Lunchmeat is a common sandwich ingredient, that a lot of us will remember from our youth. There are many vegan lunchmeat options, and they are usually based on seitan (wheat gluten - I have a recipe here), plant proteins from soy, pea, etc., mycoproteins from fungus, or some combination of these. These can be great, but may be a little more processed that people might like.
But for the absolutely simplest vegan lunchmeat option we can get inspired by the other favourite sandwich ingredient from our youth - sliced cheese!
Tofu is, of course, a type of cheese, but coagulated from soya milk instead of dairy milk. And really extra-firm tofu has, when sliced thinly, a very similar texture to thinly sliced meat!
Many tofus will not slice very thinly without completely breaking up, but still can work if you don't mind that. Lidl has a good Vemondo brand beechwood smoked one that works great. It is really firm and perfect for slicing.
If you don't happen to have a meat slicer to hand, the easiest way to slice them is with a potato peeler! Worst case a good sharp knife will do the trick.
Once sliced, that could be it! Tofu is "raw" in just the same way the cheese is raw. You can eat it without additional cooking. Smoked tofu will already have quite a nice flavour that works with a sandwich. I do like to marinade it briefly with a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, a teaspoon of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of agave or maple syrup.
