Tofu Mushroom Banh Mi Sandwich
This delicious sandwich might be your new favorite! Meaty mushrooms and tofu with spicy mayo and pickled vegetables on a soft bun make for an easy but absolutely swoon-worthy meal.
Servings 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
Tofu & Mushrooms
- 1 8-oz package mushrooms, whole or sliced
- 1 16-oz package extra firm tofu
- 2 TBSP soy sauce
- 1 TBSP maple syrup
- 1/2 TBSP rice vinegar
Pickled Vegetables
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or sugar
- 1 lime zested, then juiced (use zest and juice)
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 cucumber, halved then thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1 jalepeno, minced, seeds removed (use half or omit if you prefer)
Spicy Mayo
- 1/4 cup vegan mayo or plain yogurt
- 2-3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce or 1 TBSP sriracha sauce
- OR make the Cashew Spicy Mayo, recipe in the notes
Sandwiches
- 4 sandwich buns, baugette, or slices of french bread loaf (or gluten free bun or wrap if needed)
- hoisin sauce or sweet chili sauce (or other sauces in the door of the fridge you have, like chili garlic sauce, gochujang, etc) -- all optional
Instructions
- Begin by pressing the tofu for at least 10 minutes. Use either a tofu press or wrap in a clean towel and put it under a heavy pot or book.
- Next, make the pickled vegetables. Stir together the rice vinegar, maple syrup and lime juice and zest in a large bowl. Slice the cucumber, grate the carrots, mince the jalepeno, and chop the cilantro and green onion. Stir it all together with the vinegar mixture. Salt and pepper it. Let it sit while you finish the rest.
- Make the spicy mayo by either blending together the cashew mayo (recipe below--it's so good!) or stirring together some vegan mayo or plain yogurt with some sweet chili sauce and sriracha. I don't measure here. It's hard to go wrong. Set aside in a bowl.
- Slice the mushrooms and add them to a dry skillet on medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let cook until golden brown and shrunken in size. Mushrooms release a lot of water as they cook, so no oil or water is usually needed, but if yours are sticking, add a little water to deglaze the pan. Remove from heat onto a plate.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, and maple syrup in a small bowl. Set aside. This is to season the tofu.
- In the same now-empty skillet, spray with a little oil. Slice the tofu into 6 thin slices (cut the block in half length wise, then into three columns). Lay them flat in the pan and let them brown on both sides.
- Pour the soy sauce/maple/vinegar mixture over the hot browning tofu. Let cook a few minutes longer, flipping and pushing it around to coat it, until the tofu is brown and carmelized-looking. Remove from heat.
- Toast the buns in the oven. I open them up, set them on the rack, and use the broil setting on my oven for 3 minutes, or until golden.
- Assemble the sandwiches by spreading spicy mayo on both sides of the toasted bun, layering mushrooms, tofu, and pickled vegetables on. Add hoisin sauce, sweet chili sauce or any other sauce you like if desired.
Notes
Cashew Spicy Mayo---so good you could drink it!
1/2 cup raw cashews or sunflower seeds (soaked in hot water for 20 minutes if you don't have a high speed blender)
5 TBSP water
1 TBSP lime juice
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp soy sauce
1 TBSP sriracha sauce
Blend all together until smooth.
