Portland’s Very Own Vegan Tofu Egg Recipe

Our city of Portland adores breakfast.  I swear that we are madly in love our brunch spots, our coffee shops, and our brew pubs.  We will wait for hours to get into one of a mess of brunch places, all the while sipping on gourmet coffee and creative mimosas. So, with all this breakfast love, meeting the very real challenges of a vegan and gluten-free breakfast was a must. But with only a slight exaggeration, every American breakfast item contains the unholy trinity of gluten, meat/dairy or eggs.

Intimidated as I was by tofu, I went years without eating any replacement for eggs, until I found an breakfast place called The Tin Shed here in Portland that did these amazing tofu eggs.  I admit, it took me awhile to get up the gumption to try it, and much to my chagrin it was actively good!  I actually prefer tofu eggs because, being raised on a farm, I ate one too many eggs.  It was the Forest Gump shrimp experience times one million. To me, that iconic sulphuric taste in eggs is just a big fat Nope in the making.  

In addition, soy is very good for you.  If you would like some links to read on the topic, you can start here with two articles on the updated research on soy: 

 http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/soy.html 

and 

http://blogs.cancer.org/expertvoices/2012/08/02/the-bottom-line-on-soy-and-breast-cancer-risk/?_ga=1.49287329.607072191.1481776374

Without further ado, (fanfare please!), we present our version of the tofu eggs recipe, where the turmeric gives it the classic yellow color. It is super good for inflammation, and, if you like the sulphuric taste of eggs, you can add some Kala Namak Himalayan salt.  The Spice Lab offers decently priced fine grain salt – No. 5 – in one pound packages. 

The Herb blend without water or tamari.

As with all recipes using tofu, you should always rinse and press the tofu to wring out some of the water. Tofu’s big plus is that it is a blank slate for flavor. When you squeeze out the water, the tofu will suck in the flavor you provide it with. There are commercially available tofu presses, which I frankly love, because you can put it in the sink and let it drain without concerns of sanitation or things falling over.  Or, if you like living on the edge, you can just take a cookie sheet, place the rinsed tofu on it, cover with another cookie sheet and pile heavy books/cans/or whatever on it.  Whatever your preference, let it squeeze your tofu for about 10 minutes while you pull your items out of the fridge. 

Be sure to use Extra Firm Tofu… or even Extra-Extra Firm Tofu.  The firmer tofu gives your tofu eggs some density, which is incredibly satisfying!  

What it looks like before it is cooked.

So, give this a try and see what your tastebuds think… 

The link to the recipe is here:  http://wp.me/p5RWWQ-7p

Print

Best Vegan Tofu Egg Recipe

10 minutes to perfect tofu eggs.

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 2

Author Terradon Iler

Ingredients

• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin toasted
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp fennel seed
• 1 tsp water
• 2 TBSP gluten free tamari
• Kala Namak Himalayan salt to taste
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• Coconut Oil spray
• 1/2 fennel bulb finely chopped
• 1 package extra firm tofu very well drained
• 1 TBSP very finely chopped parsley
• Shredded Daiya Cheese

Instructions

1. Rinse and squeeze your tofu.
2. In a small bowl, mix together nutritional yeast, turmeric, cumin, paprika, fennel seed, water, tamari, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. Spray your skillet with coconut oil and place it over medium heat. Once hot, add fennel and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Crumble tofu into the pan with sauted fennel bulb, breaking it up with your fingers. Re-stir and pour liquid seasoning mix over tofu and mix well, trying to color as much tofu as possible. Cook for 2 minutes or until tofu is hot throughout.
5. Toss in parsley and Daiya Cheese and continue to stir for another 1 to 2 minutes.

Recipe Notes

When cooked, add to breakfast burritos, serve straight up, add to roasted butternut squash or home fried sweet potatoes.
Coconut bacon would be pretty darn good too!
You can also saute a myriad of seasonal vegetables to add some nice bulk and nutrition to your eggs: zucchini, carrots, yellow squashes, cauliflower, or butternut squash.
To drain your tofu, use a commercial press or place between two cookie sheets and weigh it down with heavy objects for about 10 minutes.