This simple marinated tofu recipe requires no cooking and delivers unbelievable umami taste with low effort! Flavored with soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger, it’s good 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. The perfect half? You don’t even must prepare dinner it! Simply press, marinate, and revel in. It’s grow to be considered one of 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 bought an prompt wholesome lunch or dinner!
The best way to make this simple marinated tofu recipe
Alex and I really bought 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 have 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 may cease consuming it! It was significantly savory and satisfying, however tasted recent and wholesome on the identical 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 with the intention to infuse it with taste you’ll must press it. Nonetheless: we’ve developed a fast solution 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 really a stunning trick for dashing up urgent tofu: the microwave!
Oddly sufficient, for those who microwave tofu for two minutes, it extracts fairly a little bit of liquid. Then place the items on a dry towel, place a chopping board on high, and high it with a heavy object. The load will extract extra water, and it is going to be carried out after simply quarter-hour.
The best way to marinade tofu
After urgent the tofu, all you need 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 sizzling 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 received’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 may for those who like)
With this simple marinated tofu, you don’t prepare dinner it. This makes it 100% simpler than any baked the strategy. Tofu is suitable for eating uncooked as a result of it’s heat-treated throughout its manufacturing course of.
After all, you may prepare dinner it for those who’d prefer to! You’ll be able to 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. Based on Harvard, soy is a nutrient-dense supply of protein that may safely be consumed a number of instances every week. It’s seemingly to supply well being advantages—particularly when eaten as an alternative choice to pink and processed meat.
Serving options for marinated tofu
This marinated tofu is so easy as a result of it’s principally palms off: there’s actually solely about 10 minutes of energetic time. This offers you ample time to organize the remainder of a meal. As a result of it could retailer refrigerated for as much as 5 days, it’s good 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 carry 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 usually 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 further protein with out extra cooking time.
Wholesome snacking: Take pleasure in 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 unbelievable umami taste with low effort! Flavored with soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger, it’s good for meal prep and wholesome weeknight dinners.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Prepare dinner Time: 0 minutes
- Whole Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Class: Essential Dish
- Technique: 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. Reduce 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 high and add a chopping board and a heavy object. Enable to press for quarter-hour till the water is drained.
- Reduce every sq. into 16 items, for 32 squares complete. Place all of them within the bowl with the marinade and stir very gently. Add marinade and place within the fridge for at the very least half-hour, stirring gently midway by way of. 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 suitable for eating uncooked as a result of it’s heat-treated throughout its manufacturing course of. After all, you may prepare dinner it for those who’d prefer to: you may pan fry it or make baked tofu.
