Why is everyone always hatin’ on tofu? What did tofu ever do to you? If you don’t like tofu then I’m sorry, but if you do like tofu then you’re in luck! Teriyaki ain’t just for chicken; us veg-heads can have some teriyaki in our lives too!

Today we will be serving up some Teriyaki Tofu paired with a vegetable and some carbs because carbs are our friends. I like to serve this with broccoli or cauliflower as the vegetable since the sauce will go on the vegetable as well.

Ingredients

• 1 block of firm or extra firm tofu, pressed* and cubed
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

Sauce

• 4 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• Water to thin

*Note: For some of you tofu newbies, tofu is packaged with liquid and when opened, the tofu should be pressed to release the excess liquid. I recommend cutting the tofu into two slabs when you first open it and then pressing the slabs. When you are ready to cook the tofu that is when you should cube it.

In terms of pressing, I typically line a plate with one or two paper towels and then place the tofu on top of the towel and then place another towel on top of the tofu. I then place a second plate on top and put a few heavy items on that plate to really squeeze the juice out.

Directions

Sauce

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all of the sauce ingredients. If it is too thick, add water in 1 tbsp increments until desired thickness is reached.
   • The sauce should be on the runnier side but still have some thickness to it. If you make it too thin, don’t worry because it will thicken up when we heat it later on.

Tofu

1. Press and cube the tofu.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Arrange the tofu cubes in the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
   • While the tofu is cooking, you should have your vegetables and rice, or other carbs, cooking as well.
4. Once the tofu has finished, pour the sauce over the tofu and let it warm in the pan.
5. Stir the tofu consistently to prevent the sauce from sticking.
6. When the vegetables are finished, mix those in with the tofu and sauce as well.
7. Once everything is warm and coated you may remove from heat and serve.

And that’s all it takes! For me, the only thing that bugs me about tofu is how long the pressing process takes. What I typically do though is buy tofu and slice it into slabs and then press it and freeze it. This way when I plan on having tofu for dinner, I just take the tofu out the night before and then the next day I only have to press it for a fraction of the time because I already removed the liquid previously! This is especially useful on days when I’m in class all day; I just leave the tofu in the fridge being pressed (as described earlier in this post) and then it’s all ready for me to cook when I get home!

I promise that tofu is your friend, or at least it wants to be! Give it a chance.

Happy Cooking!