How to Bake Tofu & Los Zafiros

Baked Tofu takes a bit of practice but once you get it down it can really add a lot to a dish and for a lot of people is the only way they really enjoy tofu.  It gives the tofu a bit more texture and brings out the flavor in whatever marinade you choose.

Music: Los Zafiros - Bossa Cubana This album was hidden on a back shelf in my office and made the dark winter months fly by in aural ecstasy.  Cuban Music + Doo Wop = Happy Tom

Ingredients:

A Block of Firm Tofu

Marinade of Choice

Directions:

Place Block of Tofu on a plate and place another place on top of the block of Tofu.  Put something heavy on top of the plate like a bottle of oil.  This weight will help drain out the liquid in the tofu.  So basically, you have the tofu sandwiched between two plates with some weight (bottle of oil or something) on top.  Leave for a few minutes and drain liquid off of plate.  Repeat.  Pat dry.  After the 2nd time, take off plate and cut the tofu up in the size you’d like (keeping in mind that the tofu will shrink to about 2/3 of original size once baked).  Marinate for a couple of hours in the sauce of your choosing.  I like to marinate in a tupperware that way I can give it a good shake every so often to really cover the tofu.

After tofu has marinated, drain off liquid and really pat the tofu dry with paper towels soaking up as much of the extra liquid as possible (super important).  Once this is done, place on a baking sheet (either greased or covered with aluminum foil) and bake on 350.  Depending on your oven and the size of your pieces this can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hr.  I watch until it really starts to shrink and brown.**  You really only have overcooked it if it is burnt.  Then it’s done and you can enjoy.

**If you notice puddles of liquid on pan it means you didn’t pat dry enough and it won’t really get crispy or shrink :-(