Baked Tofu

Tofu is kind of like the opposite of Fight Club.

EVERYONE talks about tofu. I read so much about making tofu that it scared me.

I will confess it took me a few tries to nail down a solid system. My general cooking technique for most food involves skipping any steps I don’t want to do or don’t have a gadget to do it with.

I’ve had the best results with baking tofu. From there, you can add it to any recipe in place of where chicken would go. Stir-Fry is our favorite; we also like it marinated in wraps.

The basic process for baked tofu goes like this:

First, only buy Extra Firm Tofu. This is not a step to skip or deviate from.

There are many choices at the store, but if they don’t have Extra Firm, then don’t buy anything.

It doesn’t have to be organic, it doesn’t have to be from Sprouts. But I can’t emphasize the point enough – it has to be Extra Firm.

When you get home from the store, toss the container of tofu into the freezer. I’m not sure what the science is, but this is an easy way to change the texture of the tofu into a chewier bite.

Freeze it solid for at least a day. It can stay in the freezer for at least six months (I haven’t tested it beyond that). More important is when to remove it – it takes several days to thaw, so you need to plan ahead.

When thawed, remove the tofu from the container, and drain out the liquid it’s been sitting in. Gently squeeze as much remaining moisture that you can out of the tofu block without ripping it. I don’t use a press or that often described contraption of cookbooks and plates. I just press it pretty firmly with my hands over the sink, squeezing the center and corners like a sponge (not wringing it like a sponge, just squeezing).

If you get overly ambitious and your tofu crumbles into little pieces, don’t throw it away. Tofu crumbles can be used in a lot of other recipes, from vegetarian sloppy joes to a scrambled egg-like dish.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. I use Convection Bake, which actually is 400 degrees with convection heating.

Place the block of tofu on a cutting board and cut it into four even slices.

Then turn those slices sideways to make it easier to cut.

And cut each slice in half.

Here you have a decision to make. You can bake them at this size,. Or you can cut them into bite size pieces. If you cut them now, you also have to decide how small you want them. Fair warning – you have to flip these halfway through cooking, so keep that in mind when deciding how many pieces you’ll have.

I usually cut them into thirds. They don’t have to be perfectly symmetrical. Just close so they all cook at the same time.

Am I the only one who gets excited when the pre-heat alarm goes off on the oven exactly as I’m done prepping?

Line a rimmed pan with parchment paper, and then drizzle a little oil and spread that around. You don’t need much – the parchment paper does most of the work here. Place the pieces so that they don’t touch each other.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes, and then pull them out and flip them over, and bake for an additional 15 or until they are lightly browned.

If we are going to use them in a wrap sandwich, I usually cook them to a darker brown. If they are going into a stir fry (or any dish with additional hot pan time) I leave them a little light so they don’t get overdone later.

You can either use them right away, or let them cool and refrigerate for use later.

These will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week. I often do this during meal prep on Sunday afternoon. This gives us a head start on weeknight dinner. I’ll marinate the baked tofu in a mixture of soy sauce, a little cider vinegar and a dash of red pepper flakes for about 15 minutes. Then add the tofu to a hot pan with a bag of good frozen vegetables (or fresh if you have them). Top with your favorite sweet (hoisin?) or spicy (Sriracha?) sauce and you are good to go.