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I love how versatile tofu is and how well it absorbs flavour so I decided to make some vegan tofu “spam”. I sliced the tofu into cubes and some into slabs before marinating it overnight in a smokey hickory sauce. The tofu gets the pinkish red colour from beet powder, which is optional but adds that nice touch to the tofu and makes it look more like spam visually.

TOFU

I used extra firm tofu for this recipe since its the easiest to handle and holds up very well!

If you could find the firmest tofu (firmer than extra firm, haha!) that’d be much better.

Sliced into cubes

Or into small slabs

THE MARINADE

For the marinade, I mixed together the following:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce, or tamari for a GF option
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• Pinch of ground pepper
• 2 tsp liquid smoke, this is what gives the sauce that smokey hickory flavour!
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tsp sugar, or to sweeten
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp beet powder, optional for colour

Beet powder (optional)

The “spam” gets the distinct spam-like colour from beet powder. It doesn’t affect the marinade in terms of flavour so it’s totally optional. It’s just really nice to see the tofu visually as it looks more like spam with the powder!

Marinating the tofu “spam” pieces

Cover the tofu and leave it to marinate overnight for the best flavour!

You can opt to marinate it longer for 2-3 days.

COOKING THE TOFU “SPAM”

Here’s a close-up on those pieces of tofu ?

For the slab version, I simply pan-fried them on each side as well!

ENJOYING THE TOFU “SPAM”

Tofu ‘Spam’ Fried Rice

I made this fried rice with the tofu “spam” cubes, that really reminded me os much of my childhood cause I loved making spam fried rice growing up.

I also added some turmeric powder for that bright yellow colour, which is inspired by Chinese Yang Chow Fried Rice.

This is perfect for leftovers and meal prep, too!

You’ll find the full recipe for the vegan tofu ‘spam’ below! ❤️

You can also check out my other vegan tofu recipes here or down below:

See my tips on how to store tofu!

• Black Pepper Tofu Steaks
• Tofu “Chicken” Teriyaki
• Korean Spicy Braised Tofu
• Fried ‘Chicken’ and Gravy
• Tofu Katsu
• Nori-Wrapped Tofu in Spicy Sauce
• Maple Hoisin Tofu
• Orange Tofu
• Pan-Fried Tofu Cakes
• Tofu ‘McNuggets’

Are you looking for more delicious, vegan recipes?

Check out my latest Vegan Kitchen eBook, that has over 95 recipes (and a whole section for Asian recipes!) that are packed with flavour and made with simple and easily accessible ingredients! Also, two trees (instead of 1!) will be planted for every download of my eBook through non-profit organisation One Tree Planted.

Vegan Tofu “Spam”

5 from 6 votes

I love how versatile tofu is and how well it absorbs flavour so I decided to make some vegan tofu “spam”. I sliced the tofu into cubes and some into slabs before marinating it overnight in a smokey hickory sauce. The tofu gets the pinkish red colour from beet powder, which is optional but adds that nice touch to the tofu and makes it look more like spam visually.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Marinate Time 1 d

Total Time 1 d 30 mins

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine American, Fusion

Servings 2

Calories 202 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Tofu “Spam”

• 400 g extra firm tofu
• Neutral oil for cooking

Marinade

• 3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari for a GF option
• 2 tbsp maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
• Pinch ground pepper
• 2 tsp liquid smoke this is what gives the sauce that smokey hickory flavour!
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tsp sugar or to sweeten
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp beet powder optional for colour (see notes)

Instructions

 

Marinating the Tofu

• Press the tofu for 10 to 15 minutes to remove excess water. I like to wrap mine in a towel and place a weighted surface or a few plates on top of the tofu.
• Slice the tofu into cubes.
  
• You can also slice some into 3/4-inch thick slabs.
  
• Prepare the marinade by mixing all the ingredients together in a plate or container. Mix it well until the sugar has dissolved. This marinade in the photo doesn’t have the beet powder. Using beet powder will make it appear pinker/reddish in colour as seen in the photo below.
  
• Add in the tofu cubes/slab and coat in the marinade.
  
• Leave the tofu to marinate overnight for the best flavours. You can opt to marinate it longer for 2-3 days. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
  
• When ready to cook, don’t discard the excess marinade!

Cooking the Tofu “Spam”

• Heat a large non-stick pan or skillet over medium high heat. Add in some oil to the pan.
  
• Add in the tofu pieces. Cook over high heat until lightly brown on each side, around 10 minutes total.
  
• Scoop the excess marinade to cook the tofu in. The sauce will be absorbed by the tofu as it cooks.
  
• Repeat this for the rest of the tofu (or the slabs of tofu, if you sliced them into slabs too).
  
• Turn off the heat.
  
• Enjoy your tofu “spam” in fried rice, as is, in wraps, and more.
  
• You can find my tofu "spam" fried rice recipe here.
  

Notes

Beet powder: the beet powder is what gives the tofu that spam-like colour. It’s completely optional and won’t affect the taste. I just love how it looked more like spam, visually!

You can also substitute the beet powder with Pitaya (pink dragonfruit) powder that has a more pinkish hue.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1696mg | Potassium: 476mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 92IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 3mg

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