Whenever someone tells me, Tofu doesn´t taste good, or doesn´t have a taste at all, my favorite response is, that they probably never had proper prepared tofu. So, even though, by now I am so used to Tofu and I could eat a whole black raw, my favourite way to eat it, is as a japanese vegan tofu katsu.

However if you do eat meat, you can replace the tofu with chicken-filet and make the liquid part of the Panade with one egg+1tsp mustard and paprika powder – but I do recommend trying the tofu at least once, though!

What is actually Tofu?

We all know Tofu. We have all seen it, and most of us have probably tried it at least once. But do you actually know, what Tofu is? Ps: It´s not a mixture of chemicals.

Tofu is one of the best plant-based protein sources. It contains all eight essential amino acids, contains 10-20g of protein per 100g and a biological value of 81%. “Tofu” is Chinese and means actually “curdled bean”. So, Tofu is nothing else than curd made out of soy-beans. Indeed some coagulants are added to achieve the perfect texture. Maybe you have seen this process of flocculation, when you poured a plant based milk (almond/soy) in a hot cup of tea. The soft-flakes are skimmed and pressed together, which we then can buy as a block of tofu.

Recipe for the vegan tofu Katsu

vegan tofu katsu

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings

servings

Calories

really doesn´t matter

kcal

Total needed

minutes

The traditional japanese Katsu is prepared with chicken. But this sweet-sour crispy tofu-schnitzel is in no way inferior to the meat option.

Ingredients

breaded tofu/ vegan katsu
400g block of tofu, halfed in it´s height
20 g flour*
35 ml (vegan) milk
1 tsp mustard
garlic powder, salt and pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp sweet paprika powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
beverages
3/4 cup rice ( cooked 1 1/2 cup of salt water)
handful of peas
1/2 head lettuce
some spring onions and sesame to sprinkle on top
opt.: a drizzle of Sriracha (careful!)
sweet-sour dressing
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey/agave sirup
1/8 cup water
1/4 tsp ginger powder, salt and pepper

Directions

prepare the tofu: half the block, then squeeze the water out. Mix the flour, milk, mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. In another bowl mic the nutritional yeast, bread crumbs and paprika powder. First put the tofu in the liquid mixture, then bread it in the dry mixture.
Fry the breaded tofu in 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat until golden brown.
Meanwhile cook the rice. Shortly before the rice is done, add the peas. Wash the lettuce, cut the spring onions and mix all ingredients for the dressing together
Add some of the dressing to the cooked rice, then layer everything in a bowl and enjoy!