Plain Old Baked Tofu
Serves as many as you like.
Firm or extra firm tofu
Soy sauce
Sugar
Pinch garlic powder
Pinch oregano
Pinch celery powder
Whatever other spices you like
A little flour for dipping
Cut the tofu into slices and soak overnight in soy sauce combined with spices and sugar. Some people press their tofu down; I don't do this and it comes out fine. Dip each slice of tofu in a little flower, and shake off the flour so that it forms a translucent layer on the tofu. Put the tofu on wax paper and bake 45 minutes to an hour at 350, depending on how thick your slices are. I like nice fat slices.
Honey Mustard Crunch Tofu
Firm or extra firm tofu
Soy sauce
Honey mustard, or mustard mixed with dark agave or light molasses
Pinch chopped fresh rosemary, if you can't find any use powdered
White pepper
Sugar to taste
Unflavored breadcrumbs, preferably "Panko" Japanese style
or generated from slicing bread at home, or a fabulous mix of both!
Ground flax seed
Flour
Soak the sliced tofu overnight in sugared soy sauce. Pull it out. Mix ground flax seed with water until it's like a thin glue, then mix in a little (and I do say a little) honey mustard. Dip tofu in a little flour, then dip into the flax seed mix. Mix breadcrumbs with rosemary and pepper. Dip the lot of 'em into breadcrumbs twice- dip 'em in flax seed and dip 'em in breadcrumbs again as long as you can stand it. We want these to be quite mummified in their crunchy, munchy breadcrumb cocoons.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I know, 45 minutes is too long to wait for something so delicious!
Mara's School Day Afternoon Baked Tofu
I used to make this tasty, zesty recipe back in junior high school. It was pretty good! The secret is in the marinade.
Firm smoked tofu, or firm tofu soaked in liquid smoke and soy sauce overnight
Soy sauce
Sugar
Ketchup
Lots of fresh thyme leaves
Cumin
Bay leaf
Coriander
Garlic powder
Mix equal parts soy sauce and ketchup with a little water and a few tablespoons of sugar; to this add tons of thyme, plenty of cumin, a bay leaf, a little coriander, and garlic powder. This should be done to taste. Cook the marinade, stirring constantly, until it's caramelized. You can tell by the way the sugar gets a bit sticky. Slice the tofu quite thinly and marinade it for an hour or so. With marinade still clinging to the tofu, bake it for 30-45 minutes at 350, depending on how thinly you sliced it. Smoked tofu tends to come in smaller packages, because it's so tasty, so I usually bake it for less. You can also prepare this recipe in the microwave on high for 4-5 minutes. You can also grill this recipe if you slice the tofu thickly enough, though I don't own a grill and have never tried it. If you do, tell me how it's like.
You can make all three recipes simultaneously in one oven. In fact, you should, especially if you are a tofu fanatic. Bon appetit!
