I kind of spliced together a few different recipes for this. It's still basically the one posted on the Budget Byte$ blog, just with a few extra steps and a marinade thrown in. The extra steps and the idea of adding a liquid marinade as well as dry seasonings comes from the Easy Vegan. The marinade itself is my own concoction.

Barbecue Tofu Sandwiches

Adapted from The Easy Vegan and Budget Byte$

Ingredients

Tofu

• 350g extra firm tofu
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. mushroom ketchup
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. ketchup
• 1/4 tsp. liquid smoke
• 1 tsp. paprika (preferably smoked)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 20 grinds of black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch/cornflour
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil (optional)

Coleslaw

• 1/3 c. mayonnaise
• 1/2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 10 grinds black pepper
• 250-350g coleslaw mix¹

Assembly

• 3-4 burger buns
• ~2 Tbsp. garlic butter
• 1/4-1/2 c. barbecue sauce²

Directions

Tofu

1. Freeze the tofu.
2. Thaw, drain, and cut into four thin slabs. (Cut the brick in half once vertically and once horizontally.)
3. Wrap the tofu slabs in a tea towel, place something heavy on top and press for at least half an hour. (Or just use a tofu press if you have one.)
4. Cut into bite-sized chunks and return to freezer.
5. Thaw the tofu chunks and press/pat dry with a tea towel.
6. In a small bowl combine light soy, mushroom ketchup, dark soy, tomato paste, ketchup, and liquid smoke and mix well.
7. Pour marinade over tofu and toss until all of the tofu has had a chance to absorb some.
8. Combine paprika, garlic powder, pepper, and salt and mix well.
9. Toss tofu with dry spice mix until evenly coated.
10. Toss with cornstarch, 1 tsp. at a time.
12. Heat oil over medium to medium-high heat (if using). Fry tofu in oil, turning only occasionally, until well browned and slightly crisp. Alternatively, bake in a 350°F (180°C) oven until outside is firm and lightly browned, flipping once.

Coleslaw

1. Combine mayo, honey, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper and mix well.
2. Add coleslaw mix and stir to coat.

Assembly

1. Cut the buns and spread them with garlic butter.
2. Toast.
3. Toss tofu with barbecue sauce.
4. Pile saucy tofu on toasted bun bottoms.
5. Spoon some coleslaw on top of the tofu.
6. Close the sandwich by placing the bun half on top.
7. Serve with extra coleslaw on the side.

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Variations

Vegan

Ingredients

Tofu

• 350g extra firm tofu
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. mushroom ketchup
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. ketchup
• 1/4 tsp. liquid smoke
• 1 tsp. paprika (preferably smoked)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 20 grinds of black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch/cornflour
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil (optional)

Coleslaw

• 1/3 c. vegan mayonnaise
• 1/2 Tbsp. agave syrup
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 10 grinds black pepper
• 250-350g coleslaw mix¹

Assembly

• 3-4 burger buns
• ~2 Tbsp. garlic margarine or olive oil and fresh minced garlic
• 1/4-1/2 c. barbecue sauce²

If using oil and garlic for your buns: Brush the sliced buns with olive oil and sprinkle with minced garlic. Toast. Optionally sprinkle with fresh or lightly dried parsley.

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¹ Or make your own mix of shredded cabbage and carrots. I actually used broccoli slaw for mine because it was on sale for 50% off. ^Back
2 We didn't really have much in the way of barbecue sauce: just the dregs of an ancient bottle of HP sauce. I ended up sort of rolling my own sauce. I didn't measure anything, so I can't really give a recipe. It ended up being a mix of HP sauce, buffalo sauce, ketchup, hoisin sauce, roasted garlic paste, black pepper, hot paprika, liquid smoke, and Chinese 5-spice powder. I think a "real" BBQ sauce would've been better, but it did pretty well in a pinch. ^Back

I got this recipe from an Easy Vegan video. I definitely want to play around with different seasonings and marinades, but it already represents a huge improvement over my standard tofu game. It does take a bit of prep work ahead of time but, honestly, I think it's worth it.

I'd heard before that draining/pressing tofu would improve the texture, but I never really found it made enough difference to bother with. I'd also heard that freezeing it prior to cooking improved the texture. Conveniently, because of this, I actually already had a package of tofu in the freezer as I was planning on trying out a tofu sandwich recipe soon. Apparently the secret to getting a really good texture is to both freeze and press it. The full preparation actually involves freezing it twice, pressing it once, and drying it off thoroughly at multiple points throughout the process. I know this sounds like a lot but, trust me, it's so worth it!

Extra Delicious Tofu

From the Easy Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 package extra firm tofu¹
• 2-3 tsp. light soy sauce²
• ~1/4 tsp. salt
• ~1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil³
• 2-3 tsp. cornstarch/corn flour

Directions

1. Place the tofu (still in its package) in the freezer and allow to freeze solid⁴.
2. Thaw the tofu, open the package and drain it.
3. Place the block with the long side facing you and cut vertically down the middle. Now cut each of these pieces in half horizontally. You should now have four (roughly) equally sized, flat, relatively thin pieces of tofu.
4. Wrap the tofu in a tea towel (or several layers of paper towel) and place a weight on top. Or use a tofu press if you have one. Set aside for 30 minutes to drain.
5. Cut the tofu into bite-sized chunks (or whatever size and shape you prefer) and return to freezer.
6. Once tofu pieces have frozen solid (preferably the next day) remove from freezer, separate, wrap in a tea towel (or more paper towels) and thaw. You can allow them to thaw at room temperature or you can thaw them in the microwave.
7. Pat dry, then toss with soy sauce (or seasoning of choice). You don't want to completely saturate the tofu. You're just looking to add a little flavour.
8. Sprinkle a little salt on as well.
9. Toss with canola oil (or whatever oil you prefer).
10. Toss with cornstarch. The tofu pieces should be thoroughly coated, but shouldn't have any white patches of dry cornstarch visible.
11. Place tofu pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet.
12. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20-30 minutes turning halfway through.
13. Add to your favourite saucy dishes in place of regular tofu or meat.

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¹ Mine was 350g. ^Back
2 I'm really pleased with how the tofu came out, but it definitely did have a distinctive soy sauce flavour. Not that I minded it. I like soy sauce and it worked well in the Thai curry I ended up using it in. But it would be interesting to experiment with other sauces and marinades. Especially for applications that might not marry so well with soy sauce. I think vegetable stock or mushroom ketchup would both make for interesting flavours. The soaking water from dried mushrooms might also be nice although it would lack the obvious salt component of the other choices. You could also get into building more complex flavours by combining various savoury and salty components w/ spices. Tomato paste thinned with some mushroom soaking water⁵ would add a nice hit of umami as well as colour. You could then try adding just a dash of light and/or dark soy sauce to this mixture for even more umami plus a bit of salt, but doing it this way you wouldn't end up (I hope) with an overwhelming soy sauce flavour.
³ Feel free to try more flavourful and/or seasoned oils if the occasion calls for it. ^Back
4 You can buy several packages of tofu at once and keep them in the freezer until you're ready to use them. Thaw out as needed. ^Back
5 Tomatoes and mushrooms are both high in glutamates. ^Back