This vegan butter chicken with tofu is the plant-based version of the classic dish. So actually, it would be better to say ‘vegan butter crispy tofu’. Anyway: so delicious! Especially the crispy tofu makes it complete. We got inspiration for this recipe from the well-known (Insta) chef Max La Manna.
Vegan butter chicken: a classic with a sustainable twist
I saw this recipe popping up on Instagram by chef Max La Manna and it looked so insanely good that I saved the reel. If you've ever tasted crispy tofu, you probably know why his video got me excited. The only thing I was missing from the recipe was vegetables. I still had two pointed peppers lying around, so those went with it. Although I also think it will taste really good with spinach and or tomato.... Back to the main ingredient: finger-licking crispy tofu.
Crunchy tofu in your vegan butter ‘no’ chicken
A delicacy in the world of plant-based cuisines, crispy tofu is prepared by carefully draining, dicing and often marinating tofu for extra flavour. Whether baked or deep-fried, these preparation methods result in a delicious crispy exterior while the inside remains soft and tender. And it is very healthy! So now you understand why it can substitute chicken so well. For this recipe, we are breaking with tradition (nice pun). You should always cut tofu into neat cubes or strips. You do that out of respect for the tofu. Only in this dish, we're going to crumble it anyway. Sorry in advance.
Tofu crumpling versus traditionally slicing tofu neatly. For this dish, we break with tradition and smash the tofu.
Vegan butter ‘chicken’ with crispy tofu
Kitchenware
- 1 bowl/dish
- 1 tea towel
- various (cooking) books for draining tofu
- 1 baking tray
- 1 frying pan
- 1 cutting board with knife
- 1 saucepan(possibly for rice cooking)
Ingredients
- 1 block tofu
- cornstarch
- 1 onion
- 2-4 garlic cloves
- 3 cm ginger
- 1 el olive oil
- 1 fluorescent curry powder
- 1 el garam masala or ras el hanout
- 1 fluorescent coriander seeds
- 1 fluorescent paprika
- 1 fluorescent salt
- 2 el tomato paste
- 1 tin whole coconut milk (1 x 400 ml)
- (olive) oil for frying
- optional rice or flatbread
- optional coriander and lime juice as topping
- optional vegetables such as peppers
Instructions
- Drain the tofu in a tea towel in a bowl for 20 minutes, placing a hard object such as a cookbook on top if necessary. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C.
- Wash, peel/peel and chop all vegetables and spices.
- Using your hands, pull the tofu apart into chunks and mix with olive oil and cornstarch. So we are breaking with traditions (fun pun), because in traditional Eastern cuisine, people always handle tofu with love and above all do not break it.
- Place the tofu cubes on a baking tray in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, get to work on the sauce.
- Fry the onion, garlic and ginger for 1-2 minutes in a large pan with olive oil or vegan butter.
- Pour in the coconut milk. And immediately add the tomato paste and all the spices. Heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
- In the last few minutes, throw in the vegetables and tofu.
- Serve with rice, flatbread and don't forget the yummy toppings! Enjoy!
More food tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Making your own flatbread to go with your butter ‘no’ chicken? Good idea! Check out the recipe!
- Crazy about tofu? So do you dare this spicy tofu?
- Also in the context of easy and quick: vegan Massaman curry.
- Sometimes you just feel like comfort food: vegan fries hair salon with jackfruit.
Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.
