Crispy Baked Black Sesame-Crusted Tofu | Vegan Ahi Poke Bowls!
I was feeling inspired to switch up my usual lunchtime salad to Poke bowls for the week!
As I’ve been trying to add more protein to my diet, I wanted to use tofu while still making sure it tasted as ‘fishy’ as possible. I would add soybeans, but I just needed something a little extra and fun!
Hence I adjusted my usual vegan fish marinade for this recipe to make the tofu taste more like vegan ahi (yellowfin tuna).
I thought it would be fun, healthy, and tasty to then cook the vegan tuna strips in a delicious Hawaiian sauce and crust it with panko and black sesame seeds! I made sure to bake these vegan ahi tofu strips to ensure they were nice and firm as I prefer that texture. You can adjust the time you want to bake these accordingly!
Don’t miss the super easy, creative bonus recipe idea at the bottom of this post that will also utilize your premade vegan ahi tuna! <3
Vegan Black Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna Recipe
By: Cashew & Cheese
Cook Time: Approximately 30 mins
Prep Time: Either marinade tofu the night before or at least a couple of hours ahead of time.
Serves: 2 adults for about 4 dinners, so approximately 8 servings.
Ingredients for crispy baked black sesame-crusted tofu:
Vegan Ahi Tuna Fish Marinade
2 Firm (or extra firm) tofu packages pressed to get rid of any excess moisture
3-4 Tbsp Rice vinegar or some white wine/ cooking sake
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
2-3 Tbsp beet juice (beet liquid from a jar, this is optional mainly for color)
3-4 dashes of liquid smoke (optional)
6 Tbsp Crumbled Nori Dried Seaweed sheets or kelp granules
3-4 Tbsp Caper liquid (from the jar)
White pepper to taste
Vegan Ahi Tuna Black Sesame Crust
2 cups Panko crumbs
2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/3 cup black sesame seeds
Hawaiian inspired sweet sesame sauce of choice
Instructions:
Always press your tofu packages. Cut them in half horizontally and press all the water out for about 30 minutes.
Once your tofu has been pressed cut them into 1-inch width strips.
Combine all the vegan ahi fish marinade ingredients and toss your tofu in it. Let the tofu soak in a large flat-bottom dish or tray. Let it soak overnight or at least for a couple of hours.
When ready to cook, set your oven to 375 F to preheat.
Softly drain the tofu and cook them on medium-low in a pan with your marinade of choice!
Once you have cooked them for about 6-8 minutes, dip one side of the tofu slice and then the opposite side into your panko and black sesame crust mix.
Set the black sesame crusted vegan ahi tuna on a parchment-lined baking tray.
Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes on each side.
Suggested poke bowl vegetables to eat with your crispy baked black sesame vegan ahi tuna
I made these black sesame vegan ahi tofu sticks to enjoy with my vegan poke bowls and salads! Poke bowls are such a fun way to eat a wide assortment of fresh, raw, whole vegetables.
As someone that would absolutely load up with vegetables at any Poke bar, here is my long list of suggestions you can play around with to make different poke vegetable combinations:
Avocado
Radish - thinly sliced or shred
Carrot - shred or peeled into thin strips
Cilantro
Green onion/chives
Cherry tomatoes - halved
Edamame beans
Corn (rinsed)
Cucumber - thinly sliced or as matchsticks
Olives - I’ve seen it done! And I warned you all I love olives.
Dried Nori strips or crumbles
Pea Shoots
Alfalfa
Kale - thinly cut, you need some cruciferous vegetables in there!
Mixed greens - I like to cut my leaves into little bite-size bits
Oyster Mushroom - cooked in your favorite Asian inspired sauce.
Sweet Potato - baked as small pieces
Pickled Ginger
With having a bunch of vegetable options, each day can feel different as you play around with different combinations! This is also ideal as it helps you get a variety of vegetables throughout the week instead of the same handful every day. Though it is not as traditional, I highly recommend using this plethora of vegetables method. We need variety and we need kale, darn it!
Do Poke Bowls have rice?
Yes! This is awesome because we can use our vegan poke bowls as a chance to get a serving of whole grains in our diet by using brown rice. I make my brown rice even tastier by using a dash of sushi seasoning! You can find this at your local grocery store!
That said, if you are already getting enough whole grains during your day, feel free to leave out the rice and turn it into a vegan black sesame-crusted ahi tuna salad on a large bed of mixed greens!
Is the rice in a poke bowl hot or cold?
Rice in a poke bowl should be a warm temperature!
Not too hot and not too cold. I usually make my rice ahead of time and just barely heat it up in the microwave when assembling my poke bowl.
PRO TIP: I feel like the rice just tastes better with some good old fashion sushi seasoning in it! You should be able to find it at your local grocery store in the international foods section.
A Bonus recipe Idea for your baked vegan black sesame-crusted ahi tuna!
I give to you, the super simple vegan ahi tuna & avocado tower!
Base Layer. Peel and roughly cut 2 small sweet potatoes into small chunks. Steam or boil them until they are super soft. Mash them up with vegan butter, a pinch of dry ginger, and some garlic all to taste.
Middle Layer. Dice up some avocado into small little chunks, season with salt, pepper, and lime.
Top Layer. Chop up your black sesame crusted vegan ahi tuna into small pieces. Optionally, cover them in sriracha or whip up some vegan spicy vegan mayonnaise and hot sauce.
Garnish. Top with lots of lime, some cilantro, and chives! Add siracha or vegan mayonnaise mixed with sriracha.
Eat with vegan crackers of your choice.
This is a delicious snack, appetizer, or party dish! It will impress your guests, significant other, family, or roommates.
Enjoy!