Turn To Tofu For Flavorful Vegan 'Egg' Salad

Going vegan doesn't mean you have to give up all your favorite recipes, it just means you have to get creative in the kitchen when making them. There is a plethora of ingredients that can become unique vegan substitutes to veganize traditionally non-vegan recipes. Tasting Table recipe developer Miriam Hahn executes this exceptionally in her vegan tofu "egg" salad. Hahn achieves a surprisingly accurate eggy flavor using a special seasoning, black salt. Black salt is an ingredient that will change your vegan cooking game. "The black salt which is also known as kala namak is what gives this egg salad the 'eggy' flavor. It works great in other recipes too like tofu scrambles, and vegan deviled eggs made from potatoes," says Hahn.

Black salt, which is actually pink, brings a sulfur taste to dishes, similar to eggs. It also replicates the smell you get from eggs, making it a key component in creating vegan replicas. A little goes a long way with this ingredient; take caution to not overuse it. You can taste your egg salad as you make it to determine if you need more of that sulfur flavor. For reference, Hahn only uses a half teaspoon. You can find black salt at most major grocery chains, or online.

Part of creating a convincing vegan dupe is striking a balance of similar flavor and texture. While the black salt gives you the flavor component, you still have to create the right texture. You can achieve this by using a combination technique of mashing and dicing your pressed tofu. The mashed parts will become creamy like an egg yolk, while the diced parts replicate the egg white of a boiled egg. Depending on if you like a more creamy or chunky egg salad you can customize how much of each texture you create.

Hahn also recommends using a medium or firm tofu for this recipe since these tofu are still somewhat soft. Extra firm tofu will be too dry and crumbly for a recipe like this. Pressing the tofu is a key part of achieving the texture as well. Hahn uses a tofu press, but if you don't have access to one you can wrap it in a paper towel or a clean kitchen cloth and rest a heavy pan on top of it for around 20 minutes. This gives you almost the same results as a tofu press, but using things you already have around the kitchen.