Yes, I am aware of how cliché it is that the first recipe in my vegan food blog is for a tofu dish. But we need to start somewhere, and this is a pretty good place to start – a simple and easy recipe that turns a block of boring tofu into a dish that’s addictingly good. Seriously, this is a great recipe even for people who think they don’t like tofu. And things could always be worse – this could have been a recipe for a lettuce salad or steamed sprouts or something, and we wouldn’t want that, would we? So no complaining. Let’s get started!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup soy or tamari sauce
2 tbsp date syrup (or maple syrup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 block firm tofu – standard size, 300g/10-12oz.

Instructions:

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Slice the tofu about 1cm/0.5″ thick. Place the slices between layers of paper towels and squeeze out excess liquid.

Pour the marinade into a shallow pan or rectangular dish. Put the tofu slices in the marinade, cover the dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Flip the slices and put back in the fridge for 30 minutes (longer is fine, you can even leave them overnight if you like).

Heat your oven to 200C/390F (a toaster oven will work too). Arrange the marinaded tofu slices on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Bake for 20 minutes, flip and bake for 20 minutes longer.

So, now what? What can you do with baked tofu?

Everything! Here are a few ideas:

1. Try not to eat it all straight from the pan.

2. Put it in a sandwich with your favorite veggies and condiments.

3. Cut it into strips and use in a stir-fry or a salad.

4. Serve as-is, with rice or another grain. Try it with sweet chili or a peanut sauce.

5. Cut it into strips and use in rice paper rolls (photo below, possibly recipe in near future).

Any other ideas? Leave a comment!