Baked Sesame Tofu

Baked Sesame Tofu is the most delicious way to season and cook tofu to make it craveable.

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There is no real story to accompany the recipe and photos because I was sort of "saving" it all for a clever write-up about the economics of veganism (veganomics) set against the life cycle of dating, but it will take me at least eleven years to write it and I want to post something for today.

What is Baked Sesame Tofu

Puttanesca is always some ratio of garlic, anchovies, olives, and capers in tomatoes. This is a good starter recipe for Puttanesca, from which you can make adjustments to suit your taste. I almost always amp the garlic and anchovies. And the olives and capers. And the red pepper and salt. So in the end, I am basically making anchovy olive caper stew. It is delicious.

Health Benefits of Baked Sesame Tofu

Ingredients You Need for Baked Sesame Tofu

• Firm tofu
• Tamari or soy sauce
• Rice vinegar
• Sesame oil
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Oil

Instructions for How to Make Baked Sesame Tofu

Combine all spices into a large bowl and mix thoroughly into lean ground beef

Form into ball shape with your hands

Press into patties on the tray

Place into oven at 350 fahrenheit

What Kind of Tofu is Best for Baking?

Ingredients Notes and Resources

 

1. Tofu.
2. Tamari or soy sauce
3. Rice vinegar
4. Sesame oil
5. Garlic. You can use any form of garlic for Puttanesca: chopped, simply smashed (might need slightly longer cooking time), but I like slicing garlic cloves super thin so they "melt" with the anchovies into the tomatoes. If you use a razor and know that reference, well, we should have dinner some time.
6. Ginger
7. Olive Oil. I used this olive oil that's pretty widely available, though it is not organic.
8. All other fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, or Whole Foods Market when I can't find what I need at the farmers' market.

Pro Tips and Techniques for Baked Sesame Tofu

1. On tofu serving sizes: I generally allot 6-8 oz (half a pound) of salmon for each serving, which amounts to two pounds total for this recipe. Eight ounces is actually a pretty large serving, and most people will not eat that much because of all the other delicious little things on the table. However, leftover cooked salmon will keep for about three days in the refrigerator, or frozen for a few weeks, and is great for adding to your lunch and dinner grain bowls.
2. Advance Cooking. You can make the Puttanesca sauce in advance. It will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container for about three days. However, the recipe comes together so quickly, there's no need to do anything too far in advance.
3. Parmesan. No. Do not put cheese of any kind on this dish. I will disown you. Cheese and fish do not belong together. Not only is the main ingredient salmon, there are anchovies in the sauce. No parmesan.

Tools and Equipment

 

Storage

Marinated tofu will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Once baked, tofu will keep for an additional two days in the refrigerator.

Tofu does not freeze well.

Wine for Baked Sesame Tofu

You have a couple of directions you can follow for wine pairing with Salmon Puttanesca. Either take the lead of the salmon, or follow the briny, umami-rich flavors of the puttanesca sauce.

Fish almost always calls for a high-acid white wine, but salmon is rich so it can handle a light- to medium-bodied red. My favorite Italian red grape, Sangiovese, which is used in familiar Chianti and Rosso di Montalcino, is a great example of a medium-bodied red wine that works well with food. And certain, lighter, fruitier wines made from sangiovese are perfect with spicy saucy tomato-based dishes like a Puttanesca. I love this Rosso di Montalcino, shockingly affordable.

For something a little more fun, this wine is made from California-grown sangiovese, and fermented as whole clusters in a process called carbonic maceration so the wine has a slight natural fizz.

For more tips on pairing wine with food, check out this post about wines from Paso Robles, California, and this post about wines from Santa Barbara, California.

FAQ

How to Use Baked Sesame Tofu

• In grain bowls as the plant-based protein source
• DIY Sushi Hand Rolls Bar

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Baked Sesame Tofu Recipe

makes 1 block of marinated tofu, enough to add as a component to 2-3 bowls of quinoa, soba, salad, or whatever. This recipe can (and should) be doubled, it's that good.

Prep Time2 hrs

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: asian, Japanese

Keyword: tofu

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce block firm tofu
• ⅓ cup tamari
• 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon very finely minced garlic best if you can scrape it into a paste
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger I have used "pulp" after juicing ginger! It's perfect!
• 1 tablespoon light/mild olive oil
• oil for cooking

Instructions

Prep and Marinate Tofu

• Drain the tofu. Save the container if you do not have a container to use to marinate the tofu. I use rectangular glass storage containers.
• Place a layer of kitchen/tea towel on a large rimmed baking sheet. Add 2-3 layers of paper towel on the towel.
• Cut tofu into 1-inch-wide strips, pat dry with paper towels. Place the tofu in a single layer over the paper towels on the baking sheet. Place 2-3 more layers of paper towels over the tofu. Place a cutting board or other flat surface on top of the tofu and paper towels. Let the tofu "press" and drain for about 2 hours. If the paper towels are soaked right away, first of all that's weird, second of all, change them out for fresh ones.
• Once the tofu is pressed and drained, you can either leave the tofu as slices, or cut them into cubes.
• Whisk the tamari, brown rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a bowl to blend. Pour half the marinade into the reserved tofu container or storage container. Place the tofu slices in the containers and pour the remaining marinade over. Cover the tofu with plastic wrap and press the wrap around the tofu. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, up to 1 day.

Roast Tofu

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil a heavy, rimmed baking sheet (probably the same one you used to drain the tofu!) with canola oil. Drain the tofu of the marinade and place in on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping the tofu slices or stirring cubes, halfway through the bake time.
• You can also saute the tofu in about a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
• Serve the marinated tofu warm, cold or room temperature.
• Roasted tofu will keep for one day, covered and refrigerated. I never have leftovers.

when you make this recipe, let us know!Mention @TheDelicious or tag #thedeliciousmademedoit!

Afterthoughts

This week, I am resolving to:

At this point, I'd like to be able to stick with something for just a week. One week! Seven days! Is that so much to ask of myself? Is it?!

If I knew what the inside of my own mind looked like right now, then yes, asking me to see some task or activity or change through to the end of a week is asking a lot. It's all I can do to make it through an entire day without failing on my morning resolve of detoxing for 12 hours. Maybe what I need to do is set more realistic goals. Like "Today I will detox for six hours!"

But still, I'm putting my New Week's Resolutions out there, one of which is to publish a blog post every day this week, even if it means I post nothing but a nicely photoshopped picture of my breakfast. Which I wouldn't do because I don't eat breakfast, so... Great. See? Failed before I even started.

So I'm sharing the greatest thing since sliced tofu, the Baked Sesame Tofu recipe.

• get to know buckwheat (beyond the usual soba)
• drink green juice every weekday morning
• log off the computer by midnight (getting to bed, let alone sleeping, is another story)
• share my Life List
• move and settle into our new office!

I'm not actually listing "publish a blog post every day" with the rest of these because then it's real and I am accountable to the four people who read the list and that's just way too much pressure.

God, I hope this works.