Not your typical Filipino longganisa

A vegan, low-fat twist on Filipino longganisa, made with tofu, shiitakes, and whole-wheat breadcrumbs.


Not your typical Filipino longganisa

Longganisa is a savory and sweet Filipino breakfast sausage. Made with pork, it tends to be very high in fat, sugar, and salt.

This recipe was adapted from astigvegan.com.

Servings: 6 sausages (2 to 3 per serving)

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces of dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for at least 20 minutes
  • 7 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, crumbled
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar (any kind of vinegar will work)
  • 1/2 to 1 tablespoon chili oil (depending on how spicy you like it; you may use sesame oil if you want it without spice)
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 to 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (depending on how “smoky” you like it)
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1 cup or more of whole-wheat bread crumbs*
  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil or nut oil for light pan-frying

*Follow this simple recipe if you’d like to make your own whole-wheat bread crumbs. Note: The general guide is 4 slices of bread yields about 1 cup of bread crumbs. 

Directions

  1. Drain and mince the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms.
  2. Thoroughly mix the mushrooms, tofu, brown sugar, garlic, tomato paste, paprika, vinegar, chili oil, soy sauce, liquid smoke, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
  3. Add bread crumbs and make sure all the moisture is soaked up. You may need to add a little more if the mixture is too wet.
  4. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes in the fridge.
  5. Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings as needed.
  6. Using your hands, form mixture into small sausage links or small sausage patties.
  7. Heat pan over medium heat and add oil.
  8. Lightly pan fry the vegan sausages until nicely brown on all sides.
  9. Serve hot with your favorite grain or starch and add any vegetable for a complete meal.

Nutrition information (per serving)

  • Calories: 250
  • Total fat: 11 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg
  • Sodium: 390 mg
  • Total carbohydrate: 32 g
  • Dietary fiber: 6 g
  • Total sugars: 13 g
  • Protein: 10 g