Tofu and Mushroom Foo Young (Vegan/GF!)
Hi, all! We’re back! We’ve been on vacation at the lake for the past week, and now we’re back in business. I’m so excited to be in the kitchen again. Today, I’m bringing you another “better-than-takeout” recipe! This time, though, we’re making it vegan. Let me introduce you to this utterly delectable and completely simple tofu and mushroom foo young!
I love traditional egg foo young so much. I am an omelette and frittata kind of girl as it is, so that probably explains why I go for these crispy, veggie packed, Chinese-style omelettes all the time.
However, takeout egg foo young can be hit or miss. I’ve had really good egg foo young and really bad egg foo young. It’s an easy dish to mess up given the delicacy of cooking the eggs. It also has the propensity to be very, very greasy given that it is traditionally fried. And no one likes their takeout with a grease puddle underneath it.
Finally, egg foo young usually isn’t gluten free. The savory, thickened gravy that is poured over the omelettes is a hallmark of the dish, but many restaurants use flour to thicken their gravy instead of corn or tapioca starch. Additionally, many restaurants use shared friers or woks for both non-gluten free and gluten free foods, making it difficult for those who are very sensitive to gluten to safely get their favorite takeout.
We’ve solved all of those problems with this recipe. Here’s why:
- This dish is vegan! Instead of using eggs and meat fillings, we’ve lightened it up to include tofu as the egg replacement, and mushrooms take the place of the chicken or pork typically found in the traditional takeout version. And, it’s still just as satisfying as the original version.
- We bake it! No frying here. This makes our version both lighter and easier to make since you don’t have to worry about splattering frying oil everywhere.
- We thicken our gravy with cornstarch instead of flour. This not only makes a beautiful, clear, amber-colored gravy, but it’s also totally gluten free!
Tips and tricks:
This recipe has a lot going for it. First of all, it’s incredibly simple to make. All you have to do is stir fry some veggies and mushrooms together, mix them into some crumbled tofu, form that into patties, and stick them in the oven for half an hour. Pretty easy, right?!
Here are some important things to note:
- Press your tofu! Pressing your tofu will make sure that your tofu foo young will not be soggy.
- You will need to make a flax-tapioca egg to serve as a binder for this recipe. Click the link for our recipe. The flax-tapioca egg will help hold everything together and ensure that your dish retains it’s patty-like shape.
- That brings me to this point: be sure to mold the patties with your hands and not a spoon or spatula. You’ll want to make sure that you press the them firmly in your palms as you form them so that they adequately stick together. Since tofu doesn’t bind together like eggs, you’ll need to do some extra squeezing in order for the patties to retain their shape :).
How to enjoy this tofu and mushroom foo young:
Traditionally, egg foo young is served alongside steamed rice. I like using long grain brown rice because of it’s neutral flavor, but you can pair any kind of rice with this dish. I also like to add about two tablespoons of scallions to the gravy just as I am removing it from the heat. The slight dose of heat causes the scallions to really release their flavor. Then, pour the gravy over the egg foo young and rice. Talk about comfort food!
You can also garnish with a wide variety of fun things like sriracha, sesame seeds, chopped cilantro leaves and stems (call me weird but I like the crunchy tang of the cilantro stems), soy sauce, sesame oil, or whatever you want! Also, if you hate cilantro, you can use parsley or more scallions instead.
This dish is truly comforting, and it’s so simple. In fact, I’ve had it in my recipe box for about five years, and we make it multiple times per month when we’re craving takeout but want it jazzed up, vegan-style.
I hope you all enjoy this tofu and mushroom egg foo young, a vegan take on a classic takeout favorite. Please let me know what you think in the comments! As always, I’d love to hear your feedback.
See you next time!
LMCookin
Ingredients
- 14 oz extra firm tofu pressed
- 8 oz shiitake mushrooms roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup carrots shredded
- 1 cup baby spinach roughly chopped and packed
- 1/2 cup corn (frozen)
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1/2 cup scallions thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 flax tapioca egg
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- vegetable cooking spray
For the gravy:
- 2 cups vegetable broth or bouillon
- 1/2 cup scallions thinly sliced
- 3/4 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp chili oil *sub red pepper flakes if you don't have sriracha
- 1 tbsp cornstarch *you can sub tapioca starch in the same amount
- 2 tbsp water
To serve:
- 2 cups brown rice cooked
- sesame seeds
- chopped cilantro or more scallions for garnish
Instructions
To make the patties:
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Press tofu under a heavy object to remove moisture.
- In the meantime, heat a tablespoon of neutral oil (such as canola, avocado, or peanut oil) in a wok or large nonstick skillet until shimmering. Add mushrooms and sauté until they soften and begin to release liquid. Then add corn, carrots, spinach, peas, and scallions and sauté until they are softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Shred tofu with a fork until it is in small, even chunks. It should look a bit like dry scrambled eggs.
- Combine shredded tofu, sautéed vegetables, and flax egg in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add soy sauce, nutritional yeast, turmeric, sesame oil, and white pepper and stir again. Then, using your hands, form hamburger sized patties.
- Lightly grease a large baking pan with cooking spray. As you make the patties, place them on the baking sheet and bake them for approximately 30 minutes, or until they are crispy and golden brown on the outside, but still tender in the middle. Cool them on a cooking rack.
For the gravy:
- Place broth, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until you reach a rolling boil.
- While the broth mixture is heating, mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl until a smooth, viscous slurry forms.
- Add the slurry to the boiling gravy mixture and stir rapidly for about a minute. Then, reduce heat and bring gravy to a simmer. You should see the it thicken slightly.
- Add the scallions and chili oil to the gravy, stir, and turn off the heat.
To serve:
- Pour gravy over patties and rice as desired. Garnish with remaining scallions and cilantro or parsley. Sesame seeds also make a nice, crunchy garnish.