Category: Lunch

The crispiest vegan pumpkin croquette paired with a umami and sour tonkatsu sauce. Eat it on its own or try it in a onigirazu!

When I looked up pumpkin croquettes recipes, most of them contains egg as a binder so I thought why not come up with a way to veganize it? I also had recently visited a vegan restaurant called Saute San where I tried their pumpkin croquettes and was in love with the crunchy exterior and soft, flavourful pumpkin interior.

It pairs well with some tonkatsu sauce drizzled over it. I used it to make onigirazu (something like a sushi sandwich!) instead using the 4-way tortilla hack that went viral on Tiktok! I used sesame crusted tofu, sushi rice, thinly shaved cucumbers and avocado. You can see the video below for how I did it:

@browngirlvegan These Japanese Kabocha Croquettes are my fav pumpkin recipe this 🍂 szn✨ #japanesefood #veganrecipes #pumpkinrecipes #vegansoftiktok #recipes #viral #asmr #asmrfood ♬ そよ風 – SHISE

Tips to get the perfect croquette

1. Don’t skip the refrigeration step!

I popped my pumpkin mash with spices into the freezer for about 30 minutes for it to thicken and harden. This step is crucial because we don’t add any external binders like flour.

2. Shallow frying still works

Because this croquettes are small, shallow frying still works. Be generous with the oil used to fry and drain the excess afterwards. I wouldn’t recommend pan frying as you won’t get the beautiful golden colour and crispiness.

3. Yes, these croquettes are freezer friendly

You can make the croquettes and freeze them for up to a month for easy cooking. The crispiness and quality all remain the same. However, I would recommend to consume this immediately so the croquettes remain fresh, crispy and not soggy.

Ingredients You Need:

• Pumpkin – Japanese Kabocha Squash
• Spices – nutritional yeast and onion, garlic powders for flavour. If you don’t take onion and garlic, you can also substitute it with hing.
• Oil – neutral oil for frying

To make this gluten free, substitute panko breadcrumbs with gluten free breadcrumbs. For the tonkatsu sauce, be sure to use gluten free soy sauce or other substitutes like tamari or coconut aminos.

Grab your miso, tofu and ginger to make this super easy comforting homemade 10-minute miso soup. Vegan AND gluten free!

Feeling under the weather? Have miso soup. Feeling a simple lunch? Have miso soup with rice. Craving a snack? Have miso soup. Miso soup is by far the easiest dish to make but also very hard to go wrong with it.

Here, I use red miso paste that is organic, vegan and gluten free along with silken tofu for a boost of protein. A disclaimer that this recipe is not an authentic miso soup recipe, but rather a jazzed up version of it for more flavour and gut-healing properties.

Ingredients You Need

• Quality miso paste – I used red miso but you can use any miso paste that is of good quality.
• Seasoning – In authentic miso soup recipes, kombu dashi or kelp is added for that umami flavour but to make it more pantry friendly and accessible, I use nori sheets in this recipe.
• Type of tofu – soft, silken tofu will be the best for miso soup.
• Additions – I added minced ginger for that kick and brown button mushrooms to add some vegetables. It makes a perfectly balanced meal.

It’s important to note that you should NOT boil miso! Boiling miso causes it to lose its aroma and nutritional benefits. This recipe is 100% gluten free!

This Sweet & Sour ‘Pork’ is made using deep fried firm tofu, coated in an easy and incredible vegan sweet & sour sauce.

Sweet and sour pork is arguably one of the most popular Chinese dishes, but it’s definitely difficult to find a vegan version. The secret to the best tasting sweet & sour pork is deep frying coated tofu until crispy.

The Secrets to Making the Best Tofu

An easy and amazing tofu snack that is simply irresistible. This can be also double as a main when you pair it with some rice and noodles. And the secret to it’s ‘chicken’-like texture?

Secret #1: Freezing & thawing your tofu blocks! All you have to do is freeze your firm tofu overnight and thaw it in the refrigerator for a few hours or microwave on high for a minute or two. Remember to drain the excess water fully using paper towels or a tofu press.

Alternatively, you can also press it down with your sauce tubs or anything that resembles heavy blocks. Once that is done, you should notice the change in the texture – it should be firmer, chewier and springy.

Secret #2: When pan frying, deep drying or air frying your tofu pieces, remember to coat them in some spices and corn flour. This gives you extra crispy tofu with extra flavour!

Secret #3: Choosing a flavourful sauce. The sauce base for this recipe is very simple – a mix of plum sauce, ketchup, soy sauce and more!

Ingredients You Need

• Plant Based Chicken – I used frozen and thawed firm tofu for a nice spring texture. You can also use a chicken substitute or mock meat for this dish.
• Sweet & Sour sauce – the secret ingredient for this dish is plum sauce to give it that sweetness and subtle of sour-y taste. Don’t skip on the vegan worcestershire sauce and ketchup too!
• Vegetables – pineapples and red bell peppers are the best!

The biggest challenge for me was finding vegan Worcestershire sauce, but I managed to find it at an online grocer. I’ve attached the brand and packaging below (Woolworths Worcestershire Sauce). The sauce is both vegan-friendly and gluten free!

For gluten free option, you can swap out your soy sauce for a gluten free version or use tamari or coconut aminos.

This time, we’re using miso to flavour this amazing, saucy MISO GLAZED TOFU! And it only takes 20 minutes to make!

The Secrets to Making the Best Tofu

An easy and amazing tofu snack that is simply irresistible. This can be also double as a main when you pair it with some rice and noodles. And the secret to it’s ‘chicken’-like texture?

Secret #1: Freezing & thawing your tofu blocks! All you have to do is freeze your firm tofu overnight and thaw it in the refrigerator for a few hours or microwave on high for a minute or two. Remember to drain the excess water fully using paper towels or a tofu press.

Alternatively, you can also press it down with your sauce tubs or anything that resembles heavy blocks. Once that is done, you should notice the change in the texture – it should be firmer, chewier and springy.

Secret #2: When pan frying, deep drying or air frying your tofu pieces, remember to coat them in some spices and corn flour. This gives you extra crispy tofu with extra flavour!

Secret #3: Choosing a flavourful sauce. The sauce base for this recipe is very simple – a mix of miso, soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce and seasonings.

What You Need

Here are the ingredients you need to make this miso glazed tofu:

• Type of Tofu – Extra firm tofu. Texture is best when frozen, thawed and drained.
• Miso Glaze – miso, soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, onion and garlic powder, salt and sesame oil
• Garnish – toasted sesame seeds, coriander
• Option Additions – red bell peppers or chopped red chili

Gluten Free Options

You can replace the soy sauce with tamari for a gluten free version. I really like the ones below by Lee Kum Kee and Kikkoman. I have also attached the images of other gluten free soy sauce alternatives like Tamari and Coconut Aminos below. You can get them at Amazon or your local Asian grocery store.