Broiled Seasoned Tofu

Prep Time: 10 minutes          Cook time: 20 minutes          Total Time: 30 minutes

About:

Hello, all! Guess what? I’ve got another first! I don’t know why it had never occurred to me to do so, but until a couple of nights ago, I had never thought to broil tofu. I have always baked it, fried it, or grilled it. So, I decided to give broiling tofu a try. And guess what? It’s pretty good! It’s definitely easier to crisp the tofu by broiling it instead of baking it. If you like your tofu crispy like I do, then you’re definitely going to need to try this. This is a pretty basic recipe and can be adapted however you want. It doesn’t take long and it’s very simple.

Ingredients:

1/2 block tofu, drained or pressed

Olive oil

Italian seasoning

Cajun seasoning

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Salt

Pepper

Non-stick cooking spray

Preparation:

1. If necessary, preheat broiler.
2. Take your drained, half block of tofu and cut it into long, but thin, slices.
3. Spray a small baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and fit the tofu pieces into the dish. Arrange the tofu slices so that they do not overlap and are not touching each other.
4. Drizzle olive oil onto the top of the tofu pieces and brush the olive oil onto the surface of the tofu.
5.  Sprinkle the top of the coated tofu with Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. This is your call; add however much of each seasoning that you like. I like a lot of seasoning, (as you can probably see from the photos) so I sprinkled the seasonings onto my tofu like a duck on a June Bug (if you’re not from the southern United States you might not get that simile, but that’s OK, I forgive you).
6. Place the baking dish into the oven and broil for 9 minutes.
7. After the 9 minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven and flip the tofu. Brush olive oil onto the newly exposed side of tofu. Sprinkle the seasonings onto this side of the tofu as well.
8. Return the baking dish to the oven and broil for another 9 minutes.
9. Serve immediately and enjoy! 

Sriracha Peanut Butter Tofu

Prep Time: 15 minutes          Cook Time: 15 minutes          Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

3  1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2  1/4 tablespoons rice vinegar

3  1/2 tablespoons peanut butter

2  1/2 tablespoons water

1  1/2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce

1 block tofu

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 small, hot red pepper

Preparation:

1. Press and drain your tofu. Once your tofu has been drained, slice it into cubes or strips (your preference, really). Pour cornstarch into a mixing bowl and cover the tofu pieces in the cornstarch.

2. Add olive oil to your skillet. Heat over medium.

3. While the oil is heating, mix together the sauce. To do this, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, peanut butter, and Sriracha sauce. Whisk this together with a fork or mix well with a spoon until it is a smooth consistency.

4. Once the olive oil is heated, place the tofu into the skillet. Brown both sides, about 3-4 minutes for each side.

5. Once the tofu has browned, pour the sauce over the tofu. Let the sauce thicken, about 3 minutes. If the sauce needs more moisture and is already too thick, add a little water.

6. Dice up the small red pepper (be sure to remove the seeds if you don’t want the heat). Sprinkle over the tofu.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Tofu Fajitas

Prep Time: 10 minutes          Cook Time: 20 minutes          Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 block tofu, drained and cut into long pieces

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

2 mushrooms, chopped

2 teaspoons cumin

1 packet fajita mix (any brand)

Corn starch (enough to coat tofu)

Olive oil

1/4 cup water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Whole grain tortillas

Preparation:

1. If you have not already, drain your tofu. While the tofu is draining, chop the green, red, and yellow bell peppers, onion, garlic, and mushrooms.

2. After the tofu has drained, dry it with a towel and cut it into long pieces.

3. Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Use enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan and fry the tofu.

4. While the oil is heating, pour cornstarch into a small mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon cumin and 1 tablespoon of the fajita packet. Mix this together and coat the tofu pieces in the mixture.

5. Once the oil has heated, place the tofu in the oil. Let each side brown, about 4 or 5 five minutes.

6. Once the tofu has browned, remove the pieces from the skillet and place onto a plate. Set aside.

7. Add the bell peppers, onion, garlic, and mushrooms into the skillet. The tofu has probably absorbed most of the olive oil, and this is okay. Saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes, stirring to ensure that they do not stick.

8. Once the vegetables are tender, add 1/4 cup water and the rest of the fajita mix. Add 1 teaspoon cumin. Salt and pepper according to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

9. Once most of the water has been cooked away, add the tofu back into the skillet with the vegetables to reheat it. Hint: If you do not make sure that the water has been absorbed before doing this step, your tofu will get soggy. Blah!

10. Serve onto a tortilla shell and top with whatever you like. Enjoy!

Thai Red Curry with Tofu

Prep time: 15 minutes             Cook time: 20 minutes                Total time: 35 minutes

Thai Red Curry Tofu served with brown jasmine rice.

About this recipe:

I enjoy making this recipe because it is quick to make and versatile. You can add whatever vegetables that you like in place of the carrots and celery. You can also control the amount of vegetables that you choose to include. If this recipe calls for more vegetables than you think is necessary, then you can alter the amounts to suit your taste. You may also do this with one skillet, but I have a meat-eater in my house who won’t touch tofu, so it is easier for me to do it this way.

Ingredients:

1 block tofu                                            2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (Thai Kitchen)

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)         1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/3 cup corn starch                            ½ teaspoon curry powder

½ large onion                                         2 garlic cloves

¼ cup chopped carrots                    ¼ cup chopped celery

Vegetable Oil                                        Sesame Oil

Salt                                                              Pepper

Preparation:

1. Press the tofu to drain excess water. I use a tofu press to do this, but there are other ways to press tofu. If you don’t know how to do this, I believe that these instructions are thorough: http://www.veggiebelly.com/2011/04/how-to-press-tofu.html.
2. While the tofu is pressing, chop the onion, celery, carrots, and finely slice the garlic.
3. Once the tofu is pressed, gently dry it with a towel. Slice the dry tofu into cubes or triangles, depending on your personal preference.
4. Put the corn starch into a mixing bowl. Place the tofu into the corn starch and cover the individual tofu slices in the corn starch. The corn starch helps the tofu brown, and, in my opinion, cuts down on the amount of oil that the tofu absorbs while browning.
5. Cover the bottom of a medium skillet in sesame oil. Add the chopped onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to the skillet. Feel free to use fewer vegetables than this recipe calls for. I personally like a lot of veggies in my food.
6. Sauté the chopped vegetables on medium heat. Stir regularly.
7. Once the onion is translucent, add the coconut milk and 2 tablespoons of Thai red curry paste into the skillet with the vegetables. Bring this to a boil.
8. Pour enough vegetable oil into a separate small or medium skillet to cover the bottom well. Heat the vegetable oil between medium and high heat. Once the oil is hot (don’t touch it, just hover your hand over it at a safe distance), carefully place the tofu into the oil one by one.

Hint: Do not disturb the tofu; I repeat, do not disturb the tofu. You may wiggle the pieces in the skillet to ensure that they do not stick, but do not flip the pieces until the bottom side of the tofu has browned.

8. Once the bottom of the tofu has browned (approximately 4-6 minutes), flip the tofu slices in order to brown the other side.
9. While the tofu is continuing to brown, add the brown sugar, curry powder, and salt and pepper (to taste) to the skillet with the vegetables, coconut milk and Thai curry paste mixture. Stir well and reduce heat to a simmer.
10. Once the tofu has browned on both sides, remove it from the skillet and onto a place.
11. Cover the tofu with the coconut milk, curry paste, and vegetable mixture.
12. Serve with brown rice and enjoy!

Crispy (Slightly Spicy) Baked Tofu

Crispy (Slightly Spicy) Baked Tofu

A little about this recipe:

I enjoy cooking (and eating!) this recipe because not only is it simple to make and it is not very time consuming, but it is also easily adaptable. You can change whatever seasonings that you want to suit your tastes. If you live in a household with a meat-eater who won’t touch tofu (like me), this recipe is a go-to because the meat-eater can eat whatever they want to accompany the sides that you choose. I also like this recipe because it can be incorporated well into a southern meal. I hope you enjoy eating this baked tofu just as much as I do!

Prep time: 15 minutes         Cook time: 40 minutes           Total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

One block of tofu                                     ½ cup milk (you can use soy or almond)

½ cup bread crumbs                                Non-stick cooking spray

½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning              Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup corn meal                                     1 tablespoon corn starch

½ teaspoon cumin                                     ½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon onion powder                   ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. My oven is slow to preheat, so I usually do this first.
2. Press your tofu to remove excess water. I use a tofu press to do this, but there are other ways to press tofu. If you don’t know how to do this, I believe that these instructions are thorough: http://www.veggiebelly.com/2011/04/how-to-press-tofu.html
3. While the tofu is pressing, mix the bread crumbs, corn meal, corn starch, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning and salt and pepper into a small mixing bowl.
4. Poor the milk into a separate bowl. You can use soy or almond milk if that’s your kind of thing. I’m not vegan and I personally think this tastes better with ordinary milk.
5. Once your tofu is done pressing, dry it gently with a towel. After drying your tofu, slice it however you want it (I like to cut it into four long pieces by cutting it in half in the middle and then cutting those two pieces in half by width).
6. Submerge the tofu into the milk. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to soak.
7. Grease a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
8. Remove the tofu from the milk and place it into the bowl with the seasonings one piece at a time. Turn the pieces over a couple of times to ensure that the tofu is covered well in the seasonings.
9. Place the tofu slices onto the baking sheet. Do not let the pieces overlap or touch. This helps to ensure that every slice is crispy.
10. Once your oven is preheated, place the baking rack into the oven. Let the tofu cook for 20 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven.
11. Flip the tofu and place them back into the oven for another 20 minutes.
12. Remove the tofu from the oven and serve it with whatever side items that you like!
    

    I served my tofu with boiled cabbage and yellow squash, green lentils, mashed potatoes, and ranch dressing for dipping.