I love a good stuffed sandwich. Today, I made my version of a crispy tofu sandwich. I had some tofu, lettuce, tomato and a little spicy mustard for a punch of flavour.

One of my fave ways to prepare tofu is to coat it in breadcrumbs so that it’s like a cutlet. Once it’s coated, you can either pan fry or bake until crispy. This is an easy preparation and really helps to make tofu not taste like tofu.

For this sandwich, I pan fried my tofu and the coating unfortunately was falling off a bit. It still tasted delicious but was definitely a little messy to cook. I think if I had baked the tofu cutlet, it would have held together much better. Click here to see my post about baked crispy tofu. So you can use whichever method you please 🙂

In that baked tofu post, I dipped the tofu in beaten egg before coating in bread crumbs, but this tofu today is actually vegan. I made a little soy marinade and let the tofu sit in that before dipping in panko. I just wanted to add a little extra flavour.

Aside from the tofu, the rest of the sandwich was so straightforward. Just some fresh lettuce and tomato, on a burger bun with a touch of grainy spicy mustard.

If you are trying to eat more plant based proteins, tofu is a great transition simply because it can take on any flavours you add to it. The preparation I’ve used today gives the tofu a “chicken-ey” feel that any meat lover will enjoy 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu, sliced into 3/4″ slices (I got 9 from my block)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp oil, for frying
• burger buns, lettuce, tomato, mustard

Directions:

1. In shallow dish (ie: pie plate), combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup and sriracha. Place tofu slices in dish and let marinate 5 minutes, flipping once halfway.
2. In another dish, mix panko, salt and pepper. Take tofu pieces one at a time and press into bread crumbs on both sides.
3. Cook the tofu:
   • FRYING: Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add breaded tofu and cook 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.
   • BAKING: Lay breaded tofu on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in 400° oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway.
4. Place cooked tofu on burger bun, along with lettuce, tomato and mustard. Enjoy!