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I am going to confess something really shameful to you right now. When I decided to make this recipe, I realized that the dried rosemary in my pantry was 12 years old. Escandalo! If my rosemary were a person, she would have Justin Bieber posters in her room and be sass-mouthing me when I ask her to do her chores. Herbs! They grow up so fast! I think you're supposed to keep dried herbs for a year, so this is pretty embarrassing. In my defense, I hardly ever use dried rosemary in my cooking. Which is good because when I opened it up, it smelled like dust and nothing instead of smelling like rosemary.
Whenever I post a tofu recipe, people ask me how to press it. There are some cooking techniques that I never know if I should take the time to explain because I'm not sure if people know about them already. I don't want you guys to be like, "Duh, thanks, I knew that." But I don't want you to be confused either! So I thought I'd post another baked tofu recipe and explain how to press tofu. Then when I post a tofu recipe in the future, I can link back here.
In my opinion, the best way to press tofu is with a tofu press (which you can read about here). But pressing tofu with a tofu press is self-explanatory and if you have a tofu press, odds are, you know how to use it. So if you don't have a tofu press, all you need to do is:
1. Take two paper towels and fold them in half and in half again.
2. Place one of the folded towels on a cutting board. Make sure the cutting board is on a surface that can get wet, like your countertop.
3. Take the tofu out of the package, drain off the water, and put it on top of the first paper towel.
5. Place something heavy on top--either a plate, another cutting board, or a skillet. I usually put additional weights on top of that too. Make sure the weight is evenly distributed or the plate/skillet/cutting board will fall off, usually smashing one side of your tofu in the process.
6. Let this sit for 30 minutes. You can change out the paper towels once or twice if needed.
Is this worth it? HECK YES IT IS WORTH IT. When you press out all that tofu water, the tofu can better absorb the flavors you add to it. Even if a recipe doesn't call for me to press my tofu, I still press it. I can't stress enough how important this is.
So this gave me a good excuse to make Baked Italian Herb Tofu, which had been on my to-make list for a while. I used to buy it, but they stopped selling it locally, which was a bummer. This tofu is simple to make and it's a delicious addition to pasta, sandwiches, and salads. You can bake the slices for 30 minutes, which results in tofu that's soft and golden brown in color, or you can bake them for a full 40 minutes, which makes the tofu browned and chewy.
Recipe
Baked Italian Herb Tofu
This easy baked tofu is perfect for adding to salads, pasta, and sandwiches!
115-ounce package extra-firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes and cut into 8 slabs
Salt to taste
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
Whisk together the liquid aminos, oil, water, vinegar, garlic powder, herbs, and pepper in a small baking dish. Place the tofu slices in the baking dish and marinate for 30 minutes, turning the slices over after 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Transfer the tofu slices to a baking sheet that's been lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray. Rub any remaining marinade onto the tofu and season with a few sprinkles of salt. For softer baked tofu, bake for 30 minutes; for chewier tofu, bake for 40 minutes. Flip the tofu over halfway through cooking time.
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Wrap the block of tofu in a clean tea towel then put it on a large plate with a lip.Put something heavy such as a frying pan on top, weight it down further with cans and jars, and leave for 30 mins. The tofu will be about two-thirds its original thickness, and up to 100ml water will have been removed.
For the best results, I recommend pressing tofu for at least 30 minutes before cooking, though longer is great if you're able to plan ahead. In a pinch, even less time can make a big difference. I pressed the left block of tofu in the photo above for just 20 minutes. An unpressed block of tofu is on the right.
Completely wrap the tofu with the paper napkin and place on top of the towel. Stack a heavy pan on top of the tofu and allow it to press for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. The tofu is ready when there is no more liquid remaining. Cut the tofu into your preferred shape and cook as desired.
Drain the water from your tofu block. Place a cooling rack over a baking tray (to catch the excess water). Pop your tofu block on the cooling rack and place your heaviest chopping board over the tofu. Leave for 20-30 mins to press with no need for paper.
And if tofu is vacuumed packed or firm already, you definitely don't need to press it. Here's why: moisture in tofu is a good thing. Tofu is over 80% water, and that moisture is what makes it such a succulent, juicy source of protein. Pressing it can make the tofu unnecessarily dry and strip it of its intended texture.
To achieve a nice crispy coating on your tofu pieces, pressing out excess moisture is key! If you cook tofu often, I highly recommend investing in a tofu press (this one by Tofuture has been my favorite for years). It not only presses out extra moisture but also condenses it for a firmer texture.
Your weight should be heavy enough to press down evenly across the top of the tofu, but not so heavy so as to cause the tofu block to crumble. A large can of food is a perfect weight.
The longer the block of tofu has been pressed during the production process, the less water content there will be and the firmer the resulting tofu will be. Firm tofu and extra-firm tofu have an almost meat-like texture, making them a perfect meat substitute when they are flavored and seasoned.
You do not need to refrigerate the tofu while pressing, although you can if you have space. Just make sure your pressing and marinating time comes in under 2 hours if you're not refrigerating during that time.
Can you over-press tofu? You don't have to worry about over-pressing tofu when you follow instructions, and only do it when the recipe calls for it. If you press tofu for recipes when you don't really have to, it can result in crumbly and even mushy tofu.
A block of tofu is like a big saturated sponge: Blotting it dry with towels may help the surface crisp and brown, but using pressure to squeeze out the water from the interior produces firmer, chewier, denser, creamier pieces that don't fall apart as you're cooking.
It can take a while for extra firm tofu to absorb a marinade, so be sure to give it at least 30 minutes. Toss it in cornstarch for crispiness. Coating the tofu in cornstarch gives it extra crispy edges. (For less crispiness, you can also add the cornstarch directly to the marinade.)
Wrap the tofu block in paper towels and place it on a shallow plate. Grab a heavy pan like a cast iron and place it on top of the wrapped tofu. Place a few cans inside the pan and gently press down with your hands. Be careful not to press too hard where the block splits or breaks.
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.
The texture is determined by the water content in the tofu. The more water, the softer or 'silkier' the tofu; with less water, the tofu is firmer. Tofu is categorized as silken, regular, firm, extra-firm and super-firm. Silken, the softest type of tofu, can be compared to a young white cheese.
To use this type of tofu for cooking I suggest you cut up the desired pieces and gently simmer in hot water for 5 to 7 minutes. This procedure firms up the tofu for later cooking.
The longer the block of tofu has been pressed during the production process, the less water content there will be and the firmer the resulting tofu will be. Firm tofu and extra-firm tofu have an almost meat-like texture, making them a perfect meat substitute when they are flavored and seasoned.
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