Marinated Tofu Recipe (for the BEST Tofu Flavour!) (2024)

FAQs

How do you get the most flavor out of tofu? ›

Marinade it in a saucy liquid.

You can literally use any meat marinades for tofu, just pump up the flavours. Remember that tofu tastes like nothing, so it's up to you to really get those flavours singing. You can marinade tofu for anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight.

Cover with plastic wrap or a lid, then refrigerate for 12–48 hours. (The smaller the tofu pieces, the less total time you'll need to marinate.) The top of the tofu might poke out of the marinade, so give it a shake every so often to make sure each piece is thoroughly soaked.

In a medium-size bowl place the pressed and cubed tofu. Add the soy sauce and toss to coat. Add in all of the other marinade ingredients (rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, agave, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika and water) and toss to thoroughly combine.

Once the tofu is marinated, I use a cornstarch coating with some cumin powder in it. Not only does it create a super crispy result, but the seasoning further brings out the flavor of the tofu.

What to not serve with tofu? According to studies, a high volume consumption of tofu and spinach together can increase your risk of kidney stones. Tofu and spinach contain calcium and oxalic acid respectively and the combined can form kidney stones.

Plain tofu has no specific flavor and is honestly, quite bland. This might be why people tend to hate it but the fact that it's bland is exactly why we should LOVE it. The texture of tofu is more important than the taste- all the different types of tofu have different textures.

Cold, raw tofu rejects marinades because of its high water content and low porosity. It will eventually suck up a marinade, but mostly on the surface, and only after a long, long time (think a couple of days). Par-cooking it speeds up the process by driving out some of that water, leaving more room for seasonings.

I recommend always pressing tofu before baking it, especially if you're marinating it first — removing excess liquid will make room for all that flavorful marinade.

Tofu has very little flavour itself but soaks up almost every flavour you add to it. When you put tofu in a stew or simmer it in a broth, you don't need to marinade it beforehand, as it absorbs all of the flavours during cooking. But for all other types of preparations, it's better to marinate the tofu first of all.

For Indian-inspired fried tofu, use curry powder, turmeric powder, and ground cumin. Use garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and dried rosemary for Italian-inspired fried tofu.

How do you make tofu taste less bland? ›

Soy sauce/tamari - This is pretty crucial for flavour, as tofu naturally has a very bland taste. Either soy sauce or tamari can be used. Tamari is a (generally) gluten free soy sauce, whereas regular soy sauce usually contains wheat. Apple cider vinegar - Adds a mild tanginess to the tofu.

1) Drain out all water. Tofu is like a sponge, It'll absorb more flavours when dry. . 2) Cut it into small cubes or slice in thin strips. Smaller surface area cooks uniformly making it more flavourful. .

You can leave the tofu in the bag with the marinade for as little as 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours. Can I marinate tofu overnight? Technically, yes, but in our tests, the tofu that marinated for longer than 4 hours absorbed too much of the marinade and ended up less flavorful and crispy.

Substitutions: If you prefer not to cook with cornstarch, you can substitute in an equal volume of all-purpose flour or potato starch. Tofu: This recipe can also be made with medium-firm tofu, but you'll need to be a bit more gentle while pressing and coating it.

How long must I marinate my tofu? The larger and thicker the tofu, the more time is needed to absorb the marinade. The minimum time to marinate small cubes, thin slices and grated or 'scrambled' tofu is 15 minutes. For the tastiest results, marinade the tofu overnight.

Or, get firm tofu, press it, cut into inch-ish cubes, cover in cornstarch seasoned to your taste, such as with cayenne, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast (cornstarch is far and away the best for this but I've used various other similar powders), fry in a good amount of canola oil (usually I have it maybe a centimeter and ...