ramyaramesh3007This classic Singaporean adapted Chinese dish is salty, creamy and slightly sweet with bursting flavours from curry leaves and chillies – and it’s vegan!
The sensation that introduced the flavours of salted egg in Singapore was the salted egg yolk bao – countless people were posting the oozing molten custard on socials which is how I got to know the dish. Traditionally, the bao (steamed bun) is filled with molten custard made from butter, condensed milk and salted egg yolk. The flavours are salty, sweet and addictive!
Sooner or later, the salted egg yolk flavour was infused into almost everything – from crisps to croissants. I remember not leaning into the hype but once I tried a salted egg yolk bao, my life transformed. Not being dramatic here, but something about this savoury creamy sauce was very delicious.
Once I turned vegan, I couldn’t have it of course but salted egg yolk dupes in restaurants never quite met the mark. In this simple recipe, we will be recreating Singapore’s famous salted egg yolk chicken but with fried tofu. It’s made with simple ingredients but the flavours come together really well. No yolks used here!
Ingredients You Need
- extra firm tofu – this replaces the chicken and is a rich source of plant based protein.
- corn starch – this helps to make the tofu crispy and fun to eat!
- seasonings – garlic powder, salt, white pepper
- vegan butter – this gives a buttery flavour and adds to the creaminess
- garlic – definitely be generous with the garlic! There’s huge flavour that comes from this
- nutritional yeast – for the cheesiness. This is a staple in vegan cooking so you can use this in many recipes to get your dose of Vitamin B12.
- curry Leaves – this is a MUST for the aroma
- red chilli – one or two depending on the spice level you can tolerate
- coconut cream – for the creaminess (I swear you can’t taste the coconut!)
- oat milk – to add some texture to the sauce
Alliums free substitutions: Omit garlic powder and garlic. Instead, add a pinch of hing to the tofu fry batter and the vegan salted egg yolk sauce. Add an extra chili for more flavour.
Gluten free substitutions: Use a gluten free soy sauce / tamari / coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Use soy milk or cashew milk instead of oat milk (or gluten free oat milk). Ensure vegan butter is gluten free.
Vegan Salted Egg Yolk Tofu
Ingredients
- 2 cubes tofu (chunked) 350-400g
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3-4 tbsp corn starch
- neutral oil for frying
Salted 'Egg Yolk' Sauce
- 2 tbsp vegan butter or sub with oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 sprgs curry leaves
- 1 red chilli add one more if you want it extra spicy!
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/3 tsp turmeric
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 tbsp coconut cream
- 1/2 cup oat milk
- black salt to taste
Instructions
- Drain your tofu and press out the excess water. Break them apart into small chunks.
- Combine corn starch with salt, white pepper and garlic powder. Coat the tofu chunks in this mixture.
- Deep fry in a neutral oil until golden brown or crispy. You can also bake or air fry them – spray some oil first. If baking, bake for about 20 minutes at 200C flipping them halfway. If air frying, place the chunks in the air fryer in a single row. Set your air fryer to 400°F and fry for 10 minutes, flipping the tofu halfway.
- Chop red chilli into slices. Remove all curry leaves from the stems.
- To a pan, add vegan butter and let it melt.
- Add minced garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Then add chillies and saute for another minute.
- Add curry leaves – beware of splattering.
- Once it crisps, add oat milk. Mix well. Add light soy sauce.
- Mix well over a low flame to get a creamy sauce. Add black salt (kala namak) for a 'eggy' flavour instead of regular salt and turmeric for colour.
- Finally mix in the nutritional yeast and add the fried tofu back in. Let the tofu cook in the sauce for 2-3 minutes.
- If you'd like more sauce, add a splash of oat milk to mix well and simmer for a minute.
- Serve with rice. Enjoy!