cutlets Dipped with Lyke Giants

I know a little about a lot but beer is not one of those things I'm particularly knowledgeable on. One thing I do know is that the longer you keep a bottle of beer the better it is to cook with. Think of it like a fine aged carbonated cooking wine. Of course it isn't easy to convince others of this. J-Fur, for one, has been pressuring me recently to get rid of the eight bottles of beer that have called the back corner of our fridge home for the last seven hundred days. Threats of dumping them out when I am sleeping or giving them away to friends we don't like anymore have become common place. This weekend I decided it was time to make things happen. I used a bottle to beer batter some tofu. Afterwards I ran six miles, felt like crap and wondered if this was what a hangover was like.

Beer Battered Tofu Cutlets
(printable version)

-1 block of firm tofu, drained and sliced into rectangles
-salt and pepper
-12 ounces of beer (I used St. Pauli Girl)
-1 1/2 cups flour
-3/4 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. paprika
-1 Tbsp. garlic powder
-1 tsp. onion powder
-peanut oil
-vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub the tofu rectangles in peanut oil. Top with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes (just to firm them up even more).

2. Combine the beer, flour, salt, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder in a bowl. Stir until combined (sort of like a cake batter).

3. Place enough vegetable oil into a pan to cover the bottom. Heat the oil to a temperature of 350 degrees. When the oil is warm enough, dip the tofu in batter (completely cover it) and drop into the oil. Heat for 1 minute and then flip the tofu to the other side. Heat that for one minute as well. Remove with a spatula, place on a paper towel and pat to remove excess oil. Repeat until all the tofu has been fried. Eat after a nice long run.

Beer battered tofu is a perfect accompaniment to the Lyke Giants a Tasmanian band that has microbrewed an interesting mix of indie/pop rock, feverish rhythms, sinuous lyrics and atmospheric instrumentation since their formation last year. The band has a self-titled EP that was released in November on Rivercity Records. Check out "The World Shakes" (mp3 and video) and "Turn this Fight" (video) below:

Lyke Giants-The World Shakes

For more Lyke Giants: Myspace, Facebook, Last FM