I was never a huge fan of tofu. Now that I’ve been preparing it in different and more varied recipes, I’ve come to respect its versatility and how it can transform itself from soup to stir-fry to dessert. 1 cup of firm tofu has only 94 calories, a whopping 10 g of protein, 227 mg of calcium, 1.82 mg of iron and only 5 g of fat.
Tofu has the starring role in this dish, the plant-based version of scrambled eggs. It’s quick. It’s simple. The trick here is to use black Himalayan salt. Kala namak is a kiln-fired rock salt used in South Asia and its sulphurous, pungent-smell stands in quite nicely for eggs. It’s available on Amazon if you don’t have an international grocer nearby. This is a simple “base” recipe, which may be modified by adding different flavour profiles as outlined below.
Basic Tofu Scramble
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil or vegan butter For oil-free version, sauté in water
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 block extra-firm tofu
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 3/4 tsp black Himalayan salt (Kala Namak Salt)
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 scallions, diced
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet to medium-high
- Add olive oil or butter to pan (or water by the tablespoon if omitting oil)
- Start by sautéing onions and garlic until soft and translucent. Don't let the garlic get too brown or it will taste bitter.
- Crumble the block of tofu into the skillet
- Sprinkle with nutritional yeast, turmeric, salt and paprika
- Gently mix the spices into the tofu using a wooden spoon until everything is blended and fragrant, approximately 5 minutes or so
- Fold in the diced scallions in the last minute of cooking
Variations on a Theme – just add the following ingredients to the basic scramble for a whole new breakfast experience. Experiment! Have fun!
Italian scramble
Add 1 tsp oregano, 10 halved cherry tomatoes, diced small green pepper, 4 sliced mushrooms, sprinkle with freshly chopped basil
Tex-Mex scramble
Add 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1 cup black beans, 1 diced red or green pepper, 2 large mushrooms, sliced, 1 finely diced jalapeño pepper. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro – Serve with a little hot salsa. You can even wrap this into a tortilla for a breakfast burrito
Spanish scramble
Add 1 large cooked potato, diced to skillet with onions and garlic. Add 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, diced red pepper, 4 sliced mushrooms and a handful of baby spinach leaves. Sprinkle with parsley.
Caribbean scramble
Add 1 cooked sweet potato, diced, 1 cup very thinly-sliced collard greens (matchstick size) to skillet with onions and garlic. Add 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, dash of hot sauce.