Marinated tofu
Gluten free, vegan, nut free, low FODMAP*Measures are in Australian tablespoons which are 20ml as opposed to the more common 15ml. Use ml for international accuracy, or use 4 teaspoons for every tablespoon listed in the recipe. For example: 2 Australian tablespoons = 8 teaspoons Australian teaspoons are 5ml which is roughly on par with most other countries
Ingredients
- 500 g firm or semi firm tofu, torn into bite sized chunks (see notes)
For the ginger soy marinade:
- 60 ml (3 tablespoons)* gluten free light soy sauce (I used Ayam brand, see notes)
- 40 ml (2 tablespoons)* white rice vinegar
- 40 ml (2 tablespoons)* maple syrup
- 50 g fresh ginger, grated (yes, 50g)
- Plenty of freshly cracked pepper
- 40 ml (2 tablespoons)* toasted sesame oil
To finish:
- 1 teaspoon gluten free cornstarch
- 20 ml (1 tablespoon)* water
- Optional: 1 teaspoon gluten free dark soy sauce for colour, see notes
- Chilli flakes or fresh chilli to your tastes
Instructions
- Take your tofu out of the packet and firmly pat it dry. I have tested this recipe with frozen and defrosted tofu as well as tofu straight out of the packet. I find that frozen and defrosted tofu absorbs a bit more sauce, but it becomes tender and finnicky to slice or cube. If you use frozen and defrosted tofu, I recommend tearing it into chunks.
- Whisk all the ingredients for the marinade together except for the oil. Test and check for any flavour imbalances before adding the oil. The oil will sit on top of the marinade and make it a bit harder to taste and adjust, which is why we add it last.
- Add the tofu to the marinade, ensuring every piece is well coated. To marinate, we want to make sure the maximum amount of marinating liquid is touching the maximum amount of tofu. My best solution at the moment is to store the tofu in a food safe plastic or Ziploc bag and flip it to distribute the liquid every so often.
- Leave the tofu to marinate for 24 hours – I have also left it up to 48 hours and I daresay you could go a bit longer.
- When ready to cook, preheat a large pan over a medium heat. Once heated through, add the tofu and be sure to squeeze out all the marinating mixture into the pan.
- Cook until the tofu is warmed through and the sauce starts to bubble.
- Whisk the cornstarch with the water until all lumps are gone, then pour the mixture into the pan and evenly distribute it. This will thicken the sauce and make it more cohesive.
- If you like, drizzle over a teaspoon of gluten free dark soy sauce for a deeper, more mahogany brown colour. Finish with chilli to taste if you are using it (you can also add this to the marinade sauce if you have a good idea of how spicy you like it).
Notes
- Personally, I think tearing the tofu into chunks is the superior method here. The cragginess allows more surface area to absorb the marinade. It is also so much easier to cook and to disperse the cornstarch mixture in the sauce. It still works with sliced or cubed tofu, but I think torn chunks have a competitive edge here.
- Gluten free soy sauce brands will likely differ in their saltiness. I personally find this is not remotely overly salted, but your tastes for salt might differ. If in doubt, add conservative soy sauce to your marinade as you can add more later. If you find your marinated tofu is severely under salted, you can use 20ml soy sauce to make the corn starch slurry.
- I will add more flavour profiles to this recipe as I develop them. I see a lot of potential!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!