In the event you love peanut sauce and tofu, then you’ll go loopy for this baked peanut tofu!
Tofu is baked merely till evenly crisp, then tossed with an umami wealthy, sweet-and-sour peanut sauce, then baked once more till the sauce caramelizes and the tofu turns into outrageously scrumptious.
Pair the tofu with blanched broccolini and edamame alongside rice for a balanced and recent but indulgent meal the entire household will love!
Desk of Contents
1. Why you’ll love this recipe
2. Ingredient notes
3. Suggestions for making this recipe
4. Steadily Requested Questions
Why you’ll love this recipe
Tofu will get a FUN makeover.
I’m an enormous believer that cooking tofu ought to be enjoyable. In the event you’ve tried my Braised Tofu, Greek-Type Vegan Feta, Tofu Stir Fry, or Tofu Tikka Masala, you already know that 🙂
And this recipe makes tofu the enjoyable star it will probably and ought to be. Serve it to your tofu-skeptical buddies, companions, and children, and I promise they’ll see tofu in a brand new mild.
A critical taste bomb
I’m not exaggerating once I say this peanut sauce is a taste bomb! It’s impressed by peanut sauces you’ll discover in sure Indonesian and Thai dishes, and I promise you’ll wish to add this to your favorites assortment.
Peanut butter kinds the creamy, nutty base, whereas a couple of pantry staples deliver the large taste: a beneficiant quantity of soy sauce provides a wealthy savory taste, tamarind paste provides probably the most pleasant tang, coconut sugar provides the requisite sweetness to steadiness, and sambal oelek provides a barely spicy kick.
Lime zest provides its attribute citrusy freshness, whereas recent garlic provides a, effectively, garlicky punch. One style of these items and also you’ll be hooked!
Indulgent however healthful
This dish tastes nearly decadent because of the wealthy peanut sauce, however the principle components are nutritious plant-based staples: tofu, peanut butter, edamame, brown rice, and broccolini.
Bonus: this severely tasty peanut sauce will get utilized in two methods. First, it coats the tofu earlier than hitting the oven. The peanut sauce clings and nearly caramelizes onto the tofu within the oven.
And whereas that’s baking, you’ll skinny out the remainder of the peanut sauce with some water. Drizzle that over the whole meal to complete so that you get that unbelievable sweet-savory-spicy taste in each chunk.
Ingredient Notes
Additional-Agency Tofu
Obvi! This recipe first bakes the tofu merely (with olive oil, salt, and potato starch). It’s principally the identical technique I exploit in my Easy Baked Tofu, however the tofu bakes for a shorter time frame earlier than being tossed with the peanut sauce.
Potato starch yields one of the best texture for baked tofu, however it’s also possible to simply use arrowroot powder.
Peanut Butter
Easy, creamy peanut butter with no added sugars or oils is greatest right here. In case your peanut butter is salted, begin with simply 1 tablespoon of tamari/soy sauce and add extra to style.
Substitutes: Peanut allergy? You should use almond butter with nice outcomes. In the event you’re allergic to all nuts, you may strive sunflower seed butter, however most varieties have added sugar, begin with simply 2 teaspoons of sugar, then style and regulate as wanted.
Tamarind Paste
Tamarind paste or tamarind focus provides a distinctly tart, tangy, and really barely candy taste that’s so splendidly distinctive and laborious to explain.
Tamarind is a tropical pod fruit that’s utilized in many cuisines, together with South Asian (significantly South Indian delicacies), Southeast Asian, Latin American, and Caribbean cuisines.
The entire fruit is a bit time consuming to show the fruit within the pods right into a paste, however tamarind paste or focus makes it straightforward to get that scrumptious taste.
The place to purchase: Purchase tamarind paste/focus at South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Latin grocery shops, in addition to shops like Entire Meals or on-line.
Substitute: Can’t get tamarind? Use freshly squeezed lime juice from the lime you zested as a substitute. The sauce will nonetheless be scrumptious.
Soy Sauce
A beneficiant quantity of soy sauce brings an addictive depth of savoriness to this sauce.
Tip: Gluten-free? Use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce (the remainder of this recipe is gluten-free).
Sambal Oelek (Chili Sauce)
You might have seen a jar of sambal oelek with out even realizing it. This Indonesian chili sauce is made with simply chiles, salt, and vinegar, and the model you’ll see mostly within the states is Huy Fong (with the inexperienced lid).
Huy Fong additionally sells an analogous Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce (the principle distinction is that it has garlic). Both of those sauces works nice, however in case you are utilizing a sweeter scorching sauce like sriracha, go straightforward on the sugar.
Broccolini and Edamame
Whereas the tofu bakes, you’ll blanch some broccolini and edamame to spherical out the meal. Once they’re executed boiling, merely dip them in an ice tub (a big bowl of ice water) to cease them from overcooking and to protect their brilliant inexperienced coloration.
To complete, toss with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and salt. They don’t want a lot taste since they’ll be paired with the flavor-heavy peanut sauce.
In the event you can’t discover broccolini, be at liberty to make use of common broccoli (about 14 ounces or 400g), lower into medium-sized florets.
Suggestions for making this recipe
Make a double batch of the peanut sauce.
Belief me once I say this peanut sauce is so good that you just’ll wish to double batch it. It’ll keep good within the fridge for about 1 week.
You should use leftover peanut sauce to make one other batch of baked peanut tofu, or to make this unbelievable Noodle Salad with Rainbow Veggies. You can too pair it with summer season rolls or lettuce wraps, or use it as a dressing for a tempeh salad (skinny the sauce out with water first).
Search out tamarind paste when you can.
Tamarind paste helps set this peanut sauce aside and a step above the remainder. Its beautiful tangy taste can’t be replicated, and it’s such a enjoyable ingredient to discover.
Attempt utilizing leftovers in an Indian chutney like this, strive including a bit to an Indian curry as a substitute of lemon/lime juice (begin slowly), use it in pad Thai, or add a spoon to BBQ sauce for a enjoyable twist.
For my favourite straightforward hack, drizzle tamarind paste over a vegan yogurt sauce (flavored with lemon juice, salt and garlic); schmear it on a plate and use as a topping for just about any Indian-inspired meal for a cooling-tangy-sweet end.
Multitask
To make this meal probably the most effectively, you will want to multitask. Comply with these directions for one of the best use of your time.
As an example, whereas the tofu is urgent, you can also make your peanut sauce and trim the broccolini.
Then, placed on a big pot of water to boil and begin cooking your rice utilizing your most popular cooking technique.
Whereas the tofu bakes throughout its first spherical (with simply oil, salt, and potato starch), you may boil the broccolini and edamame, switch them to the ice tub, dry off, and toss them with toasted sesame oil and salt.
After 20 minutes within the oven, take away the tofu and toss it with the peanut sauce. Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Throughout that point, skinny out the remaining peanut sauce with a little bit of water till drizzleable. And chop the garnishes: cilantro and roasted cashews.
When the baked peanut tofu is completed, all the things is able to assemble!
Serve nevertheless you want
Be at liberty to swap the broccolini for inexperienced beans or snap peas, or serve over noodles as a substitute of rice. Or, preserve issues easy and serve the baked peanut tofu on high of leftover rice, grate or shred a carrot on high, and squeeze with lime juice.
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Steadily Requested Questions
You should use almond butter with nice outcomes. In case you are allergic to all nuts, you may strive sunflower seed butter, however most varieties have added sugar, begin with simply 2 teaspoons of sugar, then style and regulate as wanted.
If allergic to all nuts, omit the cashews as a garnish completely, or exchange with 2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds.
This recipe calls for six ounces of edamame (half the quantity in an ordinary bag of frozen shelled edamame), which looks like the correct amount to me. You’ll be able to retailer the remaining half of the edamame in its bag within the freezer.
However in case you are seeking to stretch out the meal additional or have heartier appetites to feed, be at liberty to make use of the total bag of edamame (12 ounces of 340g).
Retailer the broccolini and edamame combination in a separate container when you can, for as much as 4 days. Stir the peanut tofu individually within the fridge for about 4 days as effectively.
Reheat tofu in a nonstick frying pan with a contact of oil till warmed by means of, or serve at room temperature. Reheat the broccolini and edamame within the microwave, lined (or in a frying pan).
Earlier than serving, high the dish with freshly chopped cilantro and nuts and a squeeze of lime juice.
In the event you love this Baked Peanut Tofu, please make sure to go away a ranking and assessment beneath! And tag me on Instagram – I really like seeing your remakes!
Baked tofu is coated with a deeply savory and wealthy southeast Asian-inspired peanut sauce, then briefly baked till the sauce caramelizes on to the tofu and is outrageously scrumptious. Spherical out the meal with blanched greens, rice, and extra peanut sauce for an entire dinner!
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Preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.
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Prep the tofu. Slice the block of tofu lengthwise into 4 slabs; wrap them in a skinny dish towel, then weigh them down along with your heaviest cookbook(s). Press for 10 to fifteen minutes (not more than 15 min). Alternatively, use a tofu press when you’ve got one (however don’t slice the tofu into slabs first).
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Convey a big saucepan of water to a boil for the broccolini and edamame.
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Whereas the tofu presses, make the Peanut Sauce. In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, garlic, tamarind, lime zest, tamari or soy sauce, chili sauce, sugar, coriander, and cinnamon. Whisk effectively to mix.Style and regulate to your choice, including extra tamari for additional savory saltiness, extra sugar for sweetness, extra tamarind or lime juice for tang, or extra chili sauce for warmth.
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Bake the tofu. Slice tofu into ½” to ¾” (~1.5 cm) cubes. In a big bowl, mix tofu with 1 ½ tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to style, tossing to coat with a silicone spatula. Add the potato starch and gently toss to coat. Unfold tofu out on the lined pan in order that they don’t contact. Bake within the oven for 20 minutes. Wipe out the big bowl and fill it up with ice and chilly water (for an ice tub).
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Blanch the veggies. As soon as the water is boiling, add a beneficiant tablespoon of kosher salt, adopted by the broccolini and edamame. Partially cowl to assist deliver again to a boil, and prepare dinner for about 3 minutes, till broccolini is crisp tender with a chunk. Drain in a colander, then switch to the ice tub to sit back.Drain and dry the veggies effectively with a towel. Switch again to the big bowl and season with a couple of pinches of salt and drizzle with the toasted sesame oil. Toss, and put aside.
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Make the peanut tofu. After 20 minutes within the oven, cut back the temperature to 350ºF / 175ºC. Switch baked tofu and half of the Peanut Sauce (¼ cup or ~70g) to a bowl. Toss with a silicone spatula to coat, then sprinkle with the 1 tablespoon sesame seeds.Unfold the tofu out on the lined pan. Bake at 350ºF / 175ºC for 10 minutes, till the peanut sauce has dried out a bit.
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Whereas the peanut tofu bakes, prep the serving components. Whisk a couple of teaspoons of water into the remaining half of the Peanut Sauce till pourable. Roughly chop the cashews (or peanuts) and chop the cilantro. Reheat your rice, as wanted.
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Assemble. Squeeze a little bit of lime juice on high of the nice and cozy baked peanut tofu. Divide cooked rice between 4 bowls. High with broccolini & edamame, then drizzle some Peanut Sauce on high of every. High with baked peanut tofu, cilantro, and chopped nuts. Spoon extra Peanut Sauce on high.
- If in case you have salted peanut butter, begin with 1 tablespoon of tamari and add extra as wanted. Peanut allergy? Use almond butter. Nut allergy? Use sunflower seed butter.
- In the event you don’t have tamarind paste, juice the lime after zesting it, and use 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice (or to style).
- Use much less chili sauce as wanted. If you should sub with sriracha, use much less sugar.
- In case your nut/seed butter comprises sugar, begin with simply 2 teaspoons of sugar, then style and regulate as wanted.
- If any broccolini stems are very thick, slice the spears in half, lengthwise. If desired, slice the stems crosswise into 3” to 4” (7.5 to 10 cm) items (for extra bite-sized items). If utilizing common broccoli, lower into-medium sized florets.
- Nut allergy? Omit the nut topping (or use 2 TBSP roasted sesame seeds).
