Veganuary May Be Over But This Katsu Tofu Burger Is To Die For!

This is everything I love inside a burger – the crispy tofu is incredible! Huge crunches when you eat this. You don’t have to deep-fry the tofu; baking works just as well. Keep it gluten free by swapping the breadcrumbs, flour and bun for g-f alternatives.

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients

For the tofu
4 tbsp cornflour
50g panko breadcrumbs
4 tbsp plain flour
400g firm tofu, drained and cut into 4 “steaks”
1 litre vegetable oil, if frying

For the curried mayo
6 tbsp Creamy “Mayonnaise” (see recipe below)
1 tsp curry powder
¼ tsp dried chilli powder
¼ tsp black onion seeds
2 tsp lemon juice
pinch sea salt

For the pickled onion and radish
½ red onion, sliced into rings
8 radishes, finely sliced
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp coconut sugar
pinch sea salt

To serve
4 burger buns, toasted
8 baby gem lettuce leaves
pickled onion and radish (see recipe)
3 spring onions, chopped
fresh coriander

Method
Heat your fryer to 170?C or, if baking, preheat the oven to 180?C/gas mark 4.

First up, prepare the tofu. Mix the cornflour in a bowl with enough water to make a thick, sticky paste. Put the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl and the plain flour in another. Individually, dip each tofu steak first into the flour, then the cornflour paste (making sure it’s well covered), then finally coat in the breadcrumbs. Once all pieces are coated, set aside.

Mix together all the mayo ingredients and prepare the burger garnishes.

Put all the pickled onion and radish ingredients with 2 tbsp water in a bowl, stir to combine and leave to lightly pickle.

To cook the burgers, carefully deep-fry in the oil until golden, then drain on kitchen paper and season.

Alternatively, bake on a lined baking tray for 15 minutes.

Once the tofu is cooked, build your burger, making sure you have lashings of curried mayonnaise and plenty of the garnishes.

Creamy “Mayonnaise”
The taste of this will leave you wondering why mayonnaise was ever made with eggs!

Makes a 227g jar

Ingredients
120ml unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
240ml rapeseed oil
pinch sea salt and white pepper

Method
I strongly recommend using a hand stick blender for this recipe. Simply combine the milk, vinegar and lemon juice in a tall jug. Now, whilst blending, gradually drizzle in the oil. Keep blending until you’ve added all the oil and you have a creamy mayo-like consistency. Add seasoning to taste. This mayonnaise can be stored in sealed containers in the fridge for around a week.

Extracted from Vegan 100 by Gaz Oakley (Quadrille, approx €23). Photography © Simon Smith.