Roasted Tofu with Quinoa

roasted tofu with quinoa and steamed veggies

Today seems like a fitting day to share my roasted tofu recipe, considering that I attended a tofu cooking class last night. If you had told me a few years ago that I would attend a tofu class later in life, I would have called you nuts, but there I was.

The instructors were fantastic and demonstrated that tofu can take on any flavor you add to it, whether savory (like in our “fish” tacos) or sweet (such as silken tofu in a strawberry smoothie). The longer you let the flavors marinate with the tofu, the more pronounced the flavors become. The chefs emphasized, however, that you can marinate it for just a few minutes with tasty results.

The most interesting tip I picked up is that if you freeze the package of tofu, the tofu develops a more meat-like texture. The longer the tofu stays frozen, the more dense it becomes. All you have to do is defrost it in the microwave or in the refrigerator. Who knew?

Anyway, I was intrigued by the idea of roasting tofu when I came across Gluten Free Girl’s super simple baked tofu recipe. I had never heard of baking tofu. Have you?

It turns out that roasted tofu is great with stir-fried or steamed veggies, rice or quinoa, or on salads and light entrées that need extra protein. I decided to heat up leftover quinoa, and steamed some snow peas from the farmers’ market with carrots and roasted red pepper. Topped with a drizzle of tamari, it was a delicious, satisfying Asian-inspired meal!

how to roast tofu

Roasted Tofu with Ginger Garlic Marinade
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
 

This method is more labor intensive than some, but the end result is totally worth the effort. It’s full of flavor, and so good for you. Save any leftover tofu for a salad or a snack!
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari (or shoyu or soy sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon agave nectar
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (or 1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic)
  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • pinch cayenne pepper

Instructions
  1. Open a package of extra-firm tofu, pour out the liquid, and gently squeeze the tofu between the palm of your hands to get rid of the excess water.
  2. Cut the tofu into one-inch chunks. Place the tofu in a medium sized bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, combine all of the marinade ingredients and whisk them together, or screw on a lid and shake until well combined.
  4. Drizzle the marinade over the tofu and toss to coat evenly. Cover the tofu with a lid.
  5. Let the tofu marinate in the fridge, anywhere from 30 minutes to a full day. I let mine marinate overnight.
  6. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
  7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  8. Toss the marinated tofu onto the baking sheet and spread the tofu in an even layer.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the tofu so it bakes evenly, and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Notes
  • Recipe adapted from Savvy Vegetarian.
  • I miraculously had all of the marinade ingredients on hand, but I’m sure you could omit an ingredient or two without any problems.

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8 Comments

  1. sweetie
    Posted May 25, 2011 at 11:42 AM | Permalink

    hello kate + cookie,

    as you know, the texture of the tofu is key. i have some questions for you:

    how long should the tofu be frozen in order to become firm and does this freezing technique apply to freezing the EXTRA FIRM type of tofu? do you think i should press/squeeze the water out and then freeze? i want to give this recipe a go but only if i can get some good texture going! ; p

    many thanks for sharing your new learnings with your readers!

    • Posted May 25, 2011 at 1:05 PM | Permalink

      Hi there, thank you for asking! I actually learned the freezing technique after making this recipe, so you don’t have to freeze the tofu. However, you can just throw the whole package of tofu in the freezer for extra texture later on. I think that a couple of days in the freezer would suffice. You can then put the frozen package of tofu in the fridge to defrost, or run it under water, or defrost it in the microwave. It’s up to you!

  2. Posted May 25, 2011 at 12:24 PM | Permalink

    I wish I were having this for lunch…I’m off to somewhere right now, so I have to stick with a sandwhich, lol. It looks so yummy!

  3. Posted May 25, 2011 at 3:07 PM | Permalink

    Thanks for the tofu tips!

  4. Posted May 25, 2011 at 5:48 PM | Permalink

    freezing tofu!? who woulda thunk it? this looks fantastic.

  5. Posted May 27, 2011 at 1:24 PM | Permalink

    This is really helpful since I like tofu but have never made it at home. I like the Asian-inspired recipe too!

  6. Posted May 28, 2011 at 11:09 AM | Permalink

    I have shied away from tofu, but maybe freezing will give it a texture I enjoy. I will have to try this. The marinade looks perfect.

  7. Posted June 16, 2011 at 12:10 PM | Permalink

    Yum, yum, and YUM! Tofu has never looked so pretty! :)

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