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Tofu Teriyaki

Over a bed of shredded cabbage, strongly recommended.


 I'm slowly but surely learning how to make all of my restaurant favorites during this pandemic. This was one I hadn't bothered with because I assumed that I would need to fry the tofu, and I really hate frying things. But this recipe from She Likes Food gave me the confidence to try it baked, and it works! This one is now going into the rotation of favorites.

The original recipe for the crispy tofu calls for coating the tofu in soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, garlic, rice vinegar, and maple syrup before adding the cornstarch. I kept it simple and only used soy sauce and sesame oil, since I was planning to top it with teriyaki sauce. I think this was the right choice, but I'll try the full list of ingredients another time.

Whenever I get tofu teriyaki in a bento, it's over a bed of thinly sliced cabbage, slightly wilted from the warm tofu and sauce. I love this and I think it's the perfect accompaniment to teriyaki. 

I considered making the sauce, but I had a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce Original (NOT the marinade/sauce version) in the fridge, and it's delicious. 

The Recipe:
1 block tofu, cut into 8 rectangles (one horizontal cut and then two vertical cuts in a cross shape)
1 tb sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 c teriyaki sauce (Kikkoman original, or a homemade version)
Serving suggesion: thinly sliced cabbage underneath, sushi rice on the side, and green onions for garnish

  • Remove excess water from the tofu slices. I usually slice it a couple of hours before I will be cooking, wrap the slices in a kitchen towel, and just let it sit in the fridge that way until I am ready to cook.
  • Coat the tofu slices in sesame oil and soy sauce, then coat them in enough cornstarch to cover them without seeing a layer of white.
  • Lay out the tofu in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
  • In the meantime, warm up the teriyaki sauce over low heat in a small sauce pan.
  • When the tofu is baked, quickly dip the bottom of each slice in sauce before putting it on the serving plate. Then, drizzle the rest of the sauce over the top of the slices.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: A+
Overall reason: Delicious and take-out like
Time to prepare: 40 minutes, ideally plus some time for the tofu to drain a bit
Husband and 5-year-old reaction: Both of them ate it quickly with no complaint about the fact that it was tofu!

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