Vegan Japanese Curry with Fried Tofu

Bowl of Vegan Japanese Curry with rice, scallions and sesame seeds.

5 from 5 votes

Vegan Japanese Curry with Fried Tofu

This vegan Japanese curry is pure comfort in a bowl! Made with chunks of carrots, potatoes, peas and fried tofu in a flavor-packed sauce, it's a delicious meal that's super satisfying and easy to make!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American, Japanese

Servings:

Calories: 425kcal

Author: Alissa

Ingredients

For the Curry

1 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated ginger
4 cups vegetable broth
1 large russet potato, scrubbed and diced
1 apple (I used a Fuji apple), peeled and finely diced
2 tablespoons Japanese curry powder, or to taste (Notes 1 and 2)
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ½ cups frozen peas, thawed
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Fried Tofu

3 tablespoons peanut oil, plus more as needed
¼ cup cornstarch
8 ounces super firm tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes

For Serving

Cooked rice
Chopped scallions
Toasted sesame seeds

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To make the curry, start by coating the bottom of a large pot with the oil and placing it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion and carrots.
Sweat the veggies for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften.
Stir in the flour, garlic and ginger. Stir well to coat the carrots and onions with flour. Sauté everything for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
Stir in the broth, potato, apple, curry powder, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce. Raise the heat and bring the sauce to a low boil.
Lower the heat and allow the curry to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are fork tender and the curry sauce has thickened.
Fry the tofu while the curry simmers. First, fill a small bowl with the cornstarch.
Generously coat the bottom of a medium skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat.
While the oil heats up, place a few tofu cubes in the cornstarch and gently roll them around to coat them. Transfer the tofu cubes to the skillet and repeat until all the tofu has been added. Be careful to avoid the tofu cubes touching each other.
Fry the tofu for about 4 minutes on each side, until the pieces are golden brown and crispy, then remove them from the skillet and place them on a wire rack to drain.
When the curry has finished simmering stir in the tomato paste and peas. Let it simmer for just a minute more to heat up the peas.
Remove the curry from heat and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
Divide the tofu into bowls and ladle the curry overtop. Serve each bowl with rice and top with sesame seeds and scallions.

Notes

If you can't find Japanese curry powder, try a mixture of garam masala and regular (English) curry powder.
Two tablespoons will give you a relatively mild curry. You can start with 1 tablespoon if you prefer it very mild, or use as much as 4 tablespoons. Start with less if you're unsure, then taste-test and add more when the curry has almost finished simmering.
Nutrition information does not include rice.

Nutrition