I’ve discovered a new love. Baked tofu. Yes, you heard me
right. With proper preparation and marinating baked tofu is crispy on the
outside and tender on the inside. Heavenly little morsels.
In the 22+ years I’ve been cooking unsupervised, I’ve rarely
attempted tofu. I was intimidated. I thought my family would hate it. I had no
idea what to do with it. I did have a little success adding it to fried rice
and it would be like scrambled eggs in it, but frankly, it wasn’t any different
from egg and egg was always on hand.
Now that I’m mostly cooking for just me, I wanted to try
again. The January/February Vegetarian
Times had an article called “The Ultimate Guide to Tofu” that provided the
inspiration – and how to basics – I needed.
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| Finished product - so, so good. |
Ingredients
- 16 oz. package firm or extra firm tofu
- ¼ cup soy sauce or coconut aminos or combo
- ¼ cup water
- 1 in. fresh ginger – finely grated
- 1-2 tbsp. fresh snipped cilantro (optional)
- Pinch or 2 red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp. tamarind paste
- ½ tsp. agave
- 1 tsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tsp. lime juice
- 1 tsp. avocado oil
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1-2 tsp. sesame seeds, divided
- 1.5 tbsp. coconut oil
- Couple big handfuls fresh green beans
- 2-3 more cloves garlic – minced
Instructions
Remove tofu from package and drain water. Wrap tofu in tea
towel or paper towels, place on a plate to drain, and put something heavy on
top (like a cast iron skillet, canned foods, heavy pot.) Let drain for 30-60
minutes. I went for a run and then made the marinade during this time. You can
do whatever you want. I kinda pressed down a bit right at the end to get out
excess moisture.
Wisk ingredients from garlic through avocado oil together to
form the marinade.
Slice tofu into strips or cubes. I cubed mine. Well,
actually they were rectangularish and about 1”x1.5”. Place in shallow dish in a
single layer. Pour marinade over tofu. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 min.
and up to 24 hours.
Remove tofu from marinade, reserving marinade, and place in
a single layer on baking sheet. (I lined mine with a silicone mat.) Using a
fine mesh sieve, sift half of cornstarch over tofu. Flip pieces over and sift
other half over other side. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. sesame seeds. Bake at 375 for
30-40 min., turning once after about 15-20 min.
Toward the end of baking, add coconut oil to skillet or wok
over medium to medium high heat. Add additional 2-3 minced garlic cloves. When
fragrant (less than a minute) add the green beans and stir to coat with garlic
and oil. Cook 3-5 min. Add reserved marinade to green beans, reduce heat to
medium low, and stir to coat. Continue cooking a few minutes more until heated
and slightly thickened.
You can either add the tofu pieces to the green beans or
serve on top. I like to keep them separate so that leftovers don’t get soggy. Serve
over rice, quinoa, or something else or just as is and sprinkle with remaining
sesame seeds.
I made this again a short time later with asparagus and
broccoli instead of green beans. Use whatever veggies you have on hand and just
adjust cooking time accordingly. There are also many, many marinade
possibilities.
In this moment, I’m inspired to do things I’ve always wanted
to do but found a million excuses not to do. I hope you do something just for
you. And maybe some of that will end up on your table, too.
