Vegan Fried Egg With Vegan “Egg Yolk”
If you’re interested in a vegan fried egg or egg yolk substitute, you’re going to love my vegan egg recipe! It looks exactly like a fried egg, just without the cholesterol or animal cruelty! In this recipe, I turned tomatoes into a vegan egg yolks using new techniques, some food science, and algae!
How To Make Vegan Egg Yolk (Spherification)
The idea of making an exact replica of an egg yolk that can be spherified into a plant-based ball of gooey flavour took a lot of experimenting. Why did I try to make a vegan egg? Because a bunch of you requested it!
Whether to impress carnivores that you can indeed make a plant-based egg or looking for a little cooking experiment with the kids, this recipe was fascinating to make. With lots of research and testing, I was able to learn how to encapsulate the flavourful vegan yolk and place it on my vegan egg white and fry it to make a Vegan Fried Egg!
In order to make the vegan “egg yolk”, we first have to trap the egg yolk liquid in a plant-based “membrane” – aka the layer that holds yolk in an ordinary egg. To make this membrane, the easiest way is to mix sodium alginate (algae) with distilled water, pour it in a glass container and leave it in the fridge overnight to become a gel. You have to use distilled water for the gel since tap water won’t work.
Now that the gel formed overnight, I took my alginate mixture out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Next, I drizzled olive oil over an orange tomato and cooked it at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. At the same time, Once cooked, I blended the tomato with the tofu, olive oil, mustard powder, nutritional yeast, white pepper, calcium lactate, black salt, and soy milk. NOTE: if you don’t have a high-speed blender, you want to remove the skins so the tomatoes will liquefy properly.
Scoop the mixture out of the blender and drop blobs of it into the alginate mixture and quickly but carefully push the alginate over to create a sphere. Let it sit for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and wipe off access gel before laying it in a cold water bath until ready to use.
When I say this recipe was a science experiment I really mean it! I tried different ingredients, different measurements until I found my perfect ratio for the perfect vegan fried egg. I tried using more pepper and mustard powder but found that smaller quantities of these made for a better taste that was less spicy. I also increased the amount of oil I used because it made for a runnier egg yolk, the consistency that brunch Instagram is looking for.
Related Recipe: Best Vegan Omelet
Vegan Fried Egg
EGG-FREE | NUT-FREE | GLUTEN-FREE
To get all of the satisfaction from a runny yolk dripping over your toast, without the cost of a chicken’s egg, this recipe is both a science experiment and a hearty breakfast all at once. It’s smooth, silky, runny texture and light, egg flavour give this egg everything you want out of a sunny side up breakfast.
VEGAN FRIED EGG INGREDIENTS
This recipe has the following ingredients:
- Tomato (try to find yellow or orange to mimic yolk colour)
- Silken tofu
- Olive oil
- Mustard powder
- Nutritional yeast
- White pepper
- Black salt (kala namak)
- Calcium lactate/chloride
- Soy milk
- Rice Flour
- Corn Starch
- Distilled water
- Sodium alginate
KITCHEN EQUIPMENT I USED:
- Glass Container with Lid
- Loaf Pan
- High-Speed Blender
- Measuring spoons
- 2 Large bowls
- Mesh Sieve or Strainer
- Frying Pan
- Small Scoop
- Slotted spoon
- Spatula
Popular Recipe: Vegan Egg Salad Sandwich
Tips on making Vegan Egg Yolk:
- Make-Ahead: The night before, mix together 3 cups of distilled water (not tap water) and 5 tsp of sodium alginate in a blender on high, and place into an airtight container. Place in the fridge overnight. This will become your egg yolk spherification station when you place your egg yolk mixture into this container to encapsulate the liquid into a solid egg yolk.
- You can decide how much Black Salt you want to use: The more black salt, the more “eggy” it will taste. Start with 1 tbp for the yolk and add more based on your preferred taste.
- If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you want to remove the skins of the tomatoes so they will liquefy properly.
- Tap water won’t work because of the added chemicals and minerals. This will only work with distilled water you get at a store.
- I used Calcium lactate because it has no flavour, but I know you can also use Calcium chloride which has a more salty taste. Use whichever you can get your hands on for this fun experiment.
Vegan Fried Egg & Vegan Egg Yolk Recipe
- 700ml (3 cups) distilled water
- 5 tsp sodium alginate
- 1 orange tomato
- ¼ cupsilken tofu
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp mustard powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ½ tbsp calcium lactate/chloride
- 1- 1½ tsp black salt (kala namak)
- 1 tbsp soy milk + extra for texture
- ¼ cup silken tofu
- 3 tbsp rice flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- ¼ tsp black salt, kala namak
- A drizzle of oil (olive oil, coconut oil or vegan butter is preferred)
- Mix together distilled water and socium alginate in a blender on high, and place into an airtight container. Place in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat oven 300F
- Drizzle tomato with olive oil, and cook for 45 mins, flipping at 30 mins.
- Meanwhile, remove the alginate gel from the fridge to come to room temp.
- While the tomato is roasting, make the egg white.
- Blend all egg white ingredients until smooth.
- Blend tomato, ¼ cup silken tofu, 3 tbsp olive oil, mustard powder, yeast, white pepper, calcium lactate, black salt and soy milk, as needed until smooth.
- Place a scoop (I use a coffee scoop) of the mixture into the gel and quickly but carefully push the alginate over the mixture to create a sphere. Let it sit for 30 seconds.
- Remove with a slotted spoon & wipe of excess gel and place in a cold water bath until ready to use.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a drizzle of oil into the pan to heat.
- Add 2 tbsp of the ‘egg white’ mix to the centre of the pan and cover for 10 seconds. Remove lid and fry until the ‘egg white’ starts to get a bit crispy on the edges.
- Add egg yolk and carefully remove from the pan.
- Serve
Hey, I’m Candice & welcome to The Edgy Veg! I veganize popular food recipes for vegans, plant-based diets, eco-conscious eaters & people who are trying to eat more plants over… y’know animals or their by-products. I hope you enjoy this tasty vegan recipe!
___________________________________________
LOOKING FOR MORE VEGAN EGG RECIPES?
If you guys try my vegan fried egg recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a 
star rating & comment below. It truly helps me & I really appreciate any support! Feel free to share your food creation on social and tag me @edgyveg on your photo so I don’t miss it!
Alastair L says:
Way too many animated and video ads on this website for me to bother with the recipes. Sorry.