When you shop at Costco and end up with four 16oz blocks of tofu like I did, you have to start getting creative. This recipe below is a hybrid of two recipes: Andrea Nguyen's Tofu Eel recipe, and Norio's Mock Eel recipe. When I first made this recipe, I was really impressed with how much the final result tasted like store bought unagi (Japanese broiled eel). Who would have known that mashed up tofu with some miso paste, powdered seaweed and cornstarch would taste delicious!
This vegan unagi does take a bit of work. AND you have to deep fry (in other words--messy), but if the craving for unagi hits you and it's meatless Monday, this recipe is your solution for sure!
Making the Unagi Sauce
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| Gather ingredients |
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| Simmer sauce until foaming. ~6 min |
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| Pour into a clean glass jar |
Making the Tofu Unagi
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| Gather ingredients: Aonori, cornstarch, tofu, miso paste |
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| Process until a smooth paste forms |
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| Divide paste onto 8 strips of seaweed |
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| Deep fry |
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| Until dark golden brown. Drain oil on paper towels. Brush with unagi sauce and serve over rice garnished with green onions. |
A few tips:
- Since the unagi sauce keeps well in the fridge for 2 to 3 months, make a large batch of the sauce-- more than what you will most likely use for the vegan unagi. That way, you will always have some unagi sauce at your disposal. Of course, you can also just buy a bottle from your local Asian grocery store or on Amazon here, but I promise you, it's really easy to make.
- Squeeze out excess water from the tofu, otherwise the vegan unagi will be too soft and may fall apart when deep frying.
- It's easiest to use aonori (powdered seaweed), which I often have in the pantry. But if you don't have the powdered seaweed, then just take half a sheet of toasted nori, cut them into smaller pieces and grind them in a clean and dry spice grinder.
- This does NOT taste good as leftovers, as the "unagi" flavors are muted the next day. So you have to eat this right after it is made.
Yields 2 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 box 16oz firm tofu
- 2 T red miso paste
- 1 t aonori (powdered seaweed)
- 4 T cornstarch
- 1 sheet of roasted seaweed (8 x 8 inches)
- oil for deep frying
- chopped green onions for garnish (optional)
Ingredients for unagi sauce*:
- 1/3 c soy sauce
- 1/3 c mirin
- 3 T sugar
* This makes a lot of unagi sauce. You will use only about half of this sauce for the vegan unagi. Store the remainder in the fridge. It will be good for 2 to 3 months.
Procedures for making the sauce:
1. Place all ingredients for the unagi sauce in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil with constant stirring to ensure all the sugar is dissolved. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce starts to slightly thicken and foam.
2. Turn off the heat and transfer the sauce to a clean glass jar. The sauce will appear thin at this point, but will continue to thicken as it cools. You should have a little over ½ cup of sauce. Set aside.
Procedures for making the vegan unagi:
1. Rinse tofu. Break up into a few large pieces and place in clean cotton dish towel. Gather up the towel and squeeze out some water from the tofu. Tofu should still be moist, but not wet. Discard liquid. Place squeezed tofu in a food processor.
2. To the tofu, add miso paste, powdered seaweed and cornstarch. Process the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes until a smooth paste forms. The consistency is similar to cream cheese. (If you don’t have a food processor, then just use your hands to mix and mash everything to a uniform paste.)
3. Cut the sheet of roasted seaweed into 8 equal pieces (about 2 x 4 inches).
4. Divide the tofu mixture into 8 even portions.
5. Spread a portion of the tofu mixture on top of a piece of seaweed, and even out the surface with your fingers. Ensure that the entire piece of seaweed is coated with the tofu mixture. Repeat with the remaining 7 pieces of seaweed.
6. Heat oil over medium high heat and carefully slide each piece of tofu into the oil to deep fry for several minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
7. To serve, brush the tops of the vegan unagi with the unagi sauce. Place a few pieces on top of a bowl of rice. Drizzle additional unagi sauce over the bowl. Garnish with chopped green onions.