Go plant-based and enjoy your cozy bowl of Puerto Rican Tofu Guisado. Completely meat-free made with "meaty" tofu, tender potatoes, carrots chunks, and a variety of Puerto Rican spices.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Or, preheat air fryer to 425 degrees F.
Cut the tofu into chunks/cubes. Transfer the tofu chunks into a mixing bowl. Toss carefully with oil, then with sazon, nutritional yeast, add flour/cornstarch.
Place each tofu “chicken” piece onto the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway. Or, air fry for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway.
Puerto Rican Tofu Guisado
In a bowl, whisk together sofrito, tomato sauce, sazon, adobo, and chili powder.
Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil and once hot, add the sofrito mix and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the olives.
Add the water, potatoes, carrots, bay leaf. Bring stew to a boil, then reduce heat to low to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until carrots and potatoes are tender.
Stir in the tofu “chicken” chunks into the stew. Add a pinch of sugar if the stew is too acidic from the tomato sauce. To thicken stew, see notes*. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Notes
To thicken the stew, transfer about 2 tablespoons of the stew's liquid into a bowl. Add 2 tablespoon of flour or cornstarch. Mix together until lump-free. Then, add the slurry back into the stew and mix well. Simmer for another couple of minutes. To thicken more, repeat this process.
The frozen tofu must be completely thawed and drained. To press the tofu, gently press the tofu with the backs of two plates. Do this carefully, so the the tofu doesn't crumble.
If using extra-firm tofu, no need freeze/thaw/press.
Use any potato variety your prefer. Red potatoes hold up nicely in stews due to their thick skins. However, russets can be used too.