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?
Very good sandwich. I'll probably use less mustard next time and definitely never eating this for breakfast, it's just too good and too filling.
I use this marinade for everything!!
I love to cook the slabs of tofu and use them on bagel sandwiches with tomato and avocado. I'll cube pressed tofu and let it marinate overnight, then mix in a little Veganaise and eat it in a sandwich like egg salad! I also cube and marinate tofu then fry it like scrambled eggs.
I'll be making this again for sure!
Thanks!
I just put the tofu in the fridge to marinate and I already can't wait to try it! That marinade is super yummy, breakfast time can't come soon enough; this might become dinner tonight :) I'm going to make sandwiches with toasted bagels, cheese, tomatoes, and sliced avacado!! Probaby some mayo,too, I'm a big fan of mayo on egg sandwiches.
Doubled the marinade and did a whole block of tofu. The whole family loved them. Five stars!
nom nom nom, very nummy! shank you sooo very mucho grande! Never had tofu in a sangy, thank you for the lift off!
Next time I make this I think I may substitute the mustard w/wasabi!!! That should be fun!
I have this marinating in the fridge right now and am going to have it for breakfast... I can't really taste a difference between using firm as the recipe calls for and using silken as per a suggestion but I do find the firm is much easier to work with... the silken kind of falls apart... I just put a tbsp of nasoya mayo on mine... oh and last time i made this i used whole wheat pancakes as the bread and it was really good except the sandwhich was kind of falling apart so it was wicked messy.
I'm surprised I haven't reviewed this one before now. I've made this several times, and it really makes a tasty breakfast sandwich. I prefer firm/extra-firm tofu (frozen or not, I don't usually bother with it) on a wheat English muffin or toasted sprouted grain bread, along with some sliced tomato and baby spinach. Sometimes I do the cream cheese/green onion combo; other times I just do Vegenaise.
Yay! I'm happy there are so many great reviews to my recipe! Especially considering I came up with it one night when I was falling-over drunk!
Oh, and I've been meaning to add this disclaimer for awhile: When you first take it out of the marinade, it will smell VERY loud, because of the mustard and vinegar. But don't be scared, the flavors get well-absorbed by the tofu.
Enjoy!
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