Vegan Migas

Once you’ve successfully mastered Eggless Egg Salad, you’re only one heat source away from a tofu scramble.

And once you’ve mastered that, well, you’re only a few tortilla chips away from migas.

Vegan Migas.

I’ve talked about migas before, but for those of you who haven’t read every single post I’ve ever written–although I don’t know why you wouldn’t –migas are a Tex-Mex breakfast specialty I’d never heard of until I moved to Austin last year.

Migas means ‘crumbs,’ and is, at its essence, a dish of scrambled eggs cooked with leftover tortilla chip(lets), so that the whole thing softens together into a salty, smooth, protein-and-carbohydrate concoction perfect for soaking up the residual tequila that may or may not have accompanied the gathering that resulted in the leftover chips.

But I figured, if I can make quiche without eggs…I can make migas without them, too.I happened to have some free Nasoya coupons, which had been sent to me in celebration of the company’s Tofu U website (promoting the use of tofu in creative recipes at home) last winter. Because of the whirlwind of my life since then, I had yet to utilize them. Now seemed like as good of a time as any.I decided to use one of my coupons to get Nasoya‘s Tofu Plus, a tofu enhanced with added protein and B-vitamins, essential to obtain, but often difficult to find in plant-based sources.Regardless of which brand you choose to use (and in all honesty, I pick the one that’s the least expensive that day), you’ll want to go with a firm tofu, which is perfect for crumbling, but will still maintain enough texture to mimic eggs. You don’t need to worry about pressing it too much, just squish it between a few paper towels once or twice and you’ll be good to go, stirring in a bit of nutritional yeast, salt, and–because this is a Tex-Mex dish–an additional sprinkle of chili powder and cumin.The choice of veggies is really up to you. If I had nopales (prickly pear cactus) or Hatch chiles, I would have used those, but I had to be satisfied with onion, garlic, and previously frozen bell pepper strips.Get those cooking with just a dash more salt, some black pepper, and as much chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce as your tastebuds crave, then add in your “eggs.”Once you’ve mixed that in, it’s time to add the chiplets….also known as crumbs. If you only have an unopened bag of Wholesome Goodness (or your favorite brand) Multigrain & Flax Chips……well, I’m not going to tell on you if you just make your own. Stir those chiplets in, adding a bit of almond or soy milk to help soften them up. (I find there’s not quite enough moisture in the tofu alone to do it right.)Season to taste and serve warm…with rice and beans and more tortillas if you really DO need to soak up some lingering last night libations…or on spinach if you’re trying to keep it a bit on the lighter side.Pero no hay problema con Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Fries en el lado si los tienes en la heladora de nevera. [Which I hope means "But there's no problem with Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Fries on the side if you have them in the freezer."]And although a true Texican would definitely not approve of this whole “migas on spinach” idea, he’d definitely agree with the necessity of salsa and ‘guac’ on top.*

*Just don’t tell him it was actually guacamole hummus.

Vegan Migas

• 1 14-oz. package firm tofu, drained
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1-2 tsp. ground cumin (or more, to taste)
• 1-2 tsp. chili powder (or more, to taste)
• s + p
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 3/4 cup sliced bell peppers
• 1 oz. tortilla chips
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1. Drain tofu and press between multiple layers of paper towels. Crumble tofu into a small mixing bowl.
2. Mix tofu with seasonings and set aside.
3. In a medium frying pan, saute (or steam) onion, garlic, and bell peppers until softened, adding in a pinch of salt, cumin, and chili powder.
4. Stir in tofu mixture and cook 1-2 minutes.
5. Crumble in tortilla chips; mix well.
6. Pour in almond milk a little at a time, just until tortilla chips begin to soften.
7. Cook 3-5 minutes, seasoning as necessary.
8. Serve warm, with salsa and guacamole.