Egg vs Tofu

Recipe #51 Vegan Crispy Sticky Tofu

Recipe from Onion Cloute

Shopping list (3 portions)

• 1 tofu block
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup white rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (you can cut down a bit to 1/4 if you don't like sweet things)
• Ginger piece the size of a teaspoon, crushed
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• salt, pepper, chilli flakes
• handful of flour
• 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Method:

Prepare tofu placing it between 2-4 paper kitchen towels, and weigh down with something heavy. I do this 2 or 3x times.

Then i cut it in half horizontally and each half carefully in strips. Be careful or else it will fall apart.

In a saucepan combine, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic and ginger for approximately 12 minutes, to thicken and melt the sugar.  Turn the heat off, then add the sesame seeds, white pepper, a pinch of salt and a pinch of chilli.

In a pan heat the sunflower oil and olive oil. Roll the tofu in flour and fry it in the pan on medium-high heat until crispy.  Then drop the pieces into the Sesame sauce and allow sauce to soak in on both sides.

Serve with rice, or potato or salad.

Recipe #47 Tofu omelette [vegan]

Shopping list (2 portions)

1 block of tofu

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup of chickpea flour

2 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of nutricional yeast

1 teaspoon of turmeric

You'll need a food processor

Method 

In a food processor chop the tofu with the garlic clove and the onion till it's a smooth paste. Add the chickpea flour, olive oil, salt, pepper, turmeric and nutricional yeast.

(you can buy the chickpea flour or use dry chickpeas in a strong mini chopper till they are dust)
Chop this till it's a smooth paste. In a large skillet heat some olive oil or sunflower oil (about 1-2 tablespoons) and place the 'omelet' paste in. Let it fry and carefully turn it around with the help of a dish. You can serve this with roasted vegetables or salad.

Recipe #36 Pasta with creamy tofu sauce

Shopping list (4 portions)

• 200 gr pasta 
• 200 gr chestnut mushrooms
• 160 gr firm tofu
• 200 gr asparagus
• 1 tablespoon of soy milk
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 garlic head
• 10 gr fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper 
• sprinkle of herbs (Here I used parsley)

Method

Start by peeling all garlic cloves from a garlic head. Place them in a bit of tin foil and close it loosely. Place this in the oven for 30min at 220 oC.
The cloves will be soft and tender. Throw them into a food processor with half a black firm tofu (160 gr), 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of soy milk, the peeled ginger and a bit of salt, pepper and parsley. Turn on the chopper until this mixture is white and creamy.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add the mushrooms (sliced) and the asparagus (roughly sliced in big chunks). Season with salt, pepper and some cayenne pepper.

Cook the pasta, here I used tricolore farfalle from De Cecco. 200 gr pasta in around 1litre boiling water with salt. Cook it al dente, no longer than 10 minutes. Drain.

Throw the pasta into the vegetables and stir. Cover with the sauce and stir everything together.

Recipe #34 Crispy Tofu

Shopping list (for 4 people)

• 1 tofu block (firm tofu)
• Sesame seeds
• Sesame oil
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Soy sauce
• Dry Parsley
• Cayenne Pepper
• Kitchen paper towels

Method

Open your tofu block, drain the water and place in on a plate. Cover it with 2 paper towels and place something like a dish on top of the paper to drain the moist out of the tofu.
After some minutes turn the block and do the same to the other side of the tofu.

Slice it in 2, horizontal. Then each half slice again in two carefully so it won't brake.

You have 4 nice tofu "steaks". Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (a bit more if you like it spicy), dray parsley and sesame seeds.

Get a nice flat frying pan and heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Place your tofu carefully in. Turn and make the other side crispy. Add some sesame oil if the pan gets too dry but don't put too much in, you want the pan semi dry to make the tofu crispy. At the end add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and let the pan get almost dry before taking the tofu out, be careful not to burn them.

This will result in crispy tofu and soft inside. Here i served with boiled penne and vegetables. 

Recipe #33 Puffy Pastry with tofu and vegetables

Shopping list (4 portions)

• 1 puffy pastry
• 1 block of tofu
• handful of mushrooms (around 150gr)
• 2 Handfuls of baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup grated carrots
• oil (olive or sesame)
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli
• salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika
• Juice 1/2 lemon
• Fresh parsley
• soy sauce (some drops)
• Nuts to serve
• Couscous 1 cup
• 1 lemon

Method

I bought the pastry, it seems to be vegan as the fat used is vegetable fat (Lidl pastry for 95 cents). But you can do it yourself if you want to use vegan butter for the pastry.

In a bowl place the tofu block, drained, and scrambled it with a fork. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika; some lemon juice and some drops of soy sauce.

In a wok heat a bit of olive oil or sesame oil. throw in the mushrooms and the broccoli. After some minutes throw in the carrots and the spinach leaves and let the vegetables almost cook. Then add the tofu to the vegetables with some chopped parsley and let it cook slightly. Take off from the heat.

Open the pastry on the kitchen top (it should come rolled on a baking paper). Divide this in 4 rectangles. Place some of the vegetables in each rectangle and close at the top (doesn't really matter because they will open in the oven) or make some parcel shaped buns.
Place them in the oven for 20 min at 180 o C

To serve I placed the dry couscous in a bowl and covered it with 2 cups of boiling water; then added 2x 1/2 a lemon and sprinkled a bit of salt, pepper and parsley. Cover with a dish and leave it alone for 10min. When you remove the dish you will have nice fluffy couscous.

[You can make the same recipe with other vegetables, like courgette, tomato, green cabbage, soy sprouts, chickpeas...]

Recipe #31 Vegan scrambled Tofu

Shopping list (for 2 people)

• 1 block of firm tofu
• 150gr sliced mushrooms
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• salt and pepper

Method

Open the tofu and drain the water. With some paper towels drain the moist of the block. Place it into a bowl and mash it into small pieces, it will look like white scrambled eggs. Season with salt, pepper.

In a pan heat a bit of olive oil and throw in the onion; let them get slightly golden. Now throw in the mushrooms and after 2-3 minutes the tofu. Stir and after 1-2 minutes add the spinach leaves.

Recipe #19 Veggie, Couscous and Cashew nuts (vegan)

Shopping list

• 1/2 courgette
• 4-5 mushrooms cut in quarters
• 150 gr diced tofu
• a handful of chopped spring onion
• soy sauce
• teriyaki sauce
• sesame seeds
• sesame oil
• olive oil
• salt pepper and garlic powder
• 1 cup of dry couscous
• Cashew nuts to serve
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

First season your tofu. Dice the tofu and season with salt pepper and soy sauce. (you should do this at least 30min or 1h before cooking the rest)

Now make your couscous:
Place a cup of dry couscous in a bowl and add your seasoning (you can use 1 cube of vegetable stock).
Add 2 cups of boiling water and cover the bowl with a dish or a kitchen cloth.
Let it covered for about 5min.

So start the veggies.
Place the diced courgette, tofu, spring onion, mushrooms in a pan with olive oil. Season wel with salt and pepper and teriyaki sauce. Add a bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds and soy sauce. Stir well. When the vegetables are done, serve on a couscous bed and place some cashew nut over the dish.