Vegan Salmon
This vegan salmon is made with tofu that is marinated and then pan fried and seared for the most crispy, flaky and delicious tofu salmon of your dreams!
Servings: 4
Calories: 289kcal
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (450g)
Marinade:
- 1 cup Vegetable Stock (240ml) or Broth
- 1 Sheet Nori Finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
- ¼ teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- 3 Slices Beets Pickled*
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger Minced
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Coating:
- 1 Sheet Nori Cut into strips roughly the same size as the tofu fillets
- ½ cup Cornstarch plus more if needed
Frying:
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Serving:
- Ground Black Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Chopped Cilantro
- Lemon Wedges
Instructions
- Press the tofu for 30 minutes, ideally using a tofu press, or by placing it on a plate, with a second plate on top of it and then place a heavy pot on top of that. After 30 minutes, pour off the excess water and pat your tofu dry.
- Cut each block of tofu in half if you have two 8-ounce blocks, or into 4 pieces if you have a single 16-ounce block.
- Slice a wedge of tofu off the top of each piece, by cutting diagonally from halfway on top of the piece down to the bottom corner. This will give it more of a salmon fillet look.
- Place two butter knives on either side of a piece of tofu and make diagonal cuts across the tofu. The knives will stop you from cutting all the way through the tofu. Repeat this for all the pieces of tofu. These cuts will help to recreate the flaky texture of a salmon fillet.
- Add vegetable stock, finely chopped nori, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, liquid smoke, beet slices, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, light brown sugar, crushed garlic, minced ginger and red pepper flakes to your blender and blend until smooth.
- Place the tofu pieces into a deep dish and pour over the marinade sauce. Gently turn the tofu pieces in the marinade sauce to make sure they are well coated. Be careful not to break them. Leave the pieces upside down in the marinade sauce (the color gets into the tofu pieces better this way), cover the dish and refrigerate overnight.
- Once marinated, gently lift the tofu pieces out of the marinade sauce and place them onto a non stick baking tray.
- Dip the rough side of a strip of nori (cut to fit the bottom of each piece) into the marinade sauce and then gently stick it onto the bottom of the tofu. Place the tofu with the nori strip attached to the bottom, back onto the non stick baking tray, lying on its side. Repeat with the other tofu pieces.
- Place cornstarch into a bowl and gently roll each piece of tofu in the cornstarch, making sure it's coated on all sides. Place the tofu back onto the non stick baking tray, lying on its side. Repeat for all the tofu pieces.
- Heat a non stick frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (or extra virgin olive oil) and then add the tofu pieces, lying on their sides. Cook for 2 minutes until that side is crispy.
- Then flip the tofu so that the tops are face down. Cook for 2 minutes until the tops are crispy.
- Flip the tofu onto the second side and cook for 2 minutes until crispy.
- Then flip the tofu so that the bottoms with the nori strips are facing down. Cook for 2 minutes until the bottoms are crispy.
- Finally, stand the tofu pieces up on their backs. Cook for 2 minutes until crispy. The tofu is now done. You can gently turn them in the pan a few more times to make sure they have a fatty coating. This will mimic the fattiness of salmon.
- Serve with a sprinkle of ground black pepper, red pepper flakes and chopped cilantro with lemon wedges and vegan tartar sauce on the side.
Notes
- Extra firm tofu - we used two 8-ounce blocks of extra firm tofu and cut each block into two, to get 4 salmon fillets. You can use a single 16-ounce block and cut it into 4 pieces. Extra firm tofu is best and then we still go ahead and press it to get it ultra firm. If you buy vacuum packed extra firm tofu then you may not need to press it.
- Nori - this is the type of seaweed used to make sushi rolls. The easiest way to chop nori is with a scissors. So simply take a sheet of nori and chop it up into small pieces with a scissors for the finely chopped nori. The nori strips are cut to roughly fit the bottom of each piece of tofu.
- Sliced beet - you can use pickled beet slices (as we did) or simply slice a beet and use 3 slices of it. Its main purpose in this recipe is to provide the color.
- Marinate the tofu pieces upside down. This is so that the marinade can get into the slices and lightly color the insides and also get flavor into the tofu.
- Fry the tops and sides before you do the bottom with the nori 'skins' on. We start by frying them on their side, then on the tops and then on the other side and only then do we fry them on the bottoms with the nori 'skins'. The reason for this is that frying the sides and tops helps to seal the nori skin in on the edges so that by the time you fry the bottom and directly fry the nori, it is much less likely to come off and just sticks all the more to the bottom of the tofu.
- Gluten free: To make this gluten free simply switch the soy sauce for tamari or use a gluten free soy sauce.
- Prep time: The prep time includes pressing the tofu for 30 minutes.
- Make ahead: This works great as a make ahead option as most of the prep happens ahead of time: preparing the tofu, making the marinade sauce and marinating the tofu overnight. When you're ready it's just a case of placing the nori strips on the bottom of the tofu fillets, rolling them in cornstarch and pan frying until crispy on all sides.
- Storing: Keep leftover fillets in a container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat them in the microwave or in the frying pan. They can also be reheated in the air fryer to crisp them up again.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 967mg | Potassium: 253mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 230IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg