Vegan smoked tofu “meatballs” are packed with umami and flavor! They’re delicious with pasta, risotto, polenta, mashed potatoes… and they make a wonderful “meatball” sub!
Tofuary?
We’ve been eating tofu a lot lately. I’ve actually got SO MANY tofu recipes in the making, that I’m thinking of naming January Tofuary! It remains to be seen if I’ll actually publish all those tofu recipes during this months however… But, at least the one I’ve been making the most recently is ready to go: I’m in love with these smoked tofu “meatballs”, packed with umami from mushrooms, onions, garlic, tomato paste and vegan cheddar ♥
vegan tofu “meatballs”
The recipe is adapted from the spectacular two-ingredient tofu balls by a Finnish food writer Satu Koivisto. I spotted her tofu balls over on Instagram a couple of months ago and was swept away with how simple and delicious they were! You can find her original recipe for tofu balls here (in Finnish) and I highly recommend trying it out before you ventury into my variation ♥ I was literally bursting out “DAMNNNNNNN THAT’S DELICIOUS” whilst eating them, and that’s saying a lot since I was home alone 😀
It’s all about treating the ingredients right and seasoning as you go: pressing the tofu before shredding it, roasting the mushrooms until the flavor is super intense, and allowing the “dough” to rest before frying.
Variation on the theme: smoked tofu meatballs
Satu’s recipe is genius as it is, but I have a bit of tendency to fiddle with all recipes … so I did! Firstly, I swapped the tofu to cold smoked tofu. I just love smoked tofu! Secondly, I added lots of onion and garlic to the mix. And thirdly, I included more seasonings: double concentrated tomato puree with veggies (I’m addicted to Mutti Verdurine atm!), some vegan cheddar (by Violife) and dried thyme, mushroom powder, chili flakes…
The resulting vegan smoked tofu “meatballs” were so packed full of flavor and umami that I think I’ve made a hundred of them by now. Though I have to admit… Part of the repetition was due to the fact, that it took time to get the consistency right. Due to all my add-ins, the ratio of mushrooms to tofu obviously changed from the original recipe by Satu. At some point Juuso was jokingly calling my tofu balls “Jellas sensitive balls”. (Eh?) But thankfully, it’s not what they’re called around our house anymore!
Tips!
In order for you to succeed with the tofu meatballs I’ve compiled here some practical tips, which also Satu is pointing out in her original recipe.
Tofu:
- Tofu balls come together best, when you get rid of the excess moisture. Wrap the tofu in kitchen towel and press it at least half an hour under some weights, or in a tofu press. I would also recommend using frozen smoked tofu here! As it thaws, it will lose a lot of moisture and the texture of frozen tofu is also nicely spongy!
Mushrooms:
- Get rid of the moisture in the mushrooms as well! I mean really: Fry or roast the mushrooms until they are shriveled and wrinkled. With the electricity prices of these days, you can do this whenever the oven is on. Store the fried mushrooms in the fridge until you’re making the tofu balls! But you can of course also fry them on a frying pan. I like to season the mushrooms whilst browing them with whatever I want to have in my tofu balls. Thyme, chili flakes, pepper, a bit of salt/miso paste for salinity…
Onions:
- If you’re adding onions and garlic to the tofu balls like I do, really get them nicely caramelized as well! You can add the onion to the pan with the mushrooms. Garlic is however best added near the end of the cooking time to prevent it from burning.
Pureeing:
- This is the biggest effort in the recipe in my opinion! Since we’re getting rid of all that moisture, it tends to get very dense. I’m helping my immersion blender by mixing the onion-mushroom mixture first with the tomato puree. I grate the tofu & vegan cheddar with the large holes of a box grater and mix the corn starch with them. Then all that’s left is to puree everything together, to create a mixture that will hold its shape when formed into balls. It doesn’t have to be homogeneous, but I usually prefer taking the time to get it almost there.
Shaping:
- The tofu balls come together easily when you allow the “dough” to rest in the fridge for a while. Oil your hands lightly to avoid sticking. Take your time to roll and press the mixture into compact balls that hold their shape while frying.
Flouring:
- The tofu balls get a nice crispy exterior when you coat them with flour before frying. Satu uses wheat flour, I’ve used corn starch. A small plate with taller edges makes the job easy! Add some flour at the bottom, then a few tofu balls and tilt the plate until the balls roll around enough to get covered entirely. Note: I have also fried the tofu balls “naked” and I really like the result also that way.
Smoked tofu meatballs coated with corn starch
Smoked tofu meatballs “naked” LOL
Smoked tofu meatballs with….
We’ve been eating the tofu balls with pasta and tomato sauce! But, they also go well with polenta, risotto, mashed potatoes… and they make a great vegan meatball sub! In any case, a few have to be eaten straight from the frying pan. Just to test the flavor, you know?
Vegan smoked tofu "meatballs"
Equipment
- 1 box grater
- 1 Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 250 g cold smoked tofu
- 200 g button mushrooms
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil suitable for frying
- 1 medium sized yellow onion
- 3-4 cloves garlic (or more if you really love garlic!)
- 50 g vegan cheddar (I'm using Violife Epic Mature Cheddar)
- 2 tbsp Mutti Verdurine / double concentrated tomato puree
- 1 tbsp corn starch
Seasonings, to taste:
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper (or more, if you're into pepper as much as I am)
- ¼-½ tsp chili flakes (or more, if you're into heat!)
- ½-1 tsp dried thyme (or another herb you like)
- salt to taste OR 1-2 tsp mellow white miso paste (remember that the smoked tofu + vegan cheese have salt, don't add too much!)
- 1 tbsp mushroom powder (totally not necessary since there's already loads of mushrooms in the tofu balls, but I just love to add this to everything)
Shaping, flouring, frying:
- 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil suitable for frying (to oil your hands)
- ½-1 dl wheat flour / corn starch (optional - if you want to flour the tofu balls before frying. They're good also "naked"!)
- Vegan butter and/or vegetable oil suitable for frying (as needed)
Notes:
- This recipe makes about 16-20 tofu balls, depending on the size you make them.
- You can obviously play around with the ingredients and their amounts, just like I have! Just note that the consistency of the mixture will likely be affected.
- Try to keep the amount of tofu to at least 40% and avoid adding in moisture (i.e. I wouldn't season this with soy sauce, unless you add it into the mushroom mixture and let the liquid evaporate). I recommend doing test frying after the mixture has been made, to see if you need to adjust the amount of corn starch, for instance.
Instructions
Preparation:
- Wrap the tofu in kitchen towel and press between two plates with a something heave on top, or in a tofu press for at least half an hour.
- Clean and thinly slice the button mushrooms, peel and chop the onion and garlic. Leave the garlic on the side for later. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and sautee the mushrooms and onion until the moisture evaporates.
- Season the mushrooms to taste (I love to add dried thyme, black pepper, chili flakes and some salt or miso paste) and add in the garlic. Keep sauteeing until the mushrooms are getting wrinkled and "dry" and the onion is caramelized and jammy.
- You can also fry the mushrooms and onion in an oven, especially if you already are using it for something else. 200°C & 20-30 minutes should do when the ingredients are spread out on an even layer. You can mix them a few times to ensure even browning. Add the garlic in later in this case too, to avoid burning it. Lower temperature is fine too, just adjust the time!
Smoked tofu "meatballs":
- When the smoked tofu has been pressed, pat it dry and use the large holes of a box grater to grate it to a bowl. Sprinkle on the corn starch and grate the vegan cheddar in too.
- When the onions and mushrooms are roasted/fried "dry", puree them with the tomato paste. The mixture doesn't have to be fully homogeneous, a few bigger bits can be left in the mixture.
- Mix the mushrooms with the tofu & vegan cheddar and puree everything together until the mass can be made into a ball that holds its shape. At this point you can do a little test fry: shape a tiny "meatball" and pan fry it to check the consistency and the seasonings. If the mixture starts to fall apart when frying, add some corn starch!
- If you have the time, cover the tofu mixture well and put it into the fridge to set for at least half an hour (or over night).
Frying:
- When it's time to fry the tofu balls, take the "dough" out of the fridge. If you want to flour the balls, put some flour on a small plate with edges, and set up a plate for the shaped tofu balls.
- Oil your hands lightly and take about a table spoon of the tofu mixture. As you roll the dough, try to compress it to a tight ball. If you are flouring the tofu balls, put it on the flour plate next. Once you have a few tofu balls on the plate, just tilt the plate until the balls have rolled around enough to be entirely coated 🙂 This way your hands stay clean - I mean, oiled...
- Once all the tofu balls have been rolled up / floured, you can set them again in the fridge if you want, or continue to fry them immediately.
- Heat up some vegan butter and/or oil on a non stick frying pan. Fry all the sides of the tofu balls until golden. You can get to all sides by gently shaking the pan and helping the persistent ones to turn around with a spatula. Be careful though, the consistency is pretty soft even when the tofu balls are golden on the surface!
- Serve the smoked tofu balls with pasta, polenta, risotto, mashed potates... or make a yummy vegan "meatball" sub with them!
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