Tofu Breakfast Sandwich, a la New York Deli
For the marinade:
1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar (any kind but Balsamic)
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard (or less, if using ground mustard powder)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
dash each of salt, pepper, onion powder
1 sandwich-sized slab of extra-firm tofu, frozen/thawed/drained
Rest of sandwich:
breakfast bread of choice: English muffin, bagel, etc., I personally prefer a roll to
make it authentically deli-like
vegan mayo (optional)
vegan cheese OR vegan cream cheese with chopped green onions (optional)
vegan margarine (optional)
oil for frying
This is the perfect cure for those Bland Tofu Blues. The tofu should marinate AT LEAST overnight, then the rest of the recipe takes under 10 minutes to execute. It reminds me of the NYC deli breakfast specials of an "egg on a roll" for like a buck.
Marinade:
Mix the first 6 ingredients in a small plastic container with a lid. It shouldn't be like water, but if it's not liquidy enough it won't cover the tofu. If it looks too dry, cut with a bit of cold water, the flavor won't be sacrificed (trust me). Once you have a liquidy paste, toss in the tofu, close the container, and shake to cover tofu completely. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, and even up to 48!
Sammich:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Warm a small amount of cooking oil in a skillet (a dab'll do ya, the extra marinade liquid is almost enough for the frying).
When oil is hot, give the tofu a final shake in the container, then place in pan along with any non-absorbed marinade. Fry the first side about 3-4 minutes.
After putting tofu in the pan, get yer bread, and put vegan margarine or mayo you want to put on it. If you decide to use margarine, put a light brush on the outside of the bread, and/or a thin layer of vegan mayo on the insides is good. Place bread in oven.
Flip tofu over, and fry another few minutes Tofu is done when it's a goldenrod color on both sides..
At this time, if using any cheeze or cream cheeze, prepare that, add to bread, and warm in oven another minute or 2 to melt slightly. (I like vegan cream cheeze with a green onion cut up into it!)
Take bread out of the oven, add the fried tofu, and any extras like fake breakfast meats or (my favorite) tomato slices or avocado slices.
Optional: For extra greasy goodness, after removing tofu from heat, keep the burner on and add the whole assembled sandwich to the pan. Flash fry lightly on both sides (Outside of sandwich will be quite hot, careful!)
Wrap sandwich in some foil, and you're ready to go! For the true New Yorker experience, have the sandwich in 1 hand, coffee in the other, cigarette in the other...
SO HOW'D IT GO?
i made this for breakfast today, and it was good stuff! planning in advance would obviously be a plus; i didn't have any frozen tofu on hand and just pressed the water out of what i'd bought, so i think i'd prefer the texture of the frozen stuff, but anyway: def gotta cut this stuff with some water! for reals! my marinade was barely a liquid without adding water, although the extra liquid was completely worth it for the pan-frying portion of preparation. i copped the carrot wench step and baked mine for a bit before slappin in the pan, but - again - my tofu wasn't of the frozen variety and could have been crucified by the straight-to-pan step. on easter sunday, nonetheless.
i think this is worth trying again, frozen-style. thank you!
woah..I can't believe I forgot to review this one!
This is an excellent way to prepare tofu, and the marinade ingredients created such a wonderful flavour...I highly recommend this recipe to introduce tofu to any naysayers or skeptics--I know too many people who refuse to eat tofu because of bad experiences with improperly cooked, squishy, bland tofu. }:P
THIS is anything but bland!
I used red wine vinegar, a bit more than a dash of onion powder, and about 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder since I didn't have turmeric. For the tofu, I froze it, thawed it out, and pressed it for about 20 minutes before putting it in the marinade...I think the freeze-thaw-press method is the best way to give tofu a good, hearty texture AND let it really absorb the flavours. It ended up marinating for almost 48 hours total, but I'm sure it wouldn't need all that time...
I decided to bake the tofu in a 375 degree oven for a few (perhaps 10ish?) minutes before browning it in a skillet. All I added to the toasted bread was a bit of veganaise and a few slices of tomato, and viola! tofu sandwich heaven.
I ate mine for dinner with steamed brussels sprouts instead of the coffee, and I left out the cigarette. ;-)
great recipe! Thank you, Schmaltz_Liquor!
This was just amazing! I was impatient and only let the tofu marinate for 3 hours or so but it still came out very yummy. I also used cream cheese that was thickened with tofu and sweetened with sugar (it was left over batter from a tiramisu I made) and I think it really added to the taste.
I had all of my friends over, and I made this for breakfast. Everyone was talking about how good it was, and I directed them to this recipe. I wish that schmalz_liquor would post more recipes! :D
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