Tofu patties with mushrooms and Korean-inspired flavours make a fabulous dinner served with punchy coriander pesto and rice. Packed full of flavour and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
I absolutely love Korean cooking. Here in London it's increasingly easy to get delicious, vegan Korean food.
Vegans all over the city can now gorge themselves on bibimbap and kimchi.
I've created these mushroom and tofu patties - a bit like a burger or fritter - with Korean flavours in mind. Just so tasty.
What flavours are used in Korean food?
Korean cuisine is complex but some of the key ingredients included are:
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- gochujang - chilli paste
- spring onions
- ginger
- garlic.
I've included all of these ingredients in these tofu patties and I promise you that they are absolutely delicious! If you are making these for kids you may want to leave out the gochujang chilli paste, or reduce the amount you use.
If you'd like more Korean vegan recipes I highly recommend The Korean Vegan.
What to serve with Korean-style mushroom and tofu patties
The coriander pesto is delicious alongside these patties. I think it really adds something wonderful to the dish - a punchy, limey flavour. However, it's not essential and the following would all go well too:
- steamed rice
- fried rice
- noodles
- stir fried vegetables
- kimchi
- or why not eat them like a burger in a bun?
Are these tofu patties easy to make?
These patties aren't hard to make, but there are a few stages involved.
You'll need to give yourself enough time to press the water from the tofu and allow the patties to chill before cooking.
Don't be tempted to miss these steps out or they won't hold together.
How to make sure these tofu patties hold together
It can be tricky to stop vegan patties and burgers from falling apart. The egg that would traditionally bind patties together isn't there. In this recipe I have used cornflour as a binding agent. Be sure to follow these steps to ensure your patties will hold together:
- Press as much water as possible out of your tofu
- Add cornflour to the patty mixture
- Press them together firmly with your hands when making the patties
- Chill for two hours, or freeze for 30 minutes, before cooking
- Bake in the oven, rather than fry.
More recipes you might like
- Carrot fritters
- Ginger and maple marinated tofu
- Sweet potato fritters
- Indian-spiced sweetcorn fritters
- Masala-spiced scrambled tofu
- Spicy sautéed kale with mushrooms
- Mushroom burgers
- Summer rolls
NB: some of these recipes appear on my other site, Cook Veggielicious - the place to find plant-based, seasonal food.
Pin Korean-style tofu and mushroom patties for later
How to make Korean-style tofu patties with coriander pesto:
If you have made this recipe I would love it if you’d leave a comment and rating below. Thank you!
Korean-style mushroom and tofu patties with coriander pesto
Ingredients
For the patties
- 400 g pack of firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon gochujang chilli paste optional
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 4 spring onions (scallions) finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 2 cm piece of ginger finely chopped
- 4 small mushrooms finely chopped
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 4 tablespoons cornflour
- salt to taste
For the coriander pesto
- 50 g coriander (cilantro) leaves roughly chopped
- 100 g pistachio nuts
- 1 lime juiced
- 4 cloves of garlic crushed
- 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Begin this recipe a couple of hours before you want to cook the patties. Drain the tofu and press out as much water as you can either in a tofu press or by covering with kitchen towel and placing a heavy book on the top.
- Beat together 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon gochujang and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Finely chop the tofu and place in a large bowl with the gochujang marinade. Cover and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours, or even overnight.
- Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
- Heat a little sunflower oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry 4 chopped spring onions, 1 clove of chopped garlic, a 2 cm piece of chopped ginger and 4 chopped mushrooms over a medium heat until soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Remove the tofu from the fridge. Add the mushroom mixture, 50g breadcrumbs and 4 tablespoon cornflour. Mash together until well combined. Season to taste with salt.
- Using your hands, divide the mixture into eight separate balls squeezing them together firmly. Flatten into patty shapes. Place on the prepared baking tray. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least two hours. If time is short you can put them in the freezer instead for 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6. When you are ready to cook them remove from the fridge and place in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes, turning carefully with a spatula halfway through the cooking time.
To make the coriander pesto
- Place 50g coriander, 100g pistachio nuts, the juice of a lime, 4 cloves of chopped garlic and 4 tablespoon sunflower oil into a food processor and pulse until well combined. Add a little more oil if it seems too dry. Season to taste with salt.
Notes
Nutrition
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Puja
I absolutely loved this recipe and the pesto was really flavoursome. My little one just ate the pesto and rice but i didnt mind too much because it was green and nutritious enough! Thank you!
Mandy Mazliah
So happy that you loved it Puja - hopefully next time your little one will try the patties too
Eb Gargano
These sound fab...I also know next to nothing about Korean food but it's a cuisine I'd love to learn more about...I've seen it on quite a few 2016 foodie forecasts so I imagine it's one we will be hearing a lot more about in 2016. I'm afraid I can't help with the vegan binder, though as Angela says, I have heard a lot of wonderful things about chickpea water, so could be one to try... Eb x
Mandy Mazliah
I think you're right - Korean food is going to be big this year. How have I missed this news about chickpea water??? Definitely going to experiment with this. Thanks for commenting!
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
I too have never tried any Korean food either, but I must say that the your little patties look and sound delicious! Have you tried aquafaba (it's the water that comes in cans of legumes though chickpea water is best) to help bind them for the vegan diner? I'm lead to believe that it can replace eggs in all manner of ingredients. I've used it for meringues with great success, though nothing savoury - so it'd have to be another trial I'm afraid.Angela x
Mandy Mazliah
Ooh good idea. I have never heard of that before. Do you have any idea of how much you'd need to add?
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
I'd just use a small can of unsalted chickpeas. I'd personally be inclined to whip it up, it thickens in much the same was as egg whites do when you make a meringue but it does take a little longer. Just add little of the aquafaba to your mixture and see what happens. I'm not sure how it will react to the cooking pan etc. Perhaps have a look at this link which may hopefully give you a few more tips. https://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/blog/13-amazing-things-you-can-do-aquafaba I hope it works :-), do let us know how you get on with it.Angela x
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks so much Angela!
Sarah
Also meant to say these look delicious!
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks! I suppose you're not allowed tofu though...?
Sarah
I wonder if adding some green plantain smashed up in a blender or food processor would work. It is supposed to be a good binder and doesn't have much flavour of its own. I'm experimenting with all sorts of ingredients to replace grains at the moment.
Mandy Mazliah
That's a good idea. I have never tried this before so definitely worth experimenting with. Thanks for commenting x