Prep the tofu by cutting it into 3 even pieces longways (see video for reference). If you’d like to cut it into chicken breast-like pieces, then lay each piece flat and cut off the top right and bottom left corners so that they’re rounded and roughly resemble a piece of chicken breast. Again, you can watch my video for reference. I like to trim off tiny bits of the rough edges to round the edges. Slice diagonal cuts going about ¼ of an inch deep on both sides.

Make the marinade by whisking together the 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the balsamic vinegar, water, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Let marinate for 30 minutes or up to overnight.

Once ready to cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the tofu in a single layer and cook for 5 minutes on each side. Watch it so that it doesn’t burn but gets nicely browned around the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same skillet over medium heat, make the sauce. Add in the olive oil, and once hot, add in the crushed peppercorns and shallot. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add in cognac and cook until the strong liquor smell subsides, about 3 minutes. Add in the broth and reduce by half, about 6 minutes.

Add in the heavy cream and Dijon mustard. Cook for 5 minutes, on a low simmer, until thickened. If you want it thicker, you can mix ¼ teaspoon of cornstarch in a small bowl with some of the peppercorn sauce. Once mixed, add to the sauce and cook until thickened (the cornstarch will thicken the sauce very quickly, so be ready to take it off the heat).

Serve the sauce spooned over the tofu and enjoy!

For the tofu: if you’re using extra firm tofu, I suggest pressing it first.

For the alcohol: you can replace this with more broth as desired.

Peppercorns: I use a mortar and pestle to crush the peppercorns. You could also put them in a bagie and crush them with a hard object (be careful!). You want them to be fairly fine with some larger chunks remaining but no whole pieces.

Heavy cream: while I haven’t tried this, you could replace the heavy cream with a vegan cream or coconut cream for a vegan version of the sauce.