This simple marinated tofu recipe requires no cooking and delivers unimaginable umami taste with low effort! Flavored with soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger, it’s excellent for meal prep and wholesome weeknight dinners.
I’ll admit it—I wasn’t at all times a tofu believer. However then I found this game-changing marinated tofu (and some different simple tofu recipes) that fully reworked my relationship with this plant-based protein!
This marinated tofu is filled with savory umami flavors from toasted sesame oil, recent ginger, garlic, and soy sauce, plus inexperienced onions and sesame seeds for texture and freshness. One of the best half? You don’t even must prepare dinner it! Simply press, marinate, and revel in. It’s grow to be one among my favourite meal prep staples! Throw it in a bowl with rice, soba noodles, or quinoa and a few recent veggies, and also you’ve received an prompt wholesome lunch or dinner!
The best way to make this simple marinated tofu recipe
Alex and I truly received the concept for this marinated tofu recipe from a dinner we ate on the Chicago Halfway airport. Wait: an airport? Sure, I do know, I can confidently say that that is the primary and solely recipe on this web site that has ever been impressed by airport delicacies!
O, so we had been at Chicago Halfway and we would have liked a wholesome dinner quick. Miraculously, Alex discovered some sushi and a field of marinated tofu. After the primary chew, neither of us might cease consuming it! It was severely savory and satisfying, however tasted recent and wholesome on the similar time.
This marinated tofu is the definition of simple: there are principally two steps. Press, then marinate. There’s fairly a little bit of water in tofu, so so as to infuse it with taste you’ll must press it. Nonetheless: we’ve developed a fast technique to do it!
A tip for urgent tofu—quick!
Many tofu recipes require urgent tofu for about 1 hour to empty it earlier than beginning the recipe. That is difficult on a weeknight, so I made a decision to analysis sooner methods to press the water out of tofu. There’s truly a stunning trick for rushing up urgent tofu: the microwave!
Oddly sufficient, should you microwave tofu for two minutes, it extracts fairly a little bit of liquid. Then place the items on a dry towel, place a reducing board on prime, and prime it with a heavy object. The load will extract extra water, and it is going to be achieved after simply quarter-hour.
The best way to marinade tofu
After urgent the tofu, all it’s important to do is marinade the tofu for half-hour. Merely let it sit in a bowl with the marinade. The flavors are balanced with savory, candy, tangy, and spicy: soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil, tangy rice vinegar, maple syrup and a contact of gochujang scorching sauce for a touch of warmth.
Throw that every one along with some minced inexperienced onion and sesame seeds, and it’s so flavorful, you gained’t know what hit you. Once we first served this marinated tofu to our 2 12 months previous, it disappeared instantly!
No cooking required (however you’ll be able to should you like)
With this simple marinated tofu, you don’t prepare dinner it. This makes it 100% simpler than any baked the tactic. Tofu is fit for human consumption uncooked as a result of it’s heat-treated throughout its manufacturing course of.
In fact, you’ll be able to prepare dinner it should you’d wish to! You may pan fry it or make baked tofu. However this simple marinated tofu recipe actually doesn’t have to be cooked: it’s extraordinarily flavorful with out the fuss.
Is tofu wholesome?
Sure! Tofu is a part of a nutritious diet. In response to Harvard, soy is a nutrient-dense supply of protein that may safely be consumed a number of instances every week. It’s doubtless to offer well being advantages—particularly when eaten as an alternative choice to purple and processed meat.
Serving ideas for marinated tofu
This marinated tofu is so easy as a result of it’s largely fingers off: there’s actually solely about 10 minutes of lively time. This provides you ample time to arrange the remainder of a meal. As a result of it might probably retailer refrigerated for as much as 5 days, it’s excellent for lunches! How would we serve this marinated tofu? Attempt serving it:
Lunch bowls: I like pairing this tofu with seasoned quinoa and pan fried broccoli for a protein-packed lunch. Add some tahini dressing to deliver all of it collectively.
With noodles for dinner: Serve it with peanut noodles or fast soba noodles with steamed greens.
Grain bowls: Layer it over brown rice with simple edamame and recent greens. I typically add sliced cucumber and shredded carrots.
Stir fry addition: Toss it into fried rice or cauliflower fried rice over the past minute of cooking for additional protein with out further cooking time.
Wholesome snacking: Get pleasure from it straight with chopsticks—it’s that good! It’s nice for workplace lunches with some crackers and greens.
Dietary notes
This marinated tofu recipe is vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and plant-based.
Straightforward Marinated Tofu
This simple marinated tofu recipe requires no cooking and delivers unimaginable umami taste with low effort! Flavored with soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger, it’s excellent for meal prep and wholesome weeknight dinners.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Prepare dinner Time: 0 minutes
- Complete Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Class: Important Dish
- Methodology: Marinated
- Delicacies: Asian
- 12 to 16 ounces block of additional agency or agency tofu
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- ½ teaspoon recent ginger, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon gochujang sauce
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (or toasted sesame seeds)
- 1 tablespoon minced inexperienced onion
- Take away the tofu from the package deal and drain liquid. Lower tofu into half lengthwise and place it in a big bowl. Microwave on excessive for two minutes; this helps to extract liquid.
- Drain off extra liquid launched within the microwave. Place the 2 items on a towel; place one other folded towel on prime and add a reducing board and a heavy object. Enable to press for quarter-hour till the water is drained.
- Lower every sq. into 16 items, for 32 squares whole. Place all of them within the bowl with the marinade and stir very gently. Add marinade and place within the fridge for at the least half-hour, stirring gently midway via. Eat instantly (this tofu is served with out cooking it, which is completely secure; see Notes). Shops refrigerated for five days.
Notes
With this simple marinated tofu, you don’t prepare dinner it. Tofu is fit for human consumption uncooked as a result of it’s heat-treated throughout its manufacturing course of. In fact, you’ll be able to prepare dinner it should you’d wish to: you’ll be able to pan fry it or make baked tofu.
