Asian Style Savory Baked Tofu

Kozmic Blues's Note:

This was absolutely delicious! It will make a tofu lover out of you yet (I hope!). I let my tofu sit overnight in the marinade, and then baked it, and I thought it turned out great. As I describe below, be sure to really "press" the excess liquid out of your tofu to ensure that it absorbs the marinade. Don't be afraid to put something really heavy on it to draw out the moisture. Cast iron pan works great! Source: Sunday Moosewood cookbook

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 12 ounces firm tofu

For Marinade

• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine or 1 tablespoon sake or 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons finely minced onions
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon hot chili paste, to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. For best results, tofu should be "pressed" in order to remove excess liquid and absorb the flavors of the marinade.
2. Press tofu block between two plates, weighted down with a cast iron pan, large bowl of water, or heavy cans, for about 30 minutes.
3. Halfway through, you may dump the plate of water and flip the tofu block.
4. To make marinade, simply whisk together the ingredients in a bowl.
5. After tofu is pressed, cut the block into small cubes or triangles.
6. Place pieces of tofu into baking dish, and cover with the marinade.
7. The tofu can sit overnight in the marinade, or can be prepared right away.
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
9. Bake tofu about 35-45 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.
10. Tofu can be eaten by itself, or added to stir-frys, salads, soups or sandwiches.

Reviews

['TiniMaker]

Delicious. Easy. Nutritious. Guess I needn't type more! FYI, I made it as it's written, but upped the sauce ingredients by about 25% because I'd rather have too much than too little . Marinated it for a few hours, then baked it about 40 min. and broiled for about 5. Will definitely make it again. I made it with Basmati rice and Grilled Asian Style Broccoli (#253823) and I can't say enough about what a nice, low-cal meal this was. Very easy dish to prepare ahead, let marinate, then bake when you get home from wherever it is you spend your day. Thanks!

[mayness]

Wow, this is tasty! I didn't have any wine/sake so I doubled the rice wine vinegar, but that's the only change I made. 35 minutes was perfect to make it golden brown around the edges. In case any other tofu newbies are reading this: this was my first time cooking tofu, and after reading up on it, I decided to try freezing and thawing half of it after pressing (which gives it a "meatier" texture)... the frozen one soaked up more of the marinade so the result was drier after cooking, and I like that one for putting in salads. I like the never-frozen one better to eat by itself because it's more moist.

[Barb Gertz]

Very good, We ate it by its self, will be putting the left over into a salad. I am going to make more to put into stir fry,Yum. I made it just like the recipe said, marinaded it several hours after pressing the liquid out.