This is something that I started brining on Sunday night for tonight. The recipe is my variation of Bryanna’s Breast of Tofu. I can’t tell you how it compares because I haven’t tried the original recipe. It was another recommendation of Laloofah that I decided to try (in my own way of course). I wanted to make something that was “meaty” so I used Worcestershire to add that quality to the tofu. The other flavors are just ones that we like. Here is what I did.
Marinated Tofu
Serves 3
Ingredients:
14 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into 6 slabs
1 tablespoon liquid aminos
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon onion flakes
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper (approximately ¼ teaspoon)
Water to cover
Directions:
Cut the tofu into 6 large pieces and set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients and whisk. Place the tofu into a container (with a tight lid) just large enough to hold the tofu and some liquid. Pour the seasonings into the container. Add as much water as is necessary to cover the tofu. I put the container in large freezer bag in case it leaks. Place the tofu in the refrigerator. Turn the container over at least once a day to make certain all the tofu is in contact with the liquid and solid seasonings. I let the tofu marinate for 4 days before cooking it.
To cook the tofu, preheat the oven to 350 degrees (convection). Line a sheet pan with parchment if you are concerned about sticking. The tofu released fine for me once I let it cool a few minutes before trying to flip it. That always seems to work.
Drain the tofu well. Press the tofu with paper towels to remove excess liquid. Place the drained and pressed tofu on the sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to sit for a few minutes before trying to flip the tofu. Once it cools a little it should easily release from the pan (at least mine did and I didn’t use parchment). Cook the tofu for another 30 minutes on the second side.
Nutritional Information:
Amount Per Serving
Calories - 135.22
Calories From Fat (52%) - 70.55
Total Fat - 7.72g
Saturated Fat- 0.72g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 330.86mg
Potassium - 188.42mg
Total Carbohydrates - 3.39g
Fiber - 0.65g
Sugar - 0.93g
Protein - 13.19g
Comments:
This tofu is firm but not crunchy. It has nice subtle flavor from the marinade. It is not the least bit salty. Next time I may double the liquid aminos for more flavor. My husband thought it would be good with BBQ sauce. I think he is right on that but we had it with a green salad with fruit so I didn’t want the extra sugar tonight.
I am definitely sold on marinating tofu for a few days. It adds a lot of flavor to the tofu, which it always needs. Any marinade that is thin should be able to easily penetrate the tofu given enough time. I will be trying Bryanna's original recipe the next time I make tofu.
Unrelated note:
The purging process is going well, but slower than I had hoped. I have decided I am even going to purge my kitchen while I am at this. This is a first for me. I rarely get rid of any kitchen items. We will see if I can actually manage this task.
My hubby got home a little earlier than he has been tonight so I am going to post this and log off for the evening. I will post the salad we had tonight before I return to purging tomorrow. I hope you all have a great evening. Talk to you tomorrow.
Posts
Hi, Great post. We love marinated tofu, but I had not thought to marinate it for so long. I'll have to try that. Looks delish. Have a great week.
ReplyDeletelol i feel like my kitchen is so bare!! but my closets are not,just like you were saying your were. i just tried baked tofu on wed, again on my george forman.(i have the baking pan insert thing) but i think that was one of the first times ive ever had baked tofu. i did tamari and then rubbed the slices with onion powder, it gave it a nice skin and the interior was pretty good, you explian taste and texture very well. all ive got is"pretty good" and "stay away from it its mine" to explain how good or bad stuff is.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that tasks like that always go slower than you think they should??!! LOL. So glad your hubby got home earlier. Hope you guys had a great evening. The tofu looks great. Going to try this marinade. And thanks for the tip on letting it cool slightly before flipping.
ReplyDeleteBlessedmama,
ReplyDeleteBryanna marinates hers for a long time and it does work. This batch of tofu had nice flavor throughout, which we both liked.
Michelle,
My kitchen is packed to the rafters. It is ridiculous it is so jammed full.
Your explananations are too funny. LOL, "Stay away from it, its mine".
Heather,
I wish I knew why these tasks always take longer than we expect them too. It just seems to be the way it is. Like vacation always seems shorter than it really is.
The hubby was home by 8pm (which is sadly earlier than normal). We had a nice evening.
I am sold on marinating tofu for days after this experiment. Next I am going to try Bryanna's original recipe.
talk to you all later,
Alicia
Your tofu slices came out looking just beautiful! Wish I could reach into my computer screen and grab one! Nom-nom-nom. :-)
ReplyDeleteI use regular tamari and our tofu slices don't come out too salty-tasting at all either. I've made them with Bryanna's crispy coating before, but we prefer them uncoated and baked on an un-oiled baking sheet. Using a dark sheet makes them brown up nicely, and I found that pressing as much water out of the tofu as possible before putting it in the marinade really helps it absorb more flavor.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the original recipe. (The aroma of it baking, with the rosemary and sage, is just heavenly!)
Lalo,
ReplyDeleteHave you tried freezing the tofu first, then thawing and marinating it? That may also make it absorb more of the marinade. I may try that to see if it works if you haven't.
I am going to check my garden today and see if my rosemary and sage survived the winter. Normally I can harvest them all year, but they have been covered in snow for a month. If they are okay I will get the original recipe marinating today.
Thanks again for the suggestion. Dan really enjoyed that the tofu had flavor through out. He isn't the biggest fan of tofu normally.
Alicia
Ali,
ReplyDeleteI used to do that with great success when I could get White Wave tofu (and before they sold out to Dean's Foods! Bah.) Now I buy Nasoya, and the last time I froze, thawed and "squoze" it, it came out all spongy and icky-looking. It's amazing how different various brands of tofu can be, even if they're all "extra firm!" But you are quite right, that's a great way to get the tofu to absorb more marinade.
I'm glad Dan enjoyed it! And I'll bet he's right that your version would taste great with BBQ sauce!
You can also cube the baked slices and put them on salads. That's really good! :-)
Hope your herbs are lookin' good! I have a couple of rosemary plants in my sunroom, but I used dried sage and thyme. The fresh rosemary is stunning for this. :-)
Lalo,
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know the freezing and thawing works here. I will get a block of tofu in the freezer before I get back to purging.
Dan really enjoyed this, which is unusual for tofu. He is slowly coming around to it, but he was a devote tofu hater for years.
Thanks for the salad idea. Maybe I should make two packages of tofu so we have enough for a few salads. Hmmm.
I don't have any dried rosemary or sage, because my own plants were usually good all year. I hope they made it. Fingers crossed.
talk to you later,
Ali
I've done the freeze & squeeze method with other marinades, but not this one. But I can't think of a reason it wouldn't work as well with this one as it has with the others, can you? :-)
ReplyDeleteLalo,
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit this but the only times I have frozen and then thawed tofu it then was pan seared or baked with a quick toss in a sauce after cooking. I wasn't certain how it work with a marinade but thought it should work. But since you concur it will work I am trying it with the next batch. Thanks for sharing what you know, as always!
Alicia
I definitely think it's worth a try! My only concern would be that if you also marinade it for several days, it could get too soggy. But you could just check the tofu slices each day to see. When I've used this marinade method in the past, I only marinade my tofu for a couple of hours.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are always welcome, Ali... anything I'm able to share is just payback for all that you share here! You are so generous with your time and culinary know-how! :-)
Lalo,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you think the marinating process could be shortened by freezing and thawing. Maybe I should test for that specific thing by making a slice on day 1, 2 and 3 to see what happens so we know for certain. I love a good food experiment!
thanks again!
Ali
Sounds like a perfect mission for Area 51! :-)
ReplyDeleteLalo,
ReplyDeleteI thought so too! LOL
Ali
These look good; I've been meaning to try this recipe for a while...
ReplyDeleteRose,
ReplyDeleteMarinating the tofu for 4 days definitely gave it a lot of flavor. You should try it.
Alicia
I will have to try your recipe--I haven't had baked tofu in forever, and recently bought some tofu, so this is perfect. You say 350 for a convection oven...would it be 350 in a conventional oven too?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Courtney
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI have read that you increase the temperature by 25 degrees if not using convection, and be certain to rotate the pan halfway through cooking. You want to cook the tofu until it is somewhat firm and a little crusty on the outside, but certainly not crunchy. I hope that made sense. If not let me know and I will try again.
I hope you like this as much as we did. Marinating for four days in a flavorful liquid did wonders for the tofu. Every bite had flavor, which we loved.
Alicia