Baked Tofu.

This was one of those recipes that was borne out of necessity: I was looking to make a stir-fry and when dinnertime rolled around – GASP! – there was no store-bought baked tofu in the fridge when I was just SURE that I had an extra pack sitting in there waiting! Alas. I did, however, have regular old plain firm tofu, and as I poked around the pantry some more I realized I had plenty of seasonings and sauces. So, 20ish years into being vegetarian, it was time to bake some teriyaki-style tofu.

The recipe came together in a snap and can be customized to your liking – any sauce or seasoning I used can be added, subtracted or plain old omitted without hurting the dish in the slightest! For me, I cut the firm tofu into cubes about an inch apiece (but nobody look too closely, OK?) and plunked them gently into a zip-top bag. Then I added in a quarter-cup of hoisin sauce, a generous dousing of soy sauce, a dash of garlic powder, a dash of ginger and more chili sauce than I really needed. I patted the bag a bit to ensure everything coated the tofu evenly and then put the whole lot in the fridge for about half an hour to marinate (but the longer the better!).

Then it was simply a matter of baking it up – this is baked tofu, after all! I sprayed a baking sheet with cooking spray and then let the tofu tumble out in a single layer. Then I simply baked the tofu at 375 degrees for 20 minutes and dinner was served!

The beautiful thing about this dish – other than its ease – is how dang versatile it is. You can serve it in a stir-fry, as I did, or you can use it as protein to top a salad, or serve it over rice, or alongside noodles, or just eat it all by itself. And it keeps beautifully in the fridge for a few days, so don’t hesitate to make extra just so you can have leftovers.

You’ll never go back to store-bought baked tofu again!