8dried chiles (ancho, guajillo, New Mexico, California - they'll all taste a little different, but whatever you have on hand is fine), seeds and stems removed
1/4teaspoonof cinnamon
1/16teaspoonground clovesa dash
1teaspoonof paprika
1Tablespoonof kosher salt
1teaspoonof red pepper flakes, optional (basically if your dried chiles don't have any heat)
1teaspoonof dried Mexican (or regular, if that's what you have) oregano
1teaspoonof fresh thyme
1Tablespoonof cornstarch
3Tablespoonsof cider vinegar
1/3cupof red wine (or water)
1/4cupof water
1mediumpotato6 ounces
3Tablespoonsof canola oil
4smallcorn tortillas
chopped onion, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, and hot sauce
Instructions
Put the tofu in the freezer and freeze for at least 24 hours. Remove from the freezer and thaw. (If you want to speed the thawing process up some, you can put it the package in a bowl of warm water for an hour.) Open the package, drain the tofu, and, working over a colander to catch any bits that might fall off, press the block of tofu between your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Rinse under cold running water, and squeeze again, repeating until the water coming out of the block is clear. Gather the tofu into a ball and squeeze out as much water as you can, then crumble until it looks like ground meat. Set aside.
Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot (a drop of water evaporates on contact), then toast the chiles, in batches if necessary, in the pan until fragrant and a touch darkened, around 30 seconds a side. Transfer to a blender or food processor, add in the spices, salt, and cornstarch, and pulse until finely ground. Add the vinegar, wine, and water, and process until smooth. Press the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Combine with the crumbled tofu and mix everything together thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight. (Or don't, if you don't have time. This step helps the flavors mellow and develop, but you can absolutely skip it if this is all for tonight's dinner.)
Peel the potato and chop into bite-sized pieces. Put in a small pot, cover with salted water, and boil until tender, around 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the tofu mixture to the pan, and give it all a good stir to incorporate the oil, then let it all cook, undisturbed, until the bottom starts to brown and get a little crispy. Stir it up and let it cook some more, repeating until you have a pan of nicely browned, red chorizo, around 20 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and cook until the potatoes are coated with chorizo and heated through.
In the meantime, heat up your tortillas. (You can do this however you want - in a skillet, in the oven, in a steamer, etc. To be 100% honest with you, if I'm only heating up a few tortillas I'm just as likely to microwave them for around 15 seconds per tortilla and call it a day.) Divide the chorizo y papas mixture among the tortillas, and serve topped with the onion and cilantro with the lime wedges and hot sauce on the side.
Notes
Don’t skimp on the oil, by the way – you’ll need it both to get a dark, crispy coating on the chorizo, and to help carry the flavor of the spices.