Tofu “tonkatsu”- Recipe

I’ve been eating and testing a lot of recipes lately so I’m going to adopt Meatless Monday’s to dedicate to vegetarian and/or vegan meals!

Are you a team “tonkatsu” or chicken “katsu”? I used to love ordering this at Japanese restaurants all the time but this time I wanted to make something similar but with tofu!

In order to pull this off, there was unfortunately quite a few steps. I first froze tofu to get a meatier texture, drained it, dry rubbed it in a salt seasoned mixture (my vegan “chicken bouillon” powder), dunked it in rice flour, dunked them in a double egg mixture and panko crust, then deep fried them til golden perfection.

The finishing touch? What katsu is complete without that tangy and savory homemade Katsu bbq sauce ? See below for recipe for katsu sauce as well!

TIPS:
For all my crumbed meat and protein recipes, I like to season the meat or protein directly with salt instead of incorporating salt in the crumb mixture so the protein has more flavor.

INGREDIENTS

• Extra firm tofu (freeze for 24-48 hrs, and defrost in fridge)

• Salt

• Pepper

• Rice flour

Egg mixture:

• 1 egg- mix well

• 1 tsp corn starch
  

PREPARATION
1. Freeze extra firm tofu
2. Thaw, then drain, and press/squeeze as much liquid from tofu as possible (put in between 2 plates and weight if you don’t have a tofu press).
3. Slice tofu thin in 3/4 to 1” slabs, basically slicing the tofu in half so you have two square slices.
4. Salt and pepper both sides of tofu slices
5. Dip all sides of your tofu slices with rice flour by setting about a 1/4 cup of rice flour in a shallow large bowl or plate and pressing tofu into the flour. Set aside.
5. Beat one egg with 1 tsp of corn startch and put into a shallow rimmed plate
6. Dip tofu in egg/cornstarch mixture in all sides
7. Then dip and sprinkle with panko flakes, press flakes into tofu so it sticks to tofu
8. Heat up oil at least 1” of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet until hot. Test heat by placing the tip of a chopstick into the oil, if it sizzles when you put it in the oil then the oil is hot enough.
9. Place tofu into the oil gently and when you see the sides getting golden brown on the then flip over to the other side and let golden brown.
10. Drain on a wire rack or a paper lined plate to absorb excess oil


KATSU SAUCE

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1/2- 1 tbs mirin
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tbs oyster sauce (omit if vegan)
Mix all katsu sauce ingredients together. Then set aside for 30 min to let flavors blend and settle.

*Sauce keeps for about a month if not contaminated (use only washed/cleaned utensils).