Tofu's Workin' Overtime

I tried something new with tofu the other night and it turned out better than I ever could have expected.  It was sort of an accidental success.  I was going to broil it, using the Basic Broiled Tofu recipe from Veganomicon, which is great because it doesn’t require pressing and it cooks up fast – great for a weeknight dinner when I don’t get home until 6:30 and am famished from my workout.

This day I was actually home early so I decided to press, marinate, and bake the tofu.  (Plus I was missing most of the ingredients for broiled tofu.)  I looked at a few recipes to get an idea of marinade ingredients and baking times and temperatures but I wasn’t really following any of them as they were written.  My measurements aren’t exact but I ended up with about 1 cup of marinade.

I baked the tofu longer than planned since Brian was stuck working really late and I was trying to delay dinner as long as possible.  As much as I wanted him home earlier, it ended up being a good thing for my tofu.  The end result was firm on the outside with an almost caramelized texture and creamy, melt-in-your-mouth on the inside.  Quite possible the best tofu I’ve ever made.  It also stayed warm covered in the oven for Brian until he got home.  He was lucky I saved some for him...

I enjoyed my tofu with a side of steamed broccoli and mashed sweet potatoes with Earth Balance and brown sugar.

Orange-Maple Baked Tofu
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed*

¾ cup orange juice

Bragg’s liquid aminos

Maple syrup

1 tsp. sesame oil

Directions: 

1. Cut pressed tofu into 8 slices.  Pierce slices with a fork on both sides.  Put in an 8x8-inch square baking dish.  Set aside.
2. Combine orange juice, Bragg’s, and maple syrup.  Adjust to taste.  Add sesame oil.  Pour over tofu.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning tofu once.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake tofu for 60 minutes, turning every 15 minutes, or until most of the marinade has been reduced. 
4. Broil on low for another 3 minutes per side.  (I ended up turning up the broiler to high for about 2 more minutes per side.)

*I pressed it for about an hour in my TofuXpress – a tool I highly recommend!