Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Tofu Sandwiches

A while ago I saw a recipe for tofu sandwiches posted somewhere on livejournal, I think it might have been VeganCooking but I can't remember.
Anyhoo, after seeing this amazing sounding recipe it was on my mind grapes for about a month. So yesterday on my day off I decided to try out these marinated tofu sandwiches.

They are amazing! The tofu is so firm and flavorful. Both sweet, and spicy. It was such a nice treat from strictly veggie filled sandwiches. (Since I've never been a big fan of soy lunch meats.)

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(And Is it just me or does that tofu kind of look like chicken? Oddly enough the texture also reminded me of chicken...)

The tofu is marinated in a combination of soy sauce, garlic, and spices. Then it gets coated in fresh black pepper, fried up, and then coated in sesame seeds. It is simply nothing short of a slice of tofu heaven. Even my tofobic sister enjoyed them!

Tomorrow I think I will try out the left over pieces in a spinach salad. Mmm.

The recipe is as follows:
(I didn't stick to the original since there were a few things I was missing-fresh ginger for one. But I think it still turned out pretty damn good.)

Pepper and Sesame-crusted Tofu Sandwiches
(From VeganCooking?)

Drain and press out any extra water from a block of firm or extra firm tofu.* Thinly slice the entire block and marinate for an hour or longer with the following marinade:


3/4 cup soy sauce
2-3 tsp rougly chopped fresh ginger, or if you don't have any, ground ginger will work just fine.
3-4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp green curry paste
2 tsp sesame oil
freshly ground pepper
sesame seeds


Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large container and add tofu slices. Keep in the fridge for a minimum of one hour.

Once the tofu has marinated, heat a pan to medium high with a bit of oil in it. (I used a combination of 1 tsp sesame oil and some veg. oil.) While the pan is heating grind fresh black pepper onto a plate. Remove the tofu from the marinade, blot with a paper towel and cover both sides with the pepper. Do this with all the slices, then fry them in the pan-about 1-2 mins or until they are crispy and brown. In the meantime, cover a new plate with sesame seeds. Once the tofu slices are finished marinating, coat them with the sesame seeds.


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To serve these, I toasted 2 slices of whole grain flax bread. On one slice I put some light miracle whip and some cilantro. (All I had was the stuff in the tube, but keep in mind that fresh is obviously preferable!) And on the other slice I slathered some sweet red pepper salsa. I also added some thick slices of cucumbers and some crispy iceberg lettuce. Other good toppings would be bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, etc.

*In order to press out all the water from the tofu (to gain a firmer texture and stronger taste) my preffered method is as follows:
Place your block of tofu on a plate in between two paper towels. On top of the paper towel, place a large skillet. On top of the skillet, stick a dictionary or any heavy object. Leave it for about an hour or so and most of the water will have drained.