Tasty baked tofu.

I’ve been a bit ambivalent about meat lately…like most things, I go through stages with it, but right now it’s just not really on my culinary radar.  I’m still having the occasional bit of fish, and a slice of bacon every now and then (because, well…bacon), but for the most part i’m happy with a predominantly plant-based diet.

I spent most of my 20s eating either a pescatarian or vegetarian diet, and even a couple of years as a strict vegan…I guess you could say that these were my ‘formative cooking years’, so my diet mostly came of age foccused on plant foods.  As a consequence, I had a steep learning curve figuring out how to cook meat in my 30s!

Now my diet is swinging back the other way again, i’m re-learning all the old classics, such as baked tofu.  If you’re not a fan of tofu, or don’t think, you will be, I urge you to put your judgements or previous experiences aside and give this a try.  Cooked this way, the tofu has a good bite to it, but still retains a lovely creamy texture.  Coupled with the smoky umami-like flavours of the marinade, I promise you’re onto a winner with this one!

I’ve used this tofu recipe as an accompaniment to my moreish Superfood Salad, and have also just tried it minced up and heated through for a delicious vegetarian taco – i’ll post this recipe separately 🙂

Southpaw’s Tasty Baked Tofu

Ingredients

• 250g firm organic tofu (I used Macro brand)
• 2 tbs gluten free soy sauce
• 2tbs sesame oil
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• 1 tsp smoky paprika

Method

1. First up, you’ll need to give your tofu a good press – this ensures the marinade has a good uptake into the tofu.  To do this, wrap your whole block of tofu in several sheets of kitchen towel, then put this little package on a plate.  Top with a small cutting board or a flat plate, then weight it down on top with a couple of cans of anything from your pantry, or a heavy bowl – just make sure the weight is evenly distributed so the whole thing doesn’t tip over as the tofu loses mass.  Leave it for 30 minutes to an hour.
2. Meanwhile, in a container with a tight fitting lid, mix all the other ingredients together.  Once the tofu is all squeezed out, unwrap it and cut it into little fillets – you should get about 8 pieces out of the 250g block.
3. Pop these into the container with the marinade, put the lid on and give it a gentle shake so that all the pieces are coated.
4. Leave to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, and up to overnight.
5. When you’re ready to bake your tofu, pre-heat the oven to 200C.  Arrange the tofu side by side on a lined baking tray, turn the oven down to 160C and bake for 15 minutes on one side, before turning and baking for a further 10 mins (note that this is for a non-fan forced oven).
6. Remove from the oven and either eat right away, or the slices can be refrigerated for up to a week.

mmmmmm…tofu 🙂