Vegan Salads 101
Egg-less Egg Salad

Appetizer Platter of Mocking Egg Salad on Vegan Crackers

I really missed egg salad sandwiches... so after several tries this recipe tasted like the REAL THING and delight my taste buds. The "yolk mixture" is enough for three or four batches... can be kept in a refrigerated capped glass jar for three or four weeks. Then I can create another batch immediately without any fuss. This salad is more flavorful if left covered in the refrigerator overnight to let the spices, onion and celery flavors seep into the tofu, but that doesn't keep us from eating it right away. You'll taste the difference when you eat it the next day... that is if you can wait that long!

       

This salad platter contains my vegan egg salad on top of baguette sour dough slices topped with avocado and a spoonful of egg salad. The rest of the platter contains Asian cole slaw, pasta salad, fresh sliced tomatoes, watercress, Perfectly Pickled Carrots, fresh corn salad and a fresh sliced pear.

Pre-Preparation
Open a container of fresh extra firm tofu.

Rinse tofu blocks under cold water.

Place tofu onto a dry clean kitchen towel and roll it up... this will allow all the excess fluid to drain. If you want an even better egg salad, do this the night before and put it into the refrigerator after wrapping.

Ingredients
Yolk Mixture
dry ingredients-
2 tablespoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons celery seeds
1 tablespoon dried chives (optional)

wet ingredients-
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar

Egg Mixture
1 container, 14 ounce size, fresh extra firm tofu (drained on a terry kitchen towel for at least 2 hours... best wrapped up in towels overnight in the refrigerator... Costco sells double packages and has the best prices)
1 tablespoon of the completed Yolk Mixture
1/2 cup Vegenaise (add more if you like it lighter and creamier)
1/2 cup celery diced
4 scallions chopped
1/2 cup red onion diced

optional variations:
1/4 cup organic sweet relish (optional... my mom use to put this is ours, but I prefer it less sweet)
1/4 cup organic dill pickles, diced
1 tablespoon capers

Tools
2 clean kitchen towels
large mixing bowl
small heavy bottom skillet
spoon for stirring
Pyrex glass 2 cup measuring cup
glass jar for the extra yolk mixture
small wire whisk

Preparation
Yolk Preparation
This yellowy yolk mixture that I use to make my Mocking Egg Salad will provide enough for three or four batches.

Pan Toast Spices
In a heavy bottom skillet, measure out all the spices... turmeric, red pepper flakes, celery seeds and pepper.

Over a low flame, toast the contents until warmed and set aside... this is an important step to bring out the flavors of these ingredients.

Measure
Remove the skillet from the burner and add the cider vinegar, agave nectar, Dijon mustard to the toasted spices in the skillet.

Whisk the contents until smooth.

Pour mixture into a glass jar and set aside.

Tofu Preparation
Open the package of firm tofu and drain.

Rinse the block or blocks of tofu under water and place on a clean terry kitchen towel or paper towels. You can leave the wrapped tofu out on your kitchen counter or in the refrigerator.

Check the toweling and if it's full of water, turn it over to saturate the other side of the toweling.

The main concern in doing this step is to remove as much liquid out of the tofu as possible before starting the recipe creation. Excess liquid will make the egg salad mixture too watery.

HINT: It's even better to do this step the night before so that all the excess liquid will drain into the toweling overnight... put it in the refrigerator if you do this this step the night before.

If you don't take the time to drain the tofu completely, the salad will become watery.


UPDATE - The BIG SQUEEZE: the TofuXpress
Marie Kraft developed an inventive kitchen gadget she named, the TofuXpress for those of us that want dense pressed tofu for vegan recipes. The TofuXpress eliminates the need for soggy cloth or paper towels and towering weights via pots, pans and canned items. This clever gadget simply makes vegan tofu prep easier, faster and saves space.

Packaged firm tofu may be purchased, but once you have pressed your first square of fresh tofu, you will taste and feel the difference in any recipe. Smoother and creamery are my first thoughts about the texture of tofu pressed in the TofuXpress. It makes my Mocking Egg Salad recipe even better! Experiment with different types of fresh tofu, note the time and type so that you can duplicate the texture variations. Soft or regular tofu vs firm tofu will give you different pressed versions. These experiments will be very entertaining... especially for children to observe.

HINT: If you have a large family, you may want to consider purchasing two TofuXpress units so that you can press two packages of tofu at the same time.

READ MORE>>

Mock Boiled Eggs
In the bowl, crumble the drained tofu with your fingers. It will look like boiled egg whites in a real egg salad.

Take your time to make sure that the mixture is crumpled evenly.

If you want it to really look authentic, make sure all the straight edges are crumbled.

Add 1 tablespoon of the yolk mixture and stir until everything is a golden yellow color.

Add the Vegenaise, onion, celery and scallions...

Stir until all becomes a beautiful yolk yellow color.

Add salt and pepper to taste.
           
Mocking Egg Salad

Mocking Egg Salad
Serving Ideas
This makes a great egg salad sandwich, tea canapes, dip for vegetables, filling for endive leaves, or simple spread on crackers.