Filipino Tofu and Mushroom Salpicao (Vegan)

Ingredients

• 7 oz extra firm tofu or tokwa (OR)
• 2 oz dry soy chunks
• 1 tbsp vegan butter (or olive oil (for the tofu))
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
• 2 1/2 tbsp cane sugar (or other sugar)
• 1/2 tsp paprika powder
• 1/4 tsp chili flakes
• Dash of ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce (optional for colour)
• 2 tbsp vegan butter ( or olive oil (I recommed butter more!))
• 12 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 small red onion (diced)
• 200 g button mushrooms (or other mushrooms of choice, sliced)
• Salt or pepper to taste (if needed)
• Turmeric adlai or grain of your choice
• Sinangag
• Toasted garlic
• Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Protein (if using Tofu) ---

2. 2

   IF USING TOFU, Press the tofu or tokwa for 10 minutes to drain out excess liquid. I like to wrap mine in a towel and place a chopping board and plate on top. Afterwards, slice the tofu into 1” (2.5 cm) thick pieces or cubes.

3. 3

   Heat a large non-stick pan over high heat.

4. 4

   Add in the oil or butter for the tofu.

5. 5

   Once hot, place the pieces of tofu on the pan. Pan-fry over medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until lightly brown, around 10 minutes in total. Remove the tofu from the pan then set side.

6. 6

   --- Protein (if using Soy Chunks) ---

7. 7

   IF USING SOY CHUNKS, place the chunks in a large heat proof bowl.

8. 8

   Pour boiling hot water and leave the chunks to soak and rehydrate for around 12 to 15 minutes until doubled in size. You can cover the bowl to retain the steam.

9. 9

   Carefully squeeze out the liquid from the soy chunks and then set aside.

10. 10

    --- Sauce ---

11. 11

    While the tofu is pressing/soy chunks are soaking, mix all the sauce ingredients together.

12. 12

    Note: You can double the sauce recipe if you'd like it with extra sauce after cooking--this is especially for the soy chunks version since soy chunks absorb more liquid.Feel free to adjust the sauce measurements to your taste.

13. 13

    --- Salpicao ---

14. 14

    For the Salpicao, heat 2 tbsp butter or olive in the pan over medium high heat. I've tried this with both oil and butter, and would definitely recommend to use vegan butter for more flavour.

15. 15

    Once hot, add in the minced garlic.

16. 16

    Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, moving around every 30 seconds, until golden brown and crisp.

17. 17

    You can remove some garlic to set aside for topping later on.

18. 18

    Add in the onion and sauté for 2 minutes.

19. 19

    Add in the button mushrooms and then sauté over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

20. 20

    Add in the pan-fried tofu OR soy chunks into th pan.

21. 21

    Pour in the sauce. Turn up the heat to medium high heat and leave everything to cook until the sauce starts to thicken and is absorbed by the tofu.

22. 22

    Taste the salpicao and feel free to season it with some salt or pepper to taste, if needed.

23. 23

    Turn off the heat and then serve the Salpicao with steamed adlai or your grain of choice.

24. 24

    For the turmeric adlai, I simple pan-fried lefotver adlai (or your choice of grain) with sme garlic and turmeric powder in the same pan. You can find my garlic turmeric fried rice recipe here.

25. 25

    You can also have this with some singangag or fried garlic rice. See my sinangag recipe here.

26. 26

    Top with more toasted garlic and chopped parsley, if desired. Enjoy!