​Savory Marinated Tofu

Truly Tasty Tofu. This tofu is anything but squishy and tasteless. It is sweet and salty and a little bit sour, with a hint of Asian flavors. The texture is firm and slightly dry, like thick jerky. It's easy to make as long as you have a little patience.

(This is my personal made-up recipe. Please be respectful of my cooking secrets : )

Step 1: Ingredients

Extra firm tofu

(see step 3 for amount)

For the marinade (use these amounts for 1-2 tofu bricks, double for 3-4):

3 T soy sauce

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

2 T seasoned rice vinegar

pinch of coriander

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

pepper to taste

3 tsp balsamic vinegar

2-3 T olive oil

few drops of sesame oil (optional)

dash of 5-spice (optional)

Step 2: Optional Flavors

Here are some other additions that work well with this recipe. Add in small amounts, if you want and taste along the way. You really can't go wrong - it's just a matter of personal taste.

Step 3: The Taste Is in the Marinade

Make the marinade in the dish you will be marinating the tofu and set it aside.

Tweaking the Recipe

If you like things:

Sweeter - add 1T honey

More sweet & sour - add another T of balsamic

Citrus - add 1/4 cup of OJ

Spicy - hot sauce (like Sriracha) to taste

Step 4: Cut Up

Each tofu block makes about 4 meal servings, but more snacks. I usually make 2-3 blocks at a time. It keeps well and actually improves in texture in the frig.

Cut each tofu block into slices about 6-8mm thick and then cut the slices in half.

Step 5: Marinate

When all the tofu is cut up, put it in an airtight container. Cover with the marinade and swirl the liquid around so that it touches all the tofu. Swirl more whenever you think about it. Mix the batch after a few hours. Keep in the frog while marinating.

You can easily adjust how strong you want the flavor by adjusting the time in the marinade. However, make sure the tofu stays in at least 2-4 hours.

Step 6: The Texture Is in the Baking

It's okay to taste the tofu to see if you like the strength of the marinade. I leave it soaking overnight sometimes. Just remember the flavors won't fully develop until cooking. You can also make the flavor stronger by pouring the marinade over the tofu when you bake it.

When you're ready to cook, set the oven to bake at 350 degrees. While the oven is heating, arrange the tofu on a large, foil-lined, oiled baking tray in a single layer. (You'll see I used parchment in the photos - I ran out of foil and parchment works well too) If you have more than fits on one tray, start another one. No layering. You can choose to pour the marinade over the tofu if you want. This will make the flavor more intense, but also make it a lot saltier.

Put the tray(s) in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn all the tofu over and continue baking until all the pieces darken and shrink (I'm guessing about 20%). This will be another 15 - 30 minutes.

Step 7:

Step 8:

Step 9: Wait. Eat.

These are tasty right out of the oven, but they won't get the dense texture until they've fully cooled. They're best after spending a night in the frig.

Then you can eat them as they are, warm them up, or add them to other dishes.

Shown served warm with arugula, a great combination.