Does TOFU make the BEST Philly Cheesesteak

Evaluation! It was one of the best decisions I've made!

I've made this tofu steak a lot and I realized I never shared it... it is so super steak like in texture and flavor and works PERFECT for a vegan Philly cheesesteak! Its hard to imagine tofu being steakie... but you have to try it!

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The goal of SauceStache is to continue trying something new, something new to me and something different.
I find inspirations from you the SauceSquad and my constant hunt of social media to see what food is being made around the globe and how can I try to make it. Lets try to make some food and have fun!!

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[latias]

This looks so good! Here's a typed up version:

1 block extra firm tofu
1 small saucepan
water
salt
1 Tbsp Vegemite
baking sheet
parchment paper
olive oil
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
paprika, smoked paprika is best
1 green bell pepper
1 small onion
baby bella mushrooms
skillet
3 slices vegan chao cheese
nutritional yeast
Sodium Citrate
whisk
1/4 cup water
hoagie bun
vegan mayo

Drain 1 block extra firm tofu, no need to press it. Slice tofu in half lengthwise. Fill a small saucepan halfway with water and salt it. Add 1 Tbsp Vegemite. Bring to boil on high heat. Throw 2 slices tofu in the pot and simmer for 20 min. Get a baking sheet and line with a sheet of parchment paper and grease it with a little olive oil. Slice the tofu as thin as possible crosswise (shorter side) with a knife and place overlayed on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Preheat oven 350F / 180c, goes faster with convection oven. If no convection, just add a few extra minutes to baking time. Drizzle some coconut aminos and olive oil over the tofu slices. Sprinkle some black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika (smoked paprika is best) over tofu slices. Bake at 350F / 180c for 30 minutes but watch it closely! It should be drier and crispy, but not burnt. While that bakes, dice 1 bell pepper, 1 small onion, and some baby bella mushrooms. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and cook the veggies down, seasoning with a little bit of salt (not too much, tofu is very salty as is) and some ground black pepper. In the meantime, let's make the cheese sauce. Put a little water in a small saucepan (rinsed out one from earlier?), enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Bring to almost a boil, water should be steaming. Add 3 slices of vegan chao cheese slices to the steaming water along with a handful of nutritional yeast and a small handful of Sodium Citrate to keep the cheese in a saucy consistency. Whisk the cheesy sauce with a whisk. The tofu should be done around now. Pull tofu out of the oven and roughly chop while on baking sheet still. Break apart the tofu pieces with hands and toss into skillet with the cooked veggies. Drizzle some olive oil into the skillet and add about 1/4 cup water, enough to cover the bottom of the pan, drizzling water over top so everything steams for 4-5 min. Get a vegan hoagie bun, slice it open lengthwise, spread vegan mayo on it. Top with tofu veggie mixture, then drizzle cheesy sauce over it. Cut in half crosswise for easier eating and admiring the steak-like tofu.

[TJWharry]

FYI, when I made this, I kept some of the dried strips of tofu and kept them aside. It ends up being the closest thing to turkey bacon I've found. I'm adding liquid smoke to the cooking liquid and making BLTs tonight.

[kristinalila]

I made this for supper last night and let me just say, MIND BLOWN! 🤯 ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! This was the steakiest, beefiest thing I've eaten since going vegan over six years ago. I have been doing tofu wrong. I bow down to thee! 🙌

[LuckyyyStarXCIX]

I've done something similar to this to make a vegan bacon and I've gotta say this method works 1000% and does result in some really tasty crispy and a lil chewy vegan meat. Tofu is the best.

[venithy]

I will definitely try this! I'm happy to see a recipe without methylcellulose and all that stuff. Very simple ingredients, thank you! I want to make this today

[topolojack]

i made "steaked" tofu accidentally once while baking tofu trying to get it firmer and a little crispy. i left it in the oven "too long" and at first was upset with the "tofu bacon" i had made, but then i used it on sandwiches (as bacon) for the rest of the week and it was delicious!

[Leahnicole]

I had a block of tofu and decided to try this out and wow! I subbed vegemite for mushroom stock concentrate (just something also salty since I’m not sure what vegemite tastes like and didn’t have any on hand) and then skipped liquid aminos because again, didn’t have any on hand. Ended up sautéing with onions and then tossed in barbecue sauce for a barbecue steak sandwich and oh my gosh. So so good. Amazing texture and 100% will make again. Next time with the proper ingredients!

[gitbox]

I've watched a ton of your videos but this was the first time I've attempted to make one. This came out great. I plan on making tofu with this method for some other recipes.

[grinninghippos]

Wow! That looks awesome! When you start out as a vegan, you have your doubts about tofu, but with time passing you understand tofu is amazing 🤩

[davidcopestakes]

DUDE! This was so freggin good! I just made it and loved it! My tofu wasn't as crispy as yours, so I'll probably add more time to the bake next time. But it really turned out great! I'm from Philly, so it gets my approval. Thanks for the video and I'll definitely do this again!

[jordanl.]

Excellent recipe! I used it to make myself a Philly Cheese, but I did one thing different that I think lent to a better texture and easier absorption of the broth. That's not to say that the texture of this recipe isn't great. I actually tried them side by side. When prepping the tofu, I froze one of my tofu blocks (undrained in package). It didn't dry out because I didn't drain it until just before boiling it in the "beef" broth which is actually important so that it doesn't over absorb the salt from the brine, but it did absorb the brine more than the unfrozen tofu because it had holes formed by the ice crystals. This meant that the broth penetrated the tofu and I didn't have to add additional flavor when baking. The frozen tofu had a more fragmented striated texture like a rib eye or fattier cut, the unfrozen tofu was similar to a thin cut top round which is generally less fatty and firmer. Try it out and compare! I used the extra leftovers to make a Philly Cheesesteak pizza which used to be my guilty pleasure :) Thank you for your amazing content! The recipes and ideas in your channel have made being vegan/vegetarian a lot easier for me. I come from a family of barbeque (my grandfather and uncles literally built whole hog smokers and would compete at the state fair) and it has taken a long time to ween myself off of meat.

If anyone out there is reading this comment and feels stuck in a meat eating rut just know that you can do it. It has taken me almost 4 years to get to this point. First I cut out pork, then red meat, then chicken, then seafood, and now I am fully plant based. A lot of people try to go cold turkey, but human's are generally creatures of habit so for me I went slow and steady so I could really change for good. Good luck and know that I'm rooting for you!

[mikewilson]

I made this tonight, thank you very much! I baked Vegan buns and they really added to the beautiful dish! I really appreciate how you teach us about different Vegan foods.

[AxonMediaSeattle]

I just made this the other night, and it's probably the best baked tofu I've ever had. First, boiling it in the Marmite broth really added some umami that I've been missing. For the baking, I've found that that for an oven without convection it takes about double the baking time (60-65 minutes), but the texture is SO MUCH BETTER than any other attempt I've made at baking tofu.

One suggestion for a future video: I'd love it if you did a gyro marinade version for both tofu and chick-un.

[lmelior]

That tofu trick has a ton of potential, even if you don't make this particular recipe. Definitely gonna try that!

[BeeFisch]

I've made many Philly Cheesesteaks since going vegan - most have been good, but this is truly the best one! Thanks for the recipe!

[emmettpickerel]

Years ago I used to do tofu jerky similar to this -- slow baked in the oven with spices and sauce. One day, my cat discovered the finished tofu. There was absolutely NO getting it away from her. She growled angrily if you tried, exactly the same as when I'd give her actual beef jerky!

[GamblingTimeKaraoke]

Super glad you shared this. Have a lot of tofu always and wanted something new to try. May not do a philly cheese, but like a broccoli and beef or some asian style stuff... yum...
Also, recommend the high protein tofu from Trader Joe's if you've never had it. 2x the protein, much firmer, almost never breaks apart. At this point it's the only tofu I use.

[lawrencenehring]

I made this tonight and it was fantastic!!! Thank you!!!

[margarett_b]

This is so amazing! I love tofu in any form but this technique really seems amazing - I am definitely making these BUT I'll use them in an Asian dish of some sorts. Thanks for always coming up with great ideas for improving all the vegan meat alternatives!
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Have a great rest of the week!

[Samantha_MV]

Thanks for this one, I love tofu! If you can't eat seitan because of gluten, this is a good idea! What's also really great is that these ingredients are shelf stable. Soybeans, flour, spices, good to go!🌿