I got this recipe from an Easy Vegan video. I definitely want to play around with different seasonings and marinades, but it already represents a huge improvement over my standard tofu game. It does take a bit of prep work ahead of time but, honestly, I think it's worth it.

I'd heard before that draining/pressing tofu would improve the texture, but I never really found it made enough difference to bother with. I'd also heard that freezeing it prior to cooking improved the texture. Conveniently, because of this, I actually already had a package of tofu in the freezer as I was planning on trying out a tofu sandwich recipe soon. Apparently the secret to getting a really good texture is to both freeze and press it. The full preparation actually involves freezing it twice, pressing it once, and drying it off thoroughly at multiple points throughout the process. I know this sounds like a lot but, trust me, it's so worth it!

Extra Delicious Tofu

From the Easy Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 package extra firm tofu¹
• 2-3 tsp. light soy sauce²
• ~1/4 tsp. salt
• ~1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil³
• 2-3 tsp. cornstarch/corn flour

Directions

1. Place the tofu (still in its package) in the freezer and allow to freeze solid⁴.
2. Thaw the tofu, open the package and drain it.
3. Place the block with the long side facing you and cut vertically down the middle. Now cut each of these pieces in half horizontally. You should now have four (roughly) equally sized, flat, relatively thin pieces of tofu.
4. Wrap the tofu in a tea towel (or several layers of paper towel) and place a weight on top. Or use a tofu press if you have one. Set aside for 30 minutes to drain.
5. Cut the tofu into bite-sized chunks (or whatever size and shape you prefer) and return to freezer.
6. Once tofu pieces have frozen solid (preferably the next day) remove from freezer, separate, wrap in a tea towel (or more paper towels) and thaw. You can allow them to thaw at room temperature or you can thaw them in the microwave.
7. Pat dry, then toss with soy sauce (or seasoning of choice). You don't want to completely saturate the tofu. You're just looking to add a little flavour.
8. Sprinkle a little salt on as well.
9. Toss with canola oil (or whatever oil you prefer).
10. Toss with cornstarch. The tofu pieces should be thoroughly coated, but shouldn't have any white patches of dry cornstarch visible.
11. Place tofu pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet.
12. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20-30 minutes turning halfway through.
13. Add to your favourite saucy dishes in place of regular tofu or meat.

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¹ Mine was 350g. ^Back
2 I'm really pleased with how the tofu came out, but it definitely did have a distinctive soy sauce flavour. Not that I minded it. I like soy sauce and it worked well in the Thai curry I ended up using it in. But it would be interesting to experiment with other sauces and marinades. Especially for applications that might not marry so well with soy sauce. I think vegetable stock or mushroom ketchup would both make for interesting flavours. The soaking water from dried mushrooms might also be nice although it would lack the obvious salt component of the other choices. You could also get into building more complex flavours by combining various savoury and salty components w/ spices. Tomato paste thinned with some mushroom soaking water⁵ would add a nice hit of umami as well as colour. You could then try adding just a dash of light and/or dark soy sauce to this mixture for even more umami plus a bit of salt, but doing it this way you wouldn't end up (I hope) with an overwhelming soy sauce flavour.
³ Feel free to try more flavourful and/or seasoned oils if the occasion calls for it. ^Back
4 You can buy several packages of tofu at once and keep them in the freezer until you're ready to use them. Thaw out as needed. ^Back
5 Tomatoes and mushrooms are both high in glutamates. ^Back