You’ve made it! The final step in your tofu-loving journey. In previous parts, we’ve covered what tofu is, why we press it, and how to cook it two different ways on the stovetop. Today, we’re venturing into new and exciting territory with two different techniques: marinating and baking. Baked and marinated tofu is one of my favorite things because it can pack so much flavor and it’s super versatile. You can have it straight out of the oven with some sides as a main dish, put it on sandwiches, eat it cold, or as an addition to a salad or another dish. I think it’s nice for parties because you can make it the night before and serve it chilled on little toothpicks for a unique appetizer. It’s also nice because it changes the texture of the tofu and what it requires in prep is more than made up by how hands-off the cooking process is.
Ingredients:
1 block tofu
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lime, juiced
¼ cup sugar
Step 1: Press
For this recipe, pressing the tofu is super important. All that stuff I said in part 1 about tofu being like a sponge? This is where it comes into play. The longer your tofu is pressed, the more space there will be for it to soak up the marinade, so I recommend pressing it for at least 20 minutes, but an hour is ideal. This will make sure you get the maximum amount of flavor from your marinade.
Step 2: Marinade
To make the marinade, mix all the ingredients besides the tofu in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds to dissolve the sugar. Cut your tofu into about ¼–½ inch thick slices and put in the bowl, making sure they’re at least mostly covered. Cover and refrigerate for as long as you can, but at least half an hour.
Step 3: Bake
While your tofu is marinating, preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once it’s preheated, place tofu evenly on sheet and pour about half the marinade over it. Bake for 20 minutes, and then flip the tofu and pour the remaining marinade over it and bake for another 20.
Step 4: Serve
Once your tofu is done baking, you can immediately eat it or let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating it. I recommend eating it within 3 days of baking for best results.
Final thoughts
Like any food, there will always be people who don’t like tofu, and I can’t change that. What I hope I’ve done, however, is show you that there are some truly delicious ways to prepare tofu. Happy cooking!
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