Infusing Asian flavours into recipes is my favourite thing to do – this vegan sandwich is packed with flavour from the teriyaki tofu, vegan mayo and fresh vegetables.
Sandwiches are one of the easiest meals to make and are also great meal prep options! You just have to chop and prepare your vegetables, protein in advance so making it only takes 5 minutes.
For the sandwich, I used a baguette but you can use any type of bread. Personally, I would recommend plain, lightly toasted bread to make sure the flavours of the tofu stand out. This kind of reminds me of Banh Mi (a Vietnamese Baguette filled with pickled radish, carrots, coriander and alternative meat substitutes).
Ingredients Needed
Making a loaded sandwich is also a great way to use up any leftover vegetables. I layered my sandwich with:
- Bread – baguette or any plain lightly toasted white bread sourdough works as well.
- Veggies – we used locally produced lettuce mix from Just Produce, sliced tomatoes and thinly sliced carrots
- Teriyaki tofu – pan-fried to crispiness and coated with a signature homemade teriyaki sauce
- Sauce – I used the vegan mayo option by Heinz.
- Toppings – I topped the tofu with toasted sesame seeds for an extra boost of flavour and crunch.
The Process
The teriyaki tofu follows a very simple process – you would have to coat the tofu in a dry corn starch mixture before pan frying it crispy. The homemade teriyaki sauce is simply made from ingredients like soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, maple syrup, & sesame oil. Topping the tofu with toasted sesame seeds gives it an extra boost of umami-ness and crunch.
The recipe is gluten free if you use gluten free bread and substitute the soy sauces for gluten free tamari.
Storage & Serving
You can bring this to office for lunch – let the sandwich cool completely, then wrap it in parchment paper or aluminum foil and bring it in a lunch box.
I would recommend putting the sandwich together before you consume that day instead of preparing it days in advance because it may get soggy. You can prepare the ingredients in advance but put them together on the day of consumption or right before consumption.
You can keep the teriyaki tofu in the fridge for up to 2 days. I used fresh tofu so I try to consume it as soon as I can for the best and freshest flavour.
Vegan Teriyaki Tofu Sandwich
Equipment
- 1 Frying Pan
Ingredients
Teriyaki Tofu
- 200 g firm tofu (1 block)
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Sandwich
- Lettuce
- Sliced Tomatoes
- Thinly Chopped Carrots
- Toasted Sesame Seeds
- Vegan Mayo
Instructions
- Cut tofu into long, rectangular blocks. Mix together corn starch, onion powder, garlic powder and salt.
- Coat tofu slices in corn flour mixture and pan fry until crispy (I used about 1 tbsp olive oil)
- Mix the marinade ingredients – light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, maple syrup and sesame oil. Pour over the tofu in the pan and give it a good mix. Take off heat immediately afterwards.
- You can mix in some toasted sesame seeds if you're using the tofu for another dish.
- Layer the sandwich with bread, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, tofu, toasted sesame seeds and vegan mayo in that order.
- Cut the sandwich into half and it's ready to eat!
Notes
- The recipe is gluten free if you use gluten free bread and substitute the soy sauces for gluten free tamari.
- You can substitute rice wine vinegar with white vinegar or mirin.
- This recipe will not work with soft or silken tofu, only firm tofu. You can freeze and thaw the tofu for an even firmer and chewier texture.
