Tofu Katsu Curry

I can’t believe it’s taken me 28 years to discover just how easy it is to make Katsu Curry. There are a few variations of the sauce but I think this one works well, it’s also light and pretty healthy. If I was making it non-vegan, I’d add in some coconut milk – and of course use chicken too! That said, for someone who eats meat, this vegan version definitely hits the spot. And it works perfectly with the crunchy slaw.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

The Sauce:
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 thumb sized piece of garlic (2.5cm)
1 medium carrot, grated
1 medium apple, grated
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp miso paste
300ml veg stock
1 tbsp mild curry powder
1 tsp turmeric 
1 tsp honey

The Tofu Katsu
2 x 280g blocks of tofu (I used Tofoo)
100g panko breadcrumbs
5 tbsp cornflour + 5 tbsp water
2 tbsp soy sauce

The Slaw
1 medium sized kohlrabi (similar to a radish but more delicate in flavour, though you can use white cabbage if you can’t get hold of this)
1 medium sized carrot
1 medium sized apple
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Slaw Dressing
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 the juice of a lime
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce 
1 tsp rice wine vinegar

To serve
Sticky rice – coconut or jasmin (I use Tilda coconut rice)

Method:

1. Slice your tofu blocks into 8 even pieces, wrap in kitchen roll or a tea towel and set under a heavy weight for 15 minutes, to dry out
2. Meanwhile, prepare your sauce: Dice up your onion, garlic and ginger, then add to a pan with a little oil, simmer on a low heat
3. Peal you carrot and apple and then grate them both finely and add to the pan
4. Sweat for a few minutes before adding in your curry powder, soy sauce, miso paste and turmeric
5. Combine well and now add in your stock and honey
6. Allow the sauce to bubble away for 10 minutes, before blending to a smooth consistency
7. Once this is done, return to the pan, season and keep warm
8. To make the breaded tofu, remove the tofu from the weights and add to a bowl with 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Allow to marinate while you complete the next steps
9. In a bowl, combine 5 tbsp water and 5 tbsp cornflour, and in another, place the panko breadcrumbs, with a little salt and pepper
10. One at a time, take each slice of tofu, dip it into the corn flour, then the breadcrumbs – you will need to do this twice for each one, to get a good thick coating. If you run out of cornflour or it becomes too sticky, make some more. If you are NOT vegan, feel free to use the classic egg and flour to bind the breadcrumbs to to tofu.
11. Once coated, add to an oiled and lined baking tray – I then use a spray oil to lightly cover the top of them, to ensure a good crisp
12. Add to a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown, turning halfway through
13. While the tofu cooks, prepare your rice and make your slaw. If you have a mandoline slicer, you can use this, otherwise peel the carrot and kohlrabi (you can leave the apple with the skin on) and then slice them to fine match stick length – set aside
14. In a pan, dry toast your sesame seeds then set aside to cool, before adding to the slaw
15. Combine the slaw dressing ingredients and then drizzle a little of this over your slaw – the rest can be placed on the table for people to add to their liking
16. With all the components ready to go, build your plate and enjoy!

Game changer: If you have some vegetables lying around (courgette and sweet potato works well) you can finely slice these and coat in breadcrumbs too!