beer battered buffalo tofu skewers w/ creamy cucumber sauce

some good friends of mine sent me a text late in the evening to ask a last minute favor of me. they were headed to a vegan dinner the following day and were to bring an appetizer to share...enough for 7 adults, and wondered if i could whip something up for them.

well, i love the excitement and since they already had an idea of what they wanted to bring (another friend had suggested it) i said bring it on.

i cranked out a deep brown beer batter, rolled it in some panko, fried 'em up and, well, there you have it. served with a delicious vegan buffalo sauce on the side and a creamy cucumber sauce (straight from the garden) makes for one delicious appetizer tray.

beer battered buffalo tofu skewers w/ creamy cucumber sauce

serves 6-8

for the buffalo sauce

4 tbsp earth balance

¼ cup franks hot sauce

for the creamy cucumber sauce

1 small cucumber – peeled, ½ chopped, ½ blended

1 cup vegenaise

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp garlic powder

½ tbsp celery seed

¼ cup fresh chopped chives

salt and pepper

for the beer batter

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup brown beer - enough to get the flour to a medium consistency, not too runny

1 tbsp old bay seasoning

1 tbsp paprika

½ tbsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

for the tofu skewers

1 large package of super firm tofu – excess water drained

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

2 cups rice flour

16 skewers

2 celery ribs, for garnish

in a small sauce pan, heat your earth balance on low to medium. once melted, add your hot sauce and emulsify until combined. set aside

in a medium mixing bowl, combine your creamy cucumber ingredients, doesn’t matter what order, and whisk gently together. put in fridge to cool.

heat your deep fryer to 375 degrees.

in a large mixing bowl combine your batter ingredients. whisk together until blended well.

slice your tofu into 2 in x ½ in fingerlings. roll each skewer into the flour, to the batter to the panko. add 2 or 3 into the deep fryer and fry for 4-6 minutes, or until golden brown. remove, drain and let cool. do this until you have approximately 14-16 fingerlings. once they are cooled, you can slide the skewer into them.

serve with buffalo sauce on the side as well as the creamy cucumber sauce, celery sticks and of course a cold beer.

enjoy!