Every Friday we have the same thing, Breaded Schnitzels and mashed potatoes for me and the kids and something vegetarian to go with the mashed potato for the hubby.
The kids love it, I love it, why fight it? so basically every week the things that change are the side salad/s and the vegetarian dish.
Every Friday I wreck my brains until it hurts, trying to figure out what kind of vegetarian dish I can make that is not boring and goes well with the potatoes; secretly wishing my husband would just go with a breaded chicken schnitzel. But that will never happen, he’s been vegetarian for the past almost 30 years, it’s pretty much permanent now 🙂
I like my schnitzel, it;s so easy to make, I eat it piece by piece loaded with mashed potatoes on each piece, it’s so simple and so delicious.
So the other week I decided I’ll make the hubby vegetarian schnitzels, literally mess free and with minimum work. Bake it in the oven to avoid the deep frying and there you go. Schnitzel.
So I investigated a bit about tofu, about how long it can and should be marinated to absorb flavors, because between us, it tastes like nothing when you eat it as is,
I bought tofu, marinated, dipped in flour, egg, bread crumbs, baked and it’s PERFECT! The kids loved it! oh and the hubby too.
The important thing is to really marinate the tofu slices well and long enough, in a marinade that had a strong flavour because you want to feel the flavor. It is also important to slice the tofu into slices that are at least ¾ inch thick otherwise it’ll fall apart during the preparation process, and finally, get the firm tofu, it indicates the firmness of the tofu on the package just go firm.
Other than that, it’s an easy, tasty and cheap dish.
- 1 Egg
- ¼ Cup Water
- 3 Tbsp Mustard
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- ½ tsp Ground Cumin
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Package Firm Tofu (1 block)
- Breadcrumbs
- All purpose Flour
- Vegetable Oil
- In a shallow but medium/large storage container (Tupperware perhaps) start preparing the marinade. Beat the egg, add the water, mustard, soy sauce, cumin, garlic powder and pepper and beat all together until fully combined into a batter.
- Slice the tofu block into ¾ inch thick slices (I got 7 slices from 1 block). Make sure you slice the shorter end, you don’t want huge slices, they’ll fall apart.
- Place the slices (preferably in one layer) inside the marinade (egg batter) container. Hopefully the marinade covers the slices but if it doesn’t, while the container is sealed, turn it upside down gently to make sure the marinade is in contact with all the slices. This also applies if you have more than one layer.
- Place the sealed container with marinated slices in the fridge for 2-4 hours. Turn the container once in a while to make sure the marinade reaches all the slices.
- After 2-4 hours, remove from the fridge and prepare 2 plates, one with some flour and one with breadcrumbs.
- Preheat the oven to 400F (200C) and layer a baking sheet with parchment paper (to avoid mess). It is preferred to use an oil sprayed oven rack that sits in/on the baking sheet but if you don’t have something like this simply remove the oven rack and oil spray it (don’t place the rack inside the preheated oven quite yet).
- Carefully pour the marinade leftovers into a separate deep plate - you’ll need it.
- Take one tofu slice at a time and gently dip in the flour, then in the marinade mix and then in the breadcrumbs; making sure it’s covered well on all sides.
- Brush one side of each slice with vegetable oil, avoiding removing the breadcrumb coating.
- Place the breaded slice on the pre-oiled oven rack on its oiled side and repeat with the rest of the slices.
- Once all the slices are on the rack, brush the top of each slice with extra oil. Now, both sides are brushed with oil.
- Place in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until browned to your preference (some like it reaaaaaly crunchy).
