I’ve shared with you that I truly do not enjoy cooking. Somehow, though, each of my children must have inherited the culinary arts gene from a generation previous to mine. To a person, they are creative, talented cooks.
Daughter Anne Marie, for example, actually taught me how to enjoy tofu! I knew, of course, all about the health benefits of eating tofu…but diced and thrown into a dish as a substitute for meat? No, thank you! I found the texture to be too soft and slimy to be palatable.
During the last Healthy Eating Adventure, Anne Marie contributed some delicious, slightly chewy baked tofu to one of the potlucks. It turns out that the marinating/baking process makes a world of difference. She happily shares her recipe with you:
Recipe for Baked Tofu
Ingredients:
1 block of extra firm tofu
½ c. soy sauce
¼ c. rice wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp. Asian chili paste
2 cloves of garlic that has been pasted or finely minced (it can be rubbed on a micro plane also)
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Directions:
Wrap the tofu in several sheets of paper towel to press out the moisture. Place a plate on top of the wrapped tofu and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. When the tofu has sat long enough unwrap it and cut it into ½ inch thick slices. Once you have cut it into slices, cut each slice into cubes (quarter each slice).
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the remainder of the ingredients to make the marinade. Gently toss the tofu in the marinade and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes. I use two large mixing bowls and toss the marinated tofu back and forth to mix.
Line a baking sheet with tin foil and pour the entire contents of the mixture on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or longer if you like it tougher.
Healthy Eating Adventure - Yuma, AZ 