This homemade vegan tofu katsu curry will cure all your takeaway cravings, and leave you wanting more! With crispy panko breaded tofu in a creamy carrot based curry sauce.
Katsu curry is one of my all time favourite meals and I will always order it if I see it on the menu! If you don't order a katsu curry at Wagamama's, I'm not sure we can be friends. Just kidding we can, if you make this one!
This recipe is fairly straight forward, there are just a few elements to it.
What is katsu sauce made from?
This katsu curry sauce starts by frying onion, garlic, ginger and carrot. Then comes the spices, mirin (japanese sweet wine), tomato puree, soy sauce and vegetable stock.
The sauce is probably my favourite part of this curry and I'll always order an extra side of it. In my opinion, you can never have too much sauce, especially when it tastes this good.
Once the sauce has simmered, you'll blitz it until smooth, or chunky it you prefer it that way. Next comes the breaded tofu. This is the part of the recipe that is a bit more fiddly and messy.
You'll want to use extra firm tofu for this, you don't want a soft tofu that is going to break apart. If you're in the UK I buy the Tofoo extra firm tofu.
If you cant find any extra firm tofu, make sure you squeeze out as much water as you can with a tofu press. Alternatively, you could use seitan which will give more of a meaty texture.
In three separate bowls you'll place flour, plant milk and panko breadcrumbs. The slice of tofu gets coated in flour, then milk and then breadcrumbs.
This is where it may get a little messy so you can either use a spoon to help or use different hands for the wet and dry ingredients.
Once the tofu is coated it's time to fry them! You'll heat some vegetable oil (I use rapeseed) on medium-high heat in a frying pan.
Once it's hot you can place the tofu in, I did two at a time. After a few minutes on each side it should be brown and crispy.
To fry the sides, use some tongs to carefully turn the tofu, it should stand on it's side. If not just hold it there for a couple of minutes until it is golden and crispy all over!
For the rice, I used basmati but you could also use sushi rice, brown rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice for something lighter! This recipe serves 4 although I definitely could eat two servings in one!
To save time, you can make this katsu curry sauce ahead of time. It will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge, or you could make a big batch and freeze it.
If you're thinking the breaded tofu is too time consuming (it is worth it I promise) and you want a simpler and quicker alternative you could use some vegan 'chicken' nuggets. Quorn, Fry's and most supermarkets do own brand ones.
For more tofu recipes you may enjoy these:
Thai Tofu Satay with Peanut Sauce
Mushroom and Tofu Tikka Masala
Grilled Cajun and Orange Tofu Skewers
As always if you make this vegan tofu katsu curry be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Tofu Katsu Curry
This vegan katsu curry rivals any take out! With crispy panko breaded tofu, a flavourful curry sauce and served over rice.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 carrots
- Inch of ginger
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon mirin (or maple syrup)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 550ml vegetable stock
Tofu
- 550g extra firm tofu
- 2 tablespoon plain flour
- 50ml unsweetned almond milk
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper
To serve
- Rice of choice (sushi, basmati, brown)
- 2 spring onion
- Fresh coriander
- Optional - side salad
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Finely dice the onion and add.
- Stir and let cook for a few minutes, then add the crushed garlic, grated ginger and peeled and sliced carrot.
- Let this cook for 5 minutes then add the curry powder, garam masala and turmeric. Stir and cook for a further minute.
- Add the mirin, soy sauce, tomato puree and vegetable stock and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes. The carrot should be soft.
- Transfer to a blender or use a hand blender to blitz until smooth, around 30 seconds.
- Place it back in the pan on a low heat and leave for later. If you want the sauce a bit thinner, add some extra water.
- In three separate bowls place the flour, milk and breadcrumbs. Season the breadcrumbs with some salt and pepper.
- Cut the tofu into 4 slices so they are rectangular in shape. Use a paper towel to pat them dry.
- Place the tofu into the flour, then the milk and lastly the breadcrumbs. Make sure they are well coated at every stage. Gently shake off excess breadcrumbs and place to the side until each tofu slice is coated.
- In a frying pan add 2-3 tablespoon vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Once hot, place the breaded tofu in, one or two at a time depending on the size of your pan. Fry on each side for a few minutes until golden brown. To fry the sides, use some tongs to carefully flip the tofu onto its side until golden brown all over. Place on some kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil.
- Whilst the tofu is cooking, cook the rice according to packet instructions.
- Slice the breaded tofu diagonally using a sharp knife and serve with the rice and curry sauce.
- Top with some fresh coriander, sliced spring onion and a side salad!
Notes
I use Tofoo extra firm tofu.
*Sauce recipe adapted from Cassie Best.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 403Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 1167mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 6gSugar: 8gProtein: 22g
I've made this loads of times, to the point where I get a little braver with it.
Increase the amount of spice and adding half a chopped fresh chilli.
A little more soy and mirin.
It really packs a punch.
Other than heat/spice preferences, this recipe works so well, just follow it to the letter and you'll be happy!
I have struggled coating the tofu with breadcrumbs - getting an even coating is difficult.
I've settled on working at speed. Get the frying pan up to the right heat and have a little assembly line of tofu, including placing each piece gently in the hot oil as you go.
That tends to work well - although there's always one or two pieces that don't have a full coating of breadcrumbs.
There must be a knack to it!
I've been wanting to incorporate more meatless meals in my meal plans and came across this one. This is my first time cooking with tofu and all I can say is O-MY-WORD. This was fantastic. I made this as my meal prep for the week along with some basmati rice and steamed broccoli. Though I didn't have the crunch from the panko bread coating because it was prepared in advance, it was still fantastic, flavorful and filling. That sauce is everything. This will be put into my meal prep rotation regularly. Thank you so much for sharing.
OMG!! This turned out AWESOME!! It's so hard to find good Tofu based recipes that are not some type of stir fry. Thank you so much for putting together such a tasty recipe. My wife and I really enjoyed it. I combined it with a side of edamame and brown rice.
Hi Robert, thanks so much for your comment. So glad you both enjoyed it so much! Those sides sound amazing too 🙂 Tamsin xo
Wow!! Have never had this before.
It was so good, this is entering the roster of regular recipes.
Hi Julia, so glad you enjoyed it so much and that it will become a regular 🙂 Tamsin xo
I made this today and it is DELICIOUS! The crispy tofu combined with the carrot based curry was superb! I followed your recipe exactly. Thanks for sharing❤️
Hi Pat, thanks for your comment. So glad you enjoyed the curry so much 🙂 Tamsin xo
Made this recipe quite a few times every month for the past year now, this recipe is amazing!!!
(I like to add some extra spices and salt and pepper to each the breadcrumbs and the flour for some extra deliciousness)
Hi Jack, thank you so much for your comment! So lovely to hear you've been enjoying it for so long 🙂 Tamsin xo
I've made the Katsu Sauce from this recipe for my dinner & oh my word it tastes & smells amazing. And it was so easy. Thank you so much for the recipe. Can't wait for this evening now!!
I made this a few weeks back - it was great!
Making again tonight, but going to turn the spice heat up just a little.
One bird's eye chilli should do. Also going to increase the ginger + garlic by 25%.
Whilst the last one I made was great, it needed a little more punch.
I guess a lot is dependent on the strength of the curry powder - I used a mild masala, my favourite.
Hi Matthew, thanks for your comment. Your additions sound great, I use medium curry powder for this but you're right they do vary a lot, and by brand. Hope it is even more delicious next time! Tamsin xo
@Tamsin,
I just replied in main thread, forgetting I'd already commented!
Still making this, once every few months, dependent on getting decent quality tofu.
After tasting really good quality firm tofu, I can't bring myself to buy from the big British supermarkets anymore, so I only make it when I can get quality.
House Brand or Tofu King in the UK is the best I've found.
Over the years, I've settled on double the mirin and soy sauce. I know Katsu is supposed to be a mild curry sauce, but I still find it mild even with my extra zing added.
Thanks so much for this base recipe, when I first discovered it, I went with it for simplicity - it seemed just so well presented and logical.
... which it is!
Wonderful and so easy to make. So many compliments. Instead of adding vegetable stock I went for a Japanese curry sauce cube. Such a good recipe, never knew it was this easy to make katsu!
Hi Rachel, thank you so much for your comment. So glad you enjoyed it, sounds delicious with that curry cube too! Tamsin xo
Super easy to make. Really, really tasty...freezes well. No brainer it’s a brilliant recipe
Hi Lesley, thank you for your comment, so glad you enjoyed it! And good to know it freezes well 🙂 Tamsin xo
This was absolutely delicious!!!!! Mind blown ! Who knew a katsu sauce could be so easy 😀
Hi! Is this sauce freezer friendly? Thank you!
Hi Rose, I haven't frozen it but I am pretty certain it will freeze fine 🙂 Tamsin xo