Honey

Spicy Baked Tofu on Asian Slaw

by:
August  8, 2012
4.3
3 Ratings
Spicy Baked Tofu on Asian Slaw
  • Serves 2 entrees or 4 apps
Author Notes

I will warn you straight up that you need to start this a day ahead - you won't be cooking for 2 days straight but the tofu needs to freeze over night to get the right texture so you need to plan a day out. Other than that - easy, healthy, delicious about sums it up. Thanks to Arielleclementine and the Fantastic Henry for helping me fine tune and taste!!!! —aargersi

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Spicy Baked Tofu
  • 1 pound extra firm tofu
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon tamari
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (I used sweet but hot would amp it up just that much more)
  • Asian Slaw
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
  • 3 tablespoons mirin
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons tamari
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 2 cups edamame (shelled)
  • 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
  • 2 cups (2 heads) thinly sliced baby bok choy
  • 2 cups julienned sugar snap peas
  • 3 cups super thinly sliced savoy cabbage
  • 12 shiso leaves (or sub mint, cilantro or basil if shiso is unavailable)
Directions
  1. Spicy Baked Tofu
  2. This is the day before part: Cut the block of tofu into two slabs and wrap them in either a big tea towel or a lot of paper towels. Place that on a plate and put a wide flat weight on top like an iron skillet or a cookie sheet with cans on top. The idea is to press out the water without smashing the tofu. Allow it to sit for about 30 min. Remove the cloth or towels, wrap it in plastic and stick it in the freezer.
  3. Next day - defrost the tofu, then wrap in towel or tea cloth again and press it again. More water will come out. While you are pressing it, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Unwrap the tofu. Brush both sides of both slabs with the marinade and allow it to sit for another 30 minutes. You should have extra marinade.
  4. Heat the oven to 350. Cover a cookie sheet with foil (SO much easier to clean that way) and either brush with oil or spray with no-stick (I am a sprayer). Put the tofu on there, give it another brush of marinade and bake for 30 min. Flip after 30 and brush one more time with that last bit of the marinade. It should be getting dark and sticky and crusty. Bake for 30 more minutes.
  5. Remove the tofu from the oven and set it aside to cool. I make double or even triple batches of this to keep in the fridge and slice over whatever salad I happen to be eating ....
  1. Asian Slaw
  2. Lightly steam the edamame and set aside to cool. Put the olive oil, garlic and ginger in a small sauce pan and heat until just warm - you don't want to saute them, just poach the raw off them. Whisk that in a bowl with the mirin, vinegar, honey, tamari and white pepper. Taste for salt, you may want a dash more tamari. Put the dressing in something you can shake and put it in the fridge.
  3. Chop the remainiing veggies as thinly as you possibly can. Chiffonade the shiso - just roll the leaves the long way into a tube, then slice super thin. Toss all of that together with the edamame.
  4. Go get the dressing and shake the dickens out of it. Pour over the salad - don't do it all at once, you might not want it all. Toss the salad, let it rest a few minutes, then toss again and decide if you need additional dressing.
  5. Slice the tofu into strips and serve atop the salad on one big communal plate or individuals - up to you!
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aargersi

Recipe by: aargersi

Country living, garden to table cooking, recent beek, rescue all of the dogs, #adoptdontshop

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10 Reviews

ansu
ansu August 2, 2015
what is the time estimate for defrosting the tofu?
 
aargersi
aargersi August 2, 2015
Maybe an hour? Not as long as meat
 
Fresa
Fresa February 7, 2014
Mmm, this looks really good! Is it too hot for The Goose with the sriracha? I do think it's important to get toddlers used to spicy food, but have to start slowly...
 
aargersi
aargersi February 8, 2014
I think it might be - try just a tsp of sriracha in the marinade then you can direct-squeeze on to your bites. Don't want to fry the Goose!!!
 
LauriL
LauriL January 20, 2013
Will try the tofu tonight but made the salad for supper last night for a party....major hit!!
 
Devangi R.
Devangi R. August 14, 2012
I love the caramelised look...yum!
 
gingerroot
gingerroot August 14, 2012
This sounds divine and I can't wait to try your freezer trick. I grew up on tofu (on nights that my mom did not feel like cooking she'd cut up a block of tofu and serve it with soy sauce and we kids would be as happy as clams - oh wait, she still does that sometimes!) and still love it. While my daughter also loves it, my son recoils in horror at the mere mention of it. However, I think this could sway his palate...heh heh, I do love a little bit of food magic! Can't wait to try this - thanks for the recipe, A!
 
aargersi
aargersi August 14, 2012
Oh I hope he likes it!!! It really does change the texture to something very different. Oh and I often end up eating half the plain old tofu while I am slicing up the rest for an actual recipe. I love the stuff! We were raised on it too.
 
Bevi
Bevi August 10, 2012
This has got to be a winner. You've got soy every which way! And sounds delicious to boot!
 
arielleclementine
arielleclementine August 8, 2012
aargersi is the tofu master! her technique yielded finger-licking, perfectly-textured tofu that is impossible to stop eating. the slaw is brilliant, fresh, and nuanced and just the perfect match for that glorious tofu. thanks for an amazing lunch, aargersi, and for a fantastic recipe!!