Japanese Curry Seitan Toasts with Mesclun, Cucumber & Furikake
Davis Whitehead·35 min·Serves 4 (2 toasts each)A Japanese café–style open-faced toast: thick, savory-sweet Japanese curry spooned over crisp sourdough, topped with deeply browned seitan, toasted nuts/seeds, scallions, and a cool mesclun-cucumber finish. Vegan mayo adds creamy richness; furikake brings a salty-seaweedy snap. It’s fast, satisfying, and built for scaling—perfect for a weeknight when you want comfort food with fresh crunch.
- vegan
- weeknight
- toast
- japanese-inspired
- high-protein
Ingredients
- Curry toast base
- •840 g (about 4 x 210 g packets) Japanese-style curry sauce with vegetables, refrigerated
- •400 g seitan, sliced thin (about 5 mm)
- •16 g (1 Tbsp) neutral oil, divided
- •8 thick slices sourdough bread (about 640 g total; ~80 g each)
- •120 g vegan mayo (about 1/2 cup), plus more to taste
- Crunch + finish
- •40 g pepitas (about 1/3 cup)
- •12 g toasted sesame seeds (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
- •60 g scallions (about 4), thinly sliced
- •250 g cucumber (about 1 large), very thinly sliced or shaved into ribbons
- •20 g furikake (about 4 tsp), to finish
- Mesclun salad (optional but recommended)
- •120 g mesclun (about 4 packed cups)
- •30 g (2 Tbsp) rice vinegar
- •20 g (1 1/2 Tbsp) toasted sesame oil
- •8 g (2 tsp) sugar
- •2 g (1/4 tsp) kosher salt, plus more to taste
- •Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Make the crunch + prep cold stuff
Toast the seeds: Set a dry skillet over medium heat. Add pepitas (40 g) and sesame seeds (12 g) and toast, shaking often, until fragrant and lightly deeper in color, 2–3 minutes. You’ll smell a nutty aroma and hear faint crackling. Dump into a small bowl to stop cooking.
Prep toppings: Slice scallions (60 g). Thinly slice or ribbon cucumber (250 g). Set aside.
Dress the mesclun
Make dressing: In a large bowl, whisk rice vinegar (30 g) + toasted sesame oil (20 g) + sugar (8 g) + kosher salt (2 g) and a few grinds of black pepper.
Hold the greens: Add mesclun (120 g) but don’t toss yet—keep it dry-ish until right before serving so it stays perky.
Brown the seitan + thicken the curry
Brown the seitan: Heat the skillet over medium-high with neutral oil (8 g, about 1/2 Tbsp). Add seitan (400 g) in a single layer (work in batches if needed). Cook until browned on the edges and a bit crisp in spots, 4–7 minutes total, tossing occasionally. You’re looking for deep golden patches and a toasty aroma. Transfer to a plate.
Heat and thicken the curry: In a small pot (or the wiped-out skillet), add the curry sauce (840 g). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring. Simmer 2–5 minutes until it’s thick enough to mound on a spoon and doesn’t run like soup. If it gets too thick, loosen with small splashes of water.
Toast, build, and broil
Prep broiler: Set your broiler to high. Line a sheet pan.
Toast the bread: Put sourdough (8 slices / ~640 g) on the sheet pan and toast until the surface is dry and lightly golden, 2–4 minutes (or toast in a toaster). A crisp, dry surface helps prevent sog.
Mayo base: Spread vegan mayo (about 15 g per slice; total 120 g) on the toast.
Top: Spoon on the thick curry (about 90–120 g per toast, aiming to cover but not flood). Pile on browned seitan (about 50 g per toast).
Broil: Broil 1–3 minutes until the curry is bubbling at the edges and the seitan looks a touch deeper and glossy. Watch closely—broilers go from “perfect” to “burnt” fast.
Finish and serve
Toss greens: Right before serving, toss the mesclun (120 g) in the dressing until just coated.
Plate: Top each toast with a little dressed mesclun and some cucumber (as much as you like), then sprinkle furikake (about 2–3 g per toast; total 20 g), scallions, and the toasted seed mix.
Eat immediately: The ideal bite is crisp-toast crunch with hot curry and cool greens/cucumber—serve right away.
If you only have 1 curry packet (210 g): Make 4 servings as smaller toasts/snacks: use 4 slices bread (~320 g), spread about 50 g curry per toast, and go heavier on cucumber + salad + seeds to round it out. You can also stretch the curry with 120–180 g water and simmer until thick again (it’ll be milder).