Tofu Tonkatsu with Cabbage Slaw

I reckon Tofu Tonkatsu is one of the friendliest meals to ever exist. Feels silly ascriping personal-attributes to food, but it's crunchy, umami, balanced composition and suprisingly simple method welcomes me back like a dear friend everytime I make it. Which so far this year (yes, it's only March) has been a lot.

The way I bread the tofu is a fabulously reliable gluten-free sub for panko breadcrumbs. Hella crunchy, yielding a thick crust. The cabbage salad is more like cabbage FLOSS, with a lovely light dressing sesame (not that you'd know it) dressing.

INGREDIENTS

• 160g sushi rice
• sushi seasoning vinegar
• sunflower oil
• vegan mayonaise
• tonkatsu sauce, eg. Kikkoman is gluten-free & vegan
• chopped spring onions, to serve

Tofu Katsu

• 300g firm/extra-firm tofu, sliced into 1 cm slabs & pressed dry
• 2 slices GF bread, chopped into very small "crumbs"
• 30g store bought GF breadcrumbs
• 50g chickpea flour
• 20g cornflour OR tapioca flour (cornstarch in US)
• 15g ground flaxseed
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt
• 100ml+ water

Cabbage Slaw

• 1/4 small cabbage (any white/green variety is fine)
• 2 tsp hulled tahini
• 1  tamari
• 1  tsp sushi seasoning vinegar

METHOD

1. Wash your sushi rice in a sieve until the starchy water runs clear. Cook in a rice cooker, or on the stove according to packet instructions. Sprinkle over sushi seaoning vinegar when appropriate & set aside until needed.
2. Prepare your Cabbage Slaw by shredding your cabbage ultra-finely, either with a mandolin, food processor or by hand. In a medium/large bowl add the tahini, tamari and sushi seasoning vinegar and mix until smooth. Dump in the cabbage and massage the dressing through with your hands, to thinly coat the strands. Set aside in the fridge until needed.
3. Put your finely chopped bread crumbs onto a large plate along with the store bought breadcrumbs. Toss to coat. In a shallow bowl, combine the chickpea flour, cornflour, ground flaxseed, garlic powder and salt with a whisk. Add the water and whisk until smooth. You can add more water when coating the tofu, if you think it's too thick. It should be a thick batter, but thin enough to dip things into.
4. Heat enough sunflower oil in a fry-pan to coat the bottom of the pan by half a centimetre. Take a tofu slab/slice and coat it in the batter, tapping/wiping off any excess. Lay it on the breadcrumb plate (I do this one stage at a time, otherwise your fingers get messy) and with clean fingers coat with the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the crumbs firmly into the batter to coat. Transfer the battered slabs of tofu to the pan and fry on both sides until golden brown. Set aside on paper towel to drain & repeat to cook all remaining tofu.
5. With a sharp knife, slice tofu into signature tonkatsu slices, serve over the prepared rice and cabbage slaw. Drizzle over tonkatsu sauce and vegan mayo, sprinkling with spring onions to finish.