Let's start with the tamales! I was excited to help with the process because I had never made tamales from scratch. I'd say they were quite tasty! For the masa we used a recipe from the Bon Appetit Cookbook and just substituted non-vegan ingredients for vegan ones (Earth Balance instead of butter, and cut out the cheese). I took a picture of the recipe.
Then for the filling we sauted up some soy veggie crumbles, onion, and peppers and mixed in some Daiya pepper jack shreds. First, lay down some masa dough and flatten it with your hands, then put the filling on top. Layer more masa and squish it all together, sealing the mixture inside. Then wrap it up in a corn husk just as if you a Chipotle employee wrapping up a burrito. We used strips of the husk to tie it all in a nice little package. Here are some pictures of the process.
While making the tamales, we pressed extra-firm tofu to prepare for the vegan fish tacos. After the water has been pressed out, slice the tofu. Coat in flour. Then dip in vegan plain yogurt, and then coat in panko (bread crumbs). Fry the tofu cutlets in oil until the coating is golden-brown.
Topped with pico de gallo and lime, these baja tacos were super fresh! Feliz cumpleaños a mi!! Thanks, mom!
