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Vegan Katsu Sliders

Course Appetizer, Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Snacks
Cuisine American, Asian, Japanese
Keyword appetizer, Asian Recipe, Japanese Burger, Vegan Burger, Vegan Katsu, Vegan Katsu Sliders, Vegan Sliders
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 6 sliders

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls
  • deep fryer / deep frying pan
  • tongs
  • cooling / wire racks
  • Spatula
  • whisks

Ingredients

FOR THE TOFU

  • 6 slices extra firm tofu sliced to squares (about ⅓ thick)
  • 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • ½ tbsp garlic powder
  • ½ tbsp onion powder
  • pinch of salt & pepper

FOR THE SLAW

  • 3 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
  • ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp maple syrup or agave
  • ½ cup green cabbage finely shredded
  • ⅓ cup carrots thinly sliced

FOR THE BATTER & COAT

  • ¼ cup (4 tbsp) all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp potato starch or corn starch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ cup cold water
  • ½ tsp salt & pepper
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs

FOR THE BURGER ASSEMBLY

  • 2-3 cups vegetable or canola oil
  • 6 pieces small burger buns, dinner rolls, or bread of choice vegan (see notes)
  • tonkatsu sauce I use the Bull Dog tonkatsu sauce
  • red lettuce (optional for added greens)
  • stone ground dijon mustard
  • vegan kewpie mayo (see recipe below for instructions)

Instructions

FOR THE TOFU PREPARATION

  • Press excess liquids of tofu as much as you can and pat dry. Slice tofu as the same size of your small burger buns, dinner rolls, or bread of choice. I used homemade dinner rolls, so I sliced them to about 2.5"x2.5" squares.
  • In a mixing bowl or a flat container for marinade, whisk together soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, garlic & onion powder, with salt and pepper.
  • Place tofu on marinade on a single layer and let it sit for at least thirty minutes to let the flavors soak. Flip on the other side halfway through (after fifteen minutes) to make sure all sides are coated.
    NOTE: You can soak tofu for more than an hour, you can also allow it to marinade overnight. Just store it in an airtight container and chill in the fridge.

FOR THE SLAW

  • In a small mixing bowl, whisk together vegan mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup / agave. Reserve at least half of the mayo mixture to spread on the slider buns for later and set aside.
  • Add shredded cabbage and sliced carrots. Fold ingredients together and mix. Season with a pinch of salt & pepper. Cover and let it chill in the fridge until ready to use.

FOR THE BATTER & COAT PREPARATION

  • You will need two separate mixing bowls for this. First bowl for your panko bread crumbs; this will be your coating. Second bowl, for the batter.
    For the batter, whisk together ingredients such as flour, starch, baking powder, and cold water. Mix until it resembles a thin pancake batter.
  • Preheat your pan to medium with oil.
  • Prepare your marinated tofu.
  • Remove a slice of tofu from the marinade. Tap off excess liquids. Dip slice into the batter until it is fully drenched. Then remove from batter and roll into the panko bread crumbs until it is fully coated. If you'd like for an extra layer of coating for added crispiness (which I highly recommend), repeat the process by re-dipping your tofu into the batter and re-coat for the last time. Place on a wire rack until you are ready to fry.
    Repeat the process on each tofu slice.

FRYING THE TOFU

  • Once your oil is completely hot (ideally between 350° - 360° frying temperature), fry tofu on each side until they crisp and golden brown. This should take between 2-3 minutes on each side depending on your stove. Be careful and monitor heat of the pan as it can get really hot and burn your tofu katsu. If this happens, lower down the heat and allow the fryer to cool down for a little bit before proceeding with the rest.
    Place on a wire rack to cool once finished frying. Do not cool on a flat surface with a paper towel as it will immediately get soggy.

FOR THE BURGER ASSEMBLY

  • Prepare your slaw, lettuce, and condiments such as the mustard, tonkatsu sauce, & extra mayo mix (kewpie mayo).
  • Toast the bread of choice (optional) and slice in half, if it hasn't been pre-cut yet.
  • On the bottom half of the slider, spread a thin layer of dijon mustard. Then add the lettuce, slaw, and place the tofu katsu on top of the veggies. Drizzle with a bit of tonkatsu sauce and top with vegan kewpie mayo. Then place the other half of burger bun (bread) on top to finish.
    Reapeat the process for each slider.
  • Enjoy while fresh and serve with fries or potato chips on the side!

Notes

1.) You can use any burger buns, dinner rolls, or bread you would wish.
If are having a hard time finding vegan dinner rolls or burger buns, you can use my  Vegan Pandesal recipe (Filipino bread rolls). I've used the same dough recipe (for my homemade dinner rolls) just skip coating the bread with bread crumbs. 
2.) You can prep in advance! If you feel making burgers is a lot of work, you can prep your tofu in advance. Marinate the tofu, then coat it according to the recipe, and freeze them days in advance. You can also make your slaw overnight to save time.
3.) For the tonkatsu sauce, I use the Bull Dog brand which you can find in any Asian section of a supermarket. If you live on Guam as I do - Pay-Less Supermarkets and Tokyo Mart should have them. They are normally vegan, just double check to be safe.