Why I Created This Recipe?
I used to visit Japan once a year when I was a kid, and Tonkatsu is a must-eat dish every time when I was in Japan. However, ever since I went vegan, it’s really hard to find restaurants serving vegan version of tonkatsu, even in Japan. As I was making some Japanese curry the other day, I was craving for some vegan katsu to serve with it.
What is Tonkatsu?
If you are new to this name, tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that features a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet. “Ton” means pork in Japanese and “katsu” means crispy fried cutlet of meat or seafood made with flaky Japanese panko breadcrumbs.
Baked or Deep-fried
Traditional katsu is deep-fried. However, deep frying produces large amounts of waste oil, which contradicts with my practice. I opted for the baking method. You can of course deep fry the battered tofu to make the katsu using the same recipe. Better still, baking also makes this recipe oil-free. Who doesn’t love an oil-free crispy vegan katsu with curry?
Gluten-free Option
This recipe can be easily made gluten-free by using gluten-free sourdough starter and gluten-free bread crumb. 😉
Simple Japanese Curry
Disclaimer: This Japanese curry is by no means an authentic recipe. In order to make traditional Japanese curry from scratch, you first need to make a roux using butter, flour and curry spice. The roux gives the curry a thicker texture. My simple Japanese curry recipe is made using only 6 ingredients – Carrot, curry powder, applesauce and onion. To make this curry, cook the carrot and onion with curry powder and applesauce until the carrot is softened. Once cooled, simply blend all ingredients in a high speed blender with miso paste until smooth. This Japanese curry is perfect when served with vegan katsu, udon noodles or even pasta.
Looking for more vegan Japanese food recipe? Check out my Japanese Style Thick Pancake recipe 🥞 and the vegan sourdough shokupan 🍞
Vegan Katsu Curry Made With Sourdough Discard
Course: MainCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutesThis simple vegan katsu using sourdough discard is perfect with vegan curry and rice.
Ingredients
- Vegan Katsu
1 block extra firm tofu (around 349g)
1/2 cup flour ( I used chickpea flour, you can also use all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup panko bread crumb
- Discard Wash
250g sourdough discard
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Black pepper and salt to taste
1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
- Vegan Japanese Curry
2 carrot (diced)
1/2 onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 Tbsp applesauce
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp miso paste
2 cups water (or vegetable broth)
Directions
- Vegan Katsu
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
- Cut the tofu in half horizontally.
- In a wide bottom bowl, mix together all ingredients of the discard wash. Then place the flour and bread crumb in 2 separate bowls. Align these 3 bowls of ingredients in the order of flour, discard wash and bread crumb, with the bowl of flour closest to you.
- Using one hand, dip one slice of tofu in the flour mix and coat evenly. Make sure you keep that hand dry.
- Use your other hand, transfer the tofu slice to the discard wash and toss until it is all coated.
- Use the wet hand, drop the tofu into the bowl bread crumb and use the dry hand to scoop some of the bread crumb over the top of it, making sure it is evenly coated.
- Transfer the coated tofu on a lined baking tray. Repeat step 4-6 with the other slice of tofu.
- Bake the coated tofu katsu in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then, flip over to the other side and bake for another 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
- Vegan Japanese Curry
- Set a pan over medium heat. Once the pan is heated, add a splash of water (or vegetable broth) to the pan, sauté the chopped onions and minced garlic until they are tender and translucent.
- Add 1 Tbsp curry powder and diced carrot to the pan and fry for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the vegetable stock (or water) and applesauce, bring the sauce to the boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the carrots are softened.
- Leave the mixture to cool slightly.
- Once cooled, place the mixture, together with 1 Tbsp miso paste in a high-speed blender and blend until the mixture is super smooth.
- Serve with vegan katsu, rice, or your choice of noodles or pasta! 😌
