Life and Other Stuff

Although I dipped my toe in the vegetarian end of the pool as a teenager, I had never eaten tofu until I firmly committed in 2017 to do the plant based thing. The first time I purchased it, the sad white block sat in my fridge untouched until the expiry date and it was tossed. The second time, I felt determined and pulled it out a few times to look at the packaging, but always quickly decided on something else for dinner instead. It also was tossed. The third time, I opened the package and was grossed out by all the water and pressing and preparation and after it was cooked in a turmeric tofu scramble, I didn’t like it. Turns out I only like turmeric in tea, not on my food.

Veggie people will swear up and down certain things are DELISH if they are prepared correctly. Nutritional yeast, for example. Peeps love to put that crap on everything. I use it in exactly 1 recipe and I only use half of what’s called for. I eventually stopped purchasing, and then dumping, tofu. I continued reading and learning about plant based recipes and tried different dishes – some great, a few not so.

Tofu often flitted across the screen as I perused recipe possibilities online. Some more appealing than others. My daughter and I would try different preparations, each a slight improvement over the last. Even got my meat-eater husband eating tofu eventually! It seemed that freezing the block (always extra firm – get outta here with that silken and soft nonsense!) and then boiling the frozen brick for 10 min was our fam’s fave version. We diced it up, sautéed, and the little pieces soaked up the yummy flavors of our stir fry or teriyaki marinade. Yahoo! WINNER WINNER TOFU DINNER!

Hannah brought me a recipe for tofu bacon last week. Internally rolling my eyes, I assumed this would be much like other versions of things masquerading as bacon. Bacon is bacon. When I ate meat, I enjoyed it, but I do not really miss it. It’s salty fat. I can live without the heart disease and type 2 diabetes and animal cruelty. I did do some air-fried carrots sliced thin and marinaded as bacon. Not bad, but the payoff didn’t outweigh the prep. With a bazillion other yummy things to taste, I stopped making foods trying to be other foods.

Scanning the recipe, the marinade actually looked promising. There were a couple of things I wouldn’t use generally, but thought the basics and the technique could work! It did call for “Super Firm” tofu. Hmmmm. In 7 years, this is the first time I’d seen “super firm” as a category for tofu. WHAT?!?! Popped to the grocery and found that in fact, I am blind and it’s been there the whole time. Prepressed, ready to use, and SUPER FIRM! (Have I mentioned that I do not like slimy/squishy or mushy textures? Honestly it’s a miracle tofu even stood a chance in my kitchen.)

We gave it a shot. After 3 attempts and tweaking I think I have found my most favorite tofu preparation yet! Because I am over food acting as something it’s not, I present to you: Smoky Marinated Tofu!

Smoky Marinated Tofu

Ingredients:

1/4 c avocado oil

1/4 c soy sauce or tamari

2 tsp liquid smoke

2 tbsp maple syrup 

1/2 tbsp sriracha (or more for add’l heat)

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 block super firm tofu

Mix all ingredients in a bowl except for the tofu. Whisk until smooth. Slice extra firm tofu into thin strips. A mandolin works, but I find the last pieces get crumbly so I prefer to use my sharp kitchen knife. Place tofu into marinade to coat. 

Lay marinated tofu slices on a parchment lined baking sheet. Any add’l marinade can be spread over tofu using a basting brush. 

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 min. Flip slices and cook for another 15-25 min, checking every 10 min or so for desired crispness. Blackened edges indicate it’s time to take them out. If they aren’t super crispy at this point, don’t worry – they continue crisping up as they cool!

Chop up and serve over salads or in a smoky tofu, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich! Enjoy!