Mock Turkey Salad

November 12, 2006 at 6:26 pm (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Derek's faves, frozen tofu, Mom’s recipes, Tofu)

Derek suggested that we serve this tofu ‘salad’ at Thanksgiving. I call it mock turkey salad because it has poultry seasoning in it. My mom calls it mock chicken salad. Whatever you call it, it’s tasty, but pretty calorie dense. The recipe is from my mom.

The night before (or at least six hours beforehand) defrost:

  • 2 one-pound blocks of tofu, which have been frozen for at least 24 hours

Preheat the oven to 350.  Oil a cookie sheet with 1 Tbs. of olive oil.  Mix together in a very large bowl:

  • 2 Tbs. vinegar
  • 4 Tbs. smooth, natural peanut butter  (you can cut this down to 2 Tbs. if you want less PB flavor)
  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 Tbs. + 2 tsp. poultry seasoning, or add the individual components:
    • 2 tsp. rubbed sage
    • 1 tsp. dried thyme
    • 1 tsp. dried marjoram
    • 1 tsp. dried savory
    • 1/6 teaspoon ground black pepper
    • Pinch of cloves

Squeeze the water out of the tofu, and cut into long, thin pieces.  I cut each block into halves, cross-wise, then cut each half a block into 16 strips.  Add the tofu slices to the marinade, and very gently use your hands to squeeze in the mixture evenly, without breaking up the tofu pieces too much. Some of hte pieces will fall apart.  That’s okay.  Spread the tofu evenly on the oiled cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, flipping the tofu halfway through.  Watch the tofu carefully.  You don’t want the tofu to brown too much, or it will come out hard rather than chewy.  The cooked tofu should be crisp on the outside, but still moist on the inside.  The amount of time will depend on whether your cookie sheet is dark or light and on how large your tofu strips are.

While the tofu is cooking, make the vegan mayonnaise.  Use a stick blender to blend together:

  • 4 ounces firm silken tofu or medium-firm cotton tofu
  • 1 Tbs. oil
  • 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp. sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, etc.)
  • 3/4 tsp. mustard
  • 1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

When the baked tofu is done, add it back to the bowl you mixed the marinade in, let it cool a bit, and then add:

  • 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (from one recipe above, or slightly less than one recipe?)
  • 4 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley (or 2 Tbs. dried)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (50 grams)
  • 1/2 cup grated carrots (55 grams)
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (75 grams)
  • other raw veggies of your choice (radishes, fennel, chives, scallions, etc.) [optional]

My Notes:

I used nasoya firm tofu. I’m not sure if it hadn’t been in the freezer long enough or what, but it didn’t hold together very well, and the pores seemed awfully small. I baked my tofu for 30 minutes at 375, and some of it got too brown and hard. I think this recipe works better if the tofu stays softer and chewier, so I reduced the temperature to 350. Rather than use the mayo recipe above, I used the simpler one I posted in a previous mayo thread. I think that was a mistake. This one is a bit sweeter and has lemon juice and mustard, which goes better with the saltiness of the tofu I think.

I gave some to a friend recently and she went back for seconds, so she must have liked it.

Rating: B+
Derek: A

Without any extra (optional) veggies, this recipe makes about 6 cups. It has about 250 calories per cup.  It has 54% of calories from fat, 32% from protein, and 14% from carbs.

Update April 1, 2012:

I made this last night but I used 3 pounds of tofu.  I multiplied all the marinade ingredients by 1.5 except the peanut butter, which I left at 2 Tbs.  I baked the tofu in two batches (with 2 Tbs. olive oil) at 350 for about 13 minutes on the first side and 10 on the second side.  I probably could have used only 2 tsp. of olive oil per batch. I made the soy mayo as written and used all of it in the salad.  I doubled, tripled, or quadrupled the veggie amounts:

  • 1 cup chopped fresh parsley, packed a bit (60g)
  • 1 cup chopped celery, from two large stalks (107 grams)
  • 1 cup julienned carrots from one medium carrot (107 grams)
  • 1.5 cups chopped red bell pepper (183 grams)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fennel (49 grams)

The mock turkey salad turned out quite well.  I thought it could use a little scallion or chive or radish or something onion-y, but otherwise the balance of tofu to dressing to veggies seemed good.  Next time I might add a bit more celery and something with a little bite.  But otherwise it came out well.  Derek didn’t notice that I used more veggies than last time.  He said it was delicious.

It made about 9 servings and each serving has 248 calories, with 55.5% from fat, 28.6% from protein, and 16% from carbs.  I served the salad with rice and a Thai butternut squash soup.

Update December 12, 2009:
Derek made this last night and it came out quite well.  The tofu cooked in about 20 minutes though.  It would have been overdone after 30 minutes.  A few of the larger strips of tofu that didn’t get broken up ended up a little dry and tough.  The smaller pieces had more surface area and so were moister from the soy mayo.  I thought it also could have used a little more celery and a little less peanut butter.  (Derek used 3 3/4 Tbs. peanut butter.)  The salad was good warm the night we made it, and also cold right out of the fridge the next day.

Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 248
Total Fat 15.3g
Saturated Fat 2g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 505mg
Carbohydrate 8.9g
Dietary Fiber 1.8g
Sugars 3.5g
Protein 20.2g
Vitamin A 64% Vitamin C 60%
Calcium    34% Iron 19%

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