Vegan “Mayonnaise”

September 5, 2006 at 5:09 am (Mom’s recipes, Quick weeknight recipe, Silken tofu, Tofu, unrated)

Tofu or “soy” mayonnaise is not really all that similiar to mayonnaise in flavor, but nonetheless it’s a versatile substance. I’ve used it on sandwiches, to make tofu salad, in place of yogurt in an apple salad, and as a dip. On this day I couldn’t find my mom’s tofu mayo recipe, so I used this one that’s part of her recipe for Mock Turkey Salad.

* 1/2 lb firm tofu
* 2 Tbs. oil
* 1 Tbs. lemon juice
* 1 tsp. sweetener
* 1 1/2 tsp. mustard
* 2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
* 1/2 tsp. salt

It came out quite a bit too sweet–the balance was off. So I called my mom and got her recipe:

  • 1 pack (12 ounces) silken tofu, firm
  • 3 Tbs oil
  • 3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 3/4 tsp. sugar

Aha, less sugar! Also no lemon juice or mustard, but otherwise the same. I’ll try it next time instead. This recipe makes just over 1.5 cups of mayo, or about 26 Tablespoons. Each tablespoon has about 22 calories, but is surprisingly rich and creamy tasting.

Serving ideas:
* sandwiches (obviously)
* mix together with greens and brown rice and nutritional yeast for a great comfort food casserole
* use in place of yogurt in an apple salad
* mix with tofu to make a sort of mock chicken salad
* anyone have any other ideas?

Note: I had some silken tofu in aseptic packages that I took with me on my drive to Chicago, and they froze in the moving van. I decided to just go ahead and try to make mayo out of them. The tofu was kind of weird–it had the texture of silken tofu and of frozen tofu at the same time. The mayo texture was a bit less silky and thicker than normal, but once I added it to the rice and greens the difference wasn’t detectable.

Update May 2011:  I tried making the above recipe (for mock turkey salad) with soft silken tofu and it came out way too thin.

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