Tofu Sushi & Asian Slaw

By now you know that I am a tofu lover.

Don’t get me wrong, put any kind of meat in front of me and it will be gone within 5 minutes, but there is something about tofu that is just so delicious. It’s the perfect sponge to absorb any taste you can imagine, or in my case, concoct in my kitchen. Whenever I feel like I have had a week of heavy meals, am trying to reduce my weekly grocery bill or even just plain old in the mood (gasp!) I turn to tofu. I use it in soups, stir-fries, salads, and as you can see even in sushi. I don’t eat raw fish. I know, I know, apparently I’m missing out, but for all my adventurous eating I can’t convince myself that slimy raw fish could possibly taste good. So I come up with alternatives for my sushi because I love the taste of seaweed and sushi rice and there is no reason to give it up just because I don’t eat it the Japanese way! I usually making vegetarian rolls but when I am making my sushi as a dinner I like to add a protein in such as tamago (basically a Japanese omelet), cooked salmon or deliciously marinated and baked tofu to really make it into a meal.

Even though tofu sushi covers all your major food groups covered, I still am not a fan of one dish dinners, I need variety with every mouthful. But if you’re not like me, which most people aren’t sushi is an easy and quick dinner that can definitely stand alone. Since I was working off of what I had in the fridge, I can’t believe I literally had exactly the ingredients I needed for a classic Asian slaw. I had purple cabbage and scallion in the fridge, mandarins in my fruit bowl and a little bag of craisins in my pantry.

Print Recipe

Tofu Bites or Sticks

Course

Main Dish, Tofu, Topping

Cuisine

Asian

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey substitute silan if vegan
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sirracha
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 4 cloves garlic minced

Course Main Dish, Tofu, Topping Cuisine Asian Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings people Ingredients 1 block extra firm tofu 1/2 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp honey substitute silan if vegan 2 tbsp mirin 2 tbsp rice vinegar 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp sirracha 2 tsp lime juice 2 tsp freshly grated ginger 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper 4 cloves garlic minced

Instructions

1. Drain the tofu and place the block of tofu on several layers of paper towels. Cover tofu with several more layers of paper towels. Top with a heavy pan. Let stand 30 minutes to remove the moisture.
2. Meanwhile whisk together your marinade.
3. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes if for a salad or stir fry or into 1/2 inch matchsticks for sushi.
4. Place in marinade, mixing gently to coat all the tofu. Let it marinate for 1/2 hour but if you don't have time you can leave in for 10 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the tofu from the marinade (reserving the marinade) and place the tofu onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan, add in 2 tsp cornstarch and boil until it thickens.
7. Bake the tofu for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through and brushing with the marinade right before the flip and on the other side after the flip. Brush with remaining marinade right before removing from oven and let bake for 5 more minutes.