I have a client who is very fond of egg salad. He recently turned toward a vegan diet, so I have been dreaming up different recipes for him. I’m not the first or last person to create an eggless“egg” salad out of tofu, but I think I’ve found the key ingredient for making it taste like an egg salad. I’ve sampled a few versions at some natural food markets and have found them to be bland and not at all eggy. The key ingredient to eggy success is a salt called “Kala Namak” or “Indian Black Salt” (not to be confused with Hawaiian Black Salt).
I first read about Kala Namak when I stumbled on a blog post by two vegans who had crafted the perfect vegan deviled “egg”. They talked about this particular salt and how it has a unique sulfuric quality that puts the egg back into“egg” salad-vegan style. I’ve been meaning to make their deviled eggs; but I haven’t had the time. My recipe can be made in 5 minutes (after pressing the tofu for 10 minutes to release any excessive amount of water.
Make sure that you buy organic and/or non-GMO tofu. Soy is one of the BIG BAD four on the list of genetically modified crops. There is a lot of debate in the vegan world about eating or abstaining from soy. I eat a conservative amount, and always organic. I don’t recommend eating excessive amounts. Lunch today is a scoop of this egg salad over a ginormous mountain of greens and vegetables-moderate soy amount and lotsa tasty, good-for-you raw veggies!
You can vary ingredients according to your personal taste. I added a couple of teaspoons of raw agave nectar and some extra mustard to mimic that sweet and sour flavor that you might get from adding pickle relish. Tumeric adds a pretty pale yellow color. If you want less of an eggy flavor, substitute a little sea salt for some of the Kala Namak. This salad is particularly good topped with a dusting of smoked paprika!

Indian Black Salt or "Kala Namak" I ordered a pound from Amazon for under $10.00. You can also find it at Indian markets
Ingredients
- 1 each 12-14 ounce package of Extra Firm Organic Tofu
- 1/3-1/2 cup of Vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise-buy the organic if it is available)
- 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp Dijon Mustartd
- 2 tsp Raw Agave Nectar
- ½ tsp ground Tumeric
- ¾ tsp Kala Namak (Indian Black Salt)
- ¼ tsp. Ground Pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped Celery
- 1 Green Onion, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped Parsley
Optional Ingredients
- Chopped Red Onion
- Shredded Carrots
- Organic Pickle Relish
- Chopped Dill
- Smoked Paprika
Method
- Line a plate with a paper towel. Place tofu on top and cover with another paper towel. Place something heavy such as a heavy-bottomed pan or grill press on top for 10 minutes to bleed out excess water
- In bowl, combine the Vegenaise, Dijon Mustard, Agave Nectar, Tumeric, Kala Namak and Pepper.
- Crumble in Tofu and mix well.
- Add Celery, Green Onion and Parsley
- You can adjust creaminess by adding more Vegenaise. I like to sprinkle my egg salad with a little smoked paprika and parsley
And triathlon training today–trying to hone (read “develop”) my bike skills so I will be out on the roads. Next up is the Olympic distance ITU race held right in San Diego–exciting!!
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