Pan Fried Tofu "Salmon"
Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano
This vegan Pan Fried Tofu "Salmon" brings back lots of memories. Topped with a caper & parsley salsa verde it is the way to impress!
Coming from a seaside town, it comes without saying that I basically grew up eating fish. Fish has always actually won over meat back when I was an omni, and at my parent's home every Christmas the menu was 100% about seafood.
One of the second courses on our Christmas Eve dinner would be either oven baked fish parcels or some pan fried salmon filets with caper sauce.
I'm so happy and quite proud to share you with you the recipe I came with, inspired from this long tradition of ours.
This vegan version of pan fried salmon is packed with exactly what you would expect from the real deal, just minus the cruelty!
Lastly it is really simple to put together, so get ready to wow both yourself and your guests.
How to make Pan Fried Tofu "Salmon"
The main ingredient to replicate the fish is a block of vacuum sealed tofu. You can use that or medium to firm tofu and press it prior to use.
The second key element to this dish is the marinade. We all know that a secret for a good tofu dish mainly consists on its marinade.
In this case the marinade has two goals:
1) to pack the tofu with flavours
2) to give it the pink-ish colour
The ingredients of the marinade are just 3 and also very simple to find.
Beetroot: I used steamed beets, but brine preserved beets are fine to use as well.
White Wine: for the acidity. If you are alcool free you can substitute it with rice or apple vinegar, or use beetroot brine.
Garlic Powder: just a little for flavour. Alternatively you can use fresh or puréed garlic, trying not to exceed too much to avoid overpowering the "fish".
To prepare the marinade we simply add all the 3 ingredients plus water and a generous pinch of sea salt to a blender, and process until smooth.
Next up is preparing the tofu for marinating. Cut 1 cm thick slices out of the block and, similarly to this recipe, we are going to score it with parallel cuts through ⅔ of each piece.
Place the tofu in a deep plate, making sure the slices don't overlap, and cover with the marinade. Allow to marinate preferably overnight. If you have time, a 24-48 hours marinate would be even better. I know, it seems a lot, but it's all about scheduling it and as they say "good things happen to those who wait", and I assure you these bad boys are totally worthy of the waiting time!
Also the sauce comes together very very easily: just add all the ingredients listed in a blender glass and pulse it until you are happy with the consistency. I like to leave this salsa verde quite coarse, but you can blend it to a pesto if you prefer: that's totally up to you.
Upon serving we are just going to carefully drain the tofu from the marinade, pat it dry with some kitchen cloth, then toss it in flour and pan fry it.
To pan fry I start by heating up a knob of vegan butter and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add the tofu slices (uncut side down), season with salt and pepper, and pan fry for 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat, until the flour goes crispy.
Next flip the tofu in the pan, season again with more salt and pepper and squeeze the juice of the lemon.
Cook out the tofu for another 3-4 minutes and serve hot drizzled with some of the cooking sauce and the salsa verde on a side.
Pan Fried Tofu "Salmon" Recipe
Ingredients:
250-300 g Vacuum Sealed Tofu (I use Tofoo)
20 g Vegan Butter
1.5 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon (Juice)
All Purpose Flour (use GF alternative for a gluten free version)
...for the marinade...
200 g Water
25 g Beetroot (steamed)
25 g White Wine (Chardonnay)
½ teaspoon Sea Salt
¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
...for the salsa verde...
40 g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
30 g Fresh Parsley
20 g Capers
½ tablespoon Nori Flakes (ground nori seaweed)
Method:
1. Prepare the marinade by adding all the ingredients to a blender, and process until smooth.
2. Cut 1 cm thick slices out of the tofu block and score the top with parallel cuts down to ⅔ of the pulp (tip: placing a pair of chopsticks to the sides of the tofu "steak" will help not getting through to the bottom).
3. Place the tofu into a deep plate, making sure the slices don't overlap, and cover with the marinade.
4. Allow to marinate preferably overnight. If you have time, a 24-48 hours marinate would be even better.
5. Prepare the salsa verde by simply adding all the ingredients listed in a blender glass and pulse it until you are happy with the consistency. I like to leave this salsa verde quite coarse, but you can blend it to a pesto if you prefer: that's totally up to you.
6. Carefully drain the tofu, pat dry and coat each slice with flour.
7. In a pan, heat up the vegan butter and the extra virgin olive oil. Add the tofu slices (uncut side down), season with salt and pepper, and pan fry for 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat, until the flour layer goes crispy.
8. Flip the tofu slices, season again with more salt and pepper and squeeze the juice of the lemon over it.
9. Cook out the tofu for another 3-4 minutes.
10. Serve straight away drizzled with some of the cooking sauce and the salsa verde on the side.
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