Wednesday, June 20, 2012

BEST Tofu EVER: Vegan Yum Yum's Pineapple Baked Tofu

Sweet pineapple and rich coconut soaked, perfectly glazed, browned, flavor-coated in every bite tofu. This recipe is for anyone who ever called tofu bland. I DARE them to eat this and then even TRY to say tofu can't be delicious. I double dog dare them.

Honestly, I ate this meal and after my first bite, thought it was the best tofu I'd ever had. Ever seen that Food Network Show, The Best Thing I Ever Ate? Can't you just imagine a "the best tofu I ever ate" episode? No. I guess I can't either. But if those meat-eating Food Network Stars ever did do that episode, this tofu would be on it. Ok, I think I've talked it up enough.

Another amazing recipe from the Vegan Yum Yum Cookbook. The recipe is for Pineapple Baked Tofu with Nutty Greens. I've adapted a bit here, so definitely check out the book for the original!

Ingredients
  • 1 package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed well, cut in 6-8 slices
  • 1 can pineapple rings, or fresh pinneapple (about 6 large slices/ rings)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup pineapple juice (either from can or you can use a food processor to get some from fresh pineapple slices)
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
  • 1.5 Tbsp peanut oil, divided into 1 Tbsp and 1/2
  • 3/4 tsp Old Bay
  • 1/4 cup light coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water
Steps:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 
  2. Make the marinade for the pineapple: mix juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, 1 Tbsp peanut oil, Old Bay, and soy sauce/tamari and put in glass baking dish that is wide enough for your tofu slices to sit in. Add the tofu and bake for 20 minutes, flipping half way through. 
  3. Increase heat to 425 and cook another 20 minutes, flipping as before.
  4. Cook the pineapple slices by heating the remaining peanut oil and cooking until lightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside until serving.
  5. After the tofu is done cooking, remove the tofu from the pan and add any leftover marinade to the pan you cooked the pineapple in. Add the coconut milk and the cornstarch/water mix, whisking and heating until you have a smooth sauce. Sprinkle with a little additional Old Bay if you like!
  6. To serve, place the tofu over rice and or/greens, and then add the pineapple slices, and drizzle with the coconut sauce. 

YUMMMMM! See the book for more serving notes and the complete recipe with "nutty greens." 

4 comments:

  1. Sheesh! This looks amazing. Why are you tempting me with dinner at 6:30 in the morning? ;)
    Oh, well, dinner is planned, atleast. Thanks for sharing the recipe and gorgeous photo!
    (Pineapple + coconut = yum!)

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    1. hehee- well, I guess you could have a pinepple coconut tofu scramble? ;-)
      Thanks!

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  2. Yum! This sounds like a recipe I might just skip over in a cookbook, so it's helpful to see that you gave it such a good review! I like that you can just cook the tofu in the marinade, instead of having to take the extra time to marinate first before cooking.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah me too! All for easy ways to inject flavor. I might just call this a tofu-hater-converter recipe, but we'll see - the real test will be if I can get my sister in law to eat it.... ;-)

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