If you’re one of the many non-vegans currently screwing up your nose in disgust at the idea of scrambling tofu, I confess that no one was more sceptical than me … until I actually tried making some. After all, though it’s not so difficult to substitute plant-based ingredients in more complex recipes such as meringues or custards, scrambled eggs offer no place to hide. But, actually, eggs, like tofu, are more about texture than flavour, so get that right, and you’ll be surprised how well this plant-based version works.
The tofu
Just as some people prefer their scrambled eggs cooked to dry, firm flakes while others favour a looser, creamier set, the consistency here is a matter of personal preference. What type of tofu you use will depend on the result you want: as BBC Good Food points out: “You can use any kind of tofu when scrambling it and the choice depends on whether you like a soft scramble or a firm scramble.”
I try recipes using soft tofu, which America’s Test Kitchen found had “a texture closest to eggs, yielding pieces that, when crumbled, were smooth and creamy”, as well as firm and super-firm varieties. Ali Slagle dries and presses the tofu before use, while Mob Kitchen dries it, but explains that there’s “no need to press it, as we want to keep some of the moisture here”. Indeed, unless you want your scramble to be very firm and dry, I wouldn’t bother.
If that’s your idea of perfection, though, the extra-firm or firm tofu suggested by Slagle in the New York Times are your best bet; if you’re looking for a wobblier, but still solid scramble, and don’t want too much washing-up, then, like America’s Test Kitchen, soft, and preferably silken tofu, is the stuff to go for (silken tofu is made without coagulating the soy milk or pressing the tofu itself, so it’s wetter, smoother and more delicate than the ordinary kind).
However, if you’re team rich and creamy (!), and are willing to put in a little more effort, Mob’s two-part recipe will change the way you look at scrambled tofu for ever. They use firm tofu, but then stir in a sauce made from soy milk and cashew nuts that thickens around the chunks of tofu in a remarkably successful imitation of my favourite style of eggs, namely curds suspended in a rich custard. I love it, but I can’t help thinking that a similar, but even creamier result could be achieved with tofu itself, rather than adding nuts and milk. Having fiddled about a bit, I’m genuinely delighted with the results below. (NB if you like your eggs fluffy, use standard firm tofu for the curds, though you will need the silken sort, whether soft or firm, for the puree.)
The cooking
Again, this very much depends on your expectations. If you’re a solid, almost crunchy scrambled egg fan, I strongly recommend Slagle’s technique, in which she fries the tofu in thin slabs until crisp and golden on both sides, then breaks it up. This feels to me easier and more energy-efficient for the home cook than baking it, as recommended by the Mildred’s Vegan Cookbook, or frying and then grilling it, as Joanne O’Connell describes in her fascinating collection of 1970s vegan recipes, The Homemade Vegan.
I’m aiming for a slightly different texture – solid, rather than crisp curds – which is best achieved by frying the crumbled tofu in plenty of vegan butter (butter is, as ever, the key to success) before adding the tofu puree.
The flavourings
One of the tofu’s best qualities, apart from its incredible range of textures, is its ability to take on other flavours. That said, while this is useful if you want to make, say, the truffle oil and mushroom number in Kerstin Rodgers’ V is for Vegan or the Minimalist Baker’s Southwest tofu scramble, this blandness does present a bit of a problem when it comes to the subtle, but unmistakable taste of eggs themselves. The recipes I try include onion and garlic powders, paprika, cumin, dijon mustard, soy sauce and nutritional yeast, all of which have their merits, if that’s what you’re after, but eggs don’t have the strong umami character of soy sauce and nutritional yeast, or the earthiness of cumin or garlic. The only ingredient that comes close is the Himalayan black salt in the Mildred’s version, which, as they explain, “confusingly isn’t black in colour, but has a high sulphur content and therefore lends the dish a suitably eggy flavour”. Often found labelled by its Hindi name, kala namak, black salt is what gives chaat masala its characteristic top note, a flavour I struggle with in other contexts. Here, however, and used more sparingly, it works brilliantly.
Turmeric is ubiquitous in scrambled tofu recipes, less for its bitterness than its vivid colour, no doubt because if something looks more like eggs, it no doubt follows that we’ll find it tastes more like them. If you’re not much bothered by the way the scrambled tofu looks, however, feel free to leave it out, otherwise, use to taste. I also pop in a pinch of Mob’s sweet paprika for extra yolky yellowness but, again, this is entirely optional, and I don’t want it to be too dominant.
The extras
America’s Test Kitchen puts red pepper and shallot in its tofu scramble, Slagle spring onions and O’Connell red onion, though she also suggests sliced tomatoes, grated carrot or diced courgette as other possible additions. Basically, as with scrambled eggs, the world is your oyster. Just make sure this particular oyster is vegan.
Perfect scrambled tofu
Prep 5 min
Cook 5 min
Serves 2 generously
300g firm silken tofu
¼ tsp black salt (kala nemak)
¼-½ tsp turmeric (optional)
Pinch of sweet paprika (optional)
1 tbsp vegan butter
Black pepper, to finish (optional)
Chopped chives, to serve (optional)
Put 140g of the tofu in a mini chopper (or use a stick blender), add the black salt, turmeric and paprika, if using (more turmeric will give the dish a more attractive colour, but it will also make the tofu taste more of turmeric, so use more or less depending on your taste).
Whizz to a smooth puree, then check the seasoning and adjust as necessary.
Melt the butter in a frying pan on a medium-high heat. Drain the remaining tofu, gently pat it dry, then crumble it into the hot butter.
Season well with pepper and a pinch more of black salt, if you like, then fry with the occasional gentle stir until the crumbled tofu is heated through.
Pour in the tofu puree, stir well and cook just until it thickens around the pieces of tofu.
Take off the heat and serve at once topped with pepper and chives, if using.
Scrambled tofu: vegan or not, are you a fan, and if so, how do you like to make yours? If not, what is your favourite egg replacement, or would you just rather go without?
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