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Vegan Tofu Katsu & Rice
5 from 6 votes

Vegan Tofu Katsu & Rice

This tofu katsu is a perfect and easy way to prepare a simple block of tofu into a crispy delicious cutlet that can take on any sauce! This recipe uses the traditional simplicity of shredded cabbage, tonkatsu sauce and vegan mayo, but alternatively, you can serve with Japanese curry, shredded cabbage and rice (curry package in photo above).

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Servings: 6 tofu cutlets (serves 2-3)
Cuisine: Japanese, Vegan

Ingredients

  • cooking oil for frying
  • 1 extra firm tofu 400g, drained and pressed, at least 15 min, block
Dry dredge mix
  • 2 tbsp potato starch can sub cornstarch instead
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper can sub black pepper
Wet mix
  • 3 tbsp vegan yogurt sour cream, or mayo (I used plain coconut yogurt)
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard
  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt use garlic powder if using vegan mayo
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
To coat
  • ~1.5 cups panko crumbs start with 1 cup, add more if you need more, use gluten-free panko to make this recipe GF)
To serve
  • Steamed rice
  • green cabbage 2 leaves, shredded per portion, or Taiwanese cabbage
  • tonkatsu sauce Bull-dog sauce is GF I believe!
  • Vegan mayo if you have vegan kewpie mayo, use that!
  • green onion tops finely sliced for garnish
  • sesame seed toasted, for garnish

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Prepare the tofu cutlets
  2. Prepare tofu by draining well and pressing for at least 15 min to remove excess moisture. I used a tofu press for ease, but letting it press between two cutting boards with a heavy book on top is a classic move too!
  3. Meanwhile, prepare your dry dredge and wet mix in two separate shallow plates, and then add panko to a larger third shallow dish (I use a 1/4 sheet pan for this).
  4. Once tofu is adequately drained, slice the block in half, and then each half into 3 thin cutlets to get 6 pieces total.
  5. Pat the tofu cutlets dry with a clean, lint free tea towel or paper towel.
  6. First dredge in potato starch dry dredge mix, coating each cutlet well.
  7. Then coat with a thin layer of wet mix, making sure to scrape off any large globs. You want a nice, even coating.
  8. Finally, press the cutlet into panko crumbs, coating each side well. Set aside (I just leave it in the same panko coating dish since my sheet pan is large enough), and repeat until all 6 cutlets are dredged, coated in wet mix, then panko.
  9. Frying the katsu
  10. Heat a shallow pan with about 1 cm or 1/2 inch of oil, heat to about 350F (medium heat) or until it's hot enough that a piece of panko begins to fry steadily if you drop it in. You can deep fry this if you'd like, but I opted for a shallow fry. See notes for air-frying or baking options.
  11. Fry the panko crusted cutlets until golden on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side.
  12. Remove and let drain on a wire rack or a paper towel-lined plate.
  13. Skim the oil of any stray crumbs or they'll burn or darken your oil.
  14. Continue frying until all cutlets are golden brown!
  15. To Serve
  16. Slice the tofu katsu cutlets into thin strips and serve over a bed of shredded cabbage. Drizzle with tonkatsu sauce, vegan mayo, and finish with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
  17. Serve with steamed rice and enjoy!

Notes

  • **For extra texture, you can do Mary's Test Kitchen's double freeze method, or a single freeze method, but I didn't do this. Just a bonus!
  • If you'd like to bake or air-fry, preheat oven to 400F/200C and spritz the panko-crusted cutlets with cooking oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes until browned, then turn, spritz again with cooking oil, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until browned. It won't be as golden brown as the fried version, but the edges will still be browned and the overall result will still be crispy!