Start Sunday right with scrambled tofu

I used to like eating out for brunch over the weekend a lot. A leisurely weekend brunch is the perfect time to catch up with friends and just shut down the Internet or whatever that keeps me hyper-engaged during the work week. However, the social dimension aside, I increasingly don't find the weekend brunch to be good value. Call me a cheapskate, but it costs much less to prepare typical brunch food (eggs, French toast, etc.) at home, and most places' brunch offerings are mediocre at best. Especially if I want to eat vegetarian, I can use better ingredients and play with infinite variations by cooking on my own.

A favorite among vegetarians and vegans alike, scrambled tofu is a easy-to-prepare, filling, and nutritious alternative to scrambled eggs for brunch. I love tofu for as long as I can remember, but I had only known of ways to prepare it in Asian cuisines until I discovered scrambled tofu. Since tofu has little flavor by itself, you can scramble anything with it and add any seasonings or spices you want. Because I like to clear out my fridge every Sunday, I usually just improvise and throw in any leftover veggies I have. Onions, grated carrots, black olives, mushrooms, bell peppers, herbs such as parsley and mint all go along well with tofu. Occasionally I include chopped nuts to give the scramble a bit of crunch. Feel free to heat some grated ginger, curry powder, or chili peppers/powder in oil first if you want a more exotic scramble. Serve the scrambled tofu with toast or crusty bread topped with butter (I used the vegan Earth Balance buttery spread) and you'll have a satisfying (and colorful!) brunch spread.

Scrambled tofu served with multi-grain toasts

Remember to press the tofu before cooking though so the scramble doesn't get soggy. This feature from Bon Appetit shows how. I like tofu with a soybean flavor but unfortunately most tofu brands in the US taste completely bland. The better ones are Azumaya from Vitasoy and store brands in Japanese grocery stores. Many recipes call for nutritional yeast to give the scramble a more creamy, egg-like texture but I just leave it out (I don't have it in my pantry anyway) and it still tastes great.

Here are two recipes to get you started: a pretty standard one from Isa's Post Punk Kitchen and an Indian-like version kicked up by a splash of garam masala from 101 Cookbooks. But there's really no set recipe for scrambled tofu and I'm sure you can create one that works best for you.