Vegan Scrambled Tofu
We probably all know these dishes „from the past“ (like life before going vegan), which tastes we miss from time to time. And no, we won’t start debating why vegans sometimes try to imitate specific tastes and whether this makes sense. For me, two of these „things from the past“ are smoked pork chop (why oh why) and the taste and texture of egg. In contrast to the pork chop thing that turns out tricky to turn vegan, we’ve actually made good progress in terms of vegan egg memories. Our checklist already contains:
- vegan fried egg
- vegan egg salat
- vegan eggs in mustard sauce
- vegan scrambled eggs
This recipe is about the latter and here’s all you need for it:
Natural tofu: It serves as the base for this dish and provides the texture we’re looking for in scrambled tofu. It’s not too soft, not too firm – just the right thing in between. Instead of cutting it into neat cubes, simply crumble it with your hands to form unevenly chunks.
Chickpea flour: It serves as a kind of a binding agent and makes sure that the chunks of tofu don’t just get dry while pan-frying. Instead, it creates this liquid mixture in which the tofu will simmer first, and which will be soaked up later to create this scrambled egg-like texture. Simply stir it with plant-based milk of your choice.
Spices: So far, our scramble tofu would taste like nothing. Neither the natural tofu nor the chickpea flour add much flavor to this dish, so you should season it generously. A pinch of turmeric works great for color, but the real deal here is the Indian black salt kala namak, which imitates the flavor of an egg just by chance. We thank the salt god for it every time we use it.
Vegetables: Personally, I love to add veggies to scrambled tofu, but it’s optional. Gently pan-fried, translucent onions and bell peppers are my favorites, but you could also add halved cherry tomatoes, roughly grated carrots, or else.
Toppings: In this recipe, we’re going real easy and sprinkle garden cress over the finished scrambled tofu (chives and parsley work just as great), but if you want something more, prepare coconut bacon, which will add a salty-sweet crunch to your breakfast. You can find our recipe here.
Vegan Scrambled Tofu
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) plain tofu
- 25 g (3 tbsp) chickpea flour
- 125 ml (0.5 cup) plant-based milk
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 0.5 tsp turmeric
- 0.5 tsp paprika
- 0.5 tsp kala namak salt
- 1 red onion
- 1 bell pepper
- salt & pepper
- garden cress for serving
- vegan butter or vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
Add chickpea flour and plant-based milk to a bowl and stir to combine. Crumble tofu with your hands and add to the flour-milk mixture. Now add nutritional yeast, turmeric, paprika, and kala namak. Season with salt and pepper, then stir to combine.
Peel and finely dice red onion, then also dice bell pepper.
Heat vegan butter in a frying pan and fry onion for approx. 3 minutes until translucent. Add bell pepper and keep frying for approx. 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Now add the tofu mixture and fry for approx. 10 minutes, or until browned and warmed. Serve with fresh garden cress and enjoy for breakfast!
