RECIPE: slab of baked tofu sandwiches - surprisingly good

18 years ago

This was so good, I wanted to share. I had heard from numerous vegetarians about baking slabs of tofu but just didn't sound that appetizing. But when I found a recipe for this on the www.eatingwell.com website, thought I'd try it.

Below is kind of an adaptation of what I found. Basically my point here is that if you cut the block of firm tofu into 8 slices, spread sauce (probably almost any sauce) on one side, then spread on the other side and place on baking sheet. I used parchment to keep from sticking.

These are great right out of the oven but also, they are good cold the next day. Make just a regular sandwich with lettuce and tomato or use pickles or whatever. So simple and a nice bit of protein. (I'm wondering if these will freeze, do ya think?)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons barbeque sauce, or anything that is zesty, maybe picante sauce would be good to try or spaghetti sauce.

14 ounces water-packed extra-firm tofu, drained and rinsed

1. Preheat oven to 475Â°F. (450 if your oven is convection). Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. (I used parchment)

2. Combine mustard, soy sauce and barbeque sauce in a small bowl. Slice tofu crosswise into eight 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel and place on the prepared baking sheet. Using a spoon, spread half the mustard mixture on one side of the tofu. Turn the slices over and spread the remaining mixture on the other side. (Alternative method which I used was to dry each slice with a paper towel, then dip the slice in the bowl, front and back and then lay on baking sheet.)

3. Bake the tofu for 20 minutes. (I cooked using convection mode at 450 degrees for 20 minutes)

Comments (12)

alicesRestaurant
Original Author
18 years ago
I will add a second note here so that this post will move off the top and also to add more info. I continue to make these slabs of tofu. I've simplified things because it seems to me simple barbeque sauce works fine kinda. I've also tried just soy sauce but that wasn't quite enough. I'm thinking I really haven't found the right thing to "marinate" these with. Maybe lemon juice...I'm still working on it.
breezyb
18 years ago
Did you try the recipe as it was printed in Eating Well? Because the original recipe with the chipotle/adobe chili sauce mixture was unbelievably delicious!!

I wouldn't change a thing!
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I really want to like tofu, but...
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Comments (38)
Oh yes please realize I wasn't trying to inflame a tofu/health debate. Since people are so different in their lifestyles it really does depend on alot of factors. What I'm saying is just like what rachelellen is saying, that it just depends so I wouldn't write tofu off for health reasons any more than I would embrace it as the cure all. Individual mileage may vary. There are some people who can't eat tofu or shouldn't eat tofu, no doubt about it. My brother is allergic to soy and has a histamine reaction to it. Soybean oil too for him. That's one reason he is such a picky eater, soybean oil is in so many things. Soy is one of the more common allergens. Not to mention it is a source of phyto-estrogens, which may or may not be good for you depending on which research you read. So if soy's not your thing, no problem. Now, if you want to add soy to your diet because you want to cut down on saturated fat, eat low on the food chain and help the planet a little, or just be cool, then there's a lot of advice out there. Since soy has such a bland taste, eating it plain is probably not the way to learn to love it. But it's bland taste yet relatively high protein level is the beauty of the stuff. It is very adaptable. I'm not a huge fan of frozen tofu. About the only recipe I have that calls for first freezing the tofu is one for tofu sloppy joes. Frozen then thawed tofu has the texture and somewhat taste of a sponge, IMHO. The issue for some people is that tofu doesn't have that chewy texture that they would like. Well, I can see if you're thinking tofu is a 'meat replacement' that would bug you. If you want chewy texture, you're going to want Textured Vegetable Protein, not tofu. Tofu is bound to disappoint if you want meat but eat tofu instead. Now, if you just want to eat something that has protein and tastes good, then I suggest adding tofu to highly spiced dishes, things like well seasoned stir fries or curries. Or putting it in casseroles with a lot of other flavorful ingredients. It's good in lasagne, for example. Now, for a chewier texture with tofu, that's the idea behind baking tofu. What you basically do is slather on a marinade on the tofu (it doesn't penetrate tofu like it does meat) and then bake it for about an hour, checking to see that the marinade isn't burning and turing in rebasting it about halfway through. That dries out the tofu and gives it a chewy texture. Usually I just us a bottle of some kind of commercial dressing like italian or asian to use as the marinade, but it's cheaper to make your own and you can give it the taste you like. Actually most of the time I just buy it already pre-baked and seasoned. That stuff, which they sell vacume sealed in plastic, keeps indefinately in the fridge and freezes OK, although you will have some sponginess issues. The reason tofu gets spongy in the freezer is the water in it freezes and then when it thaws it leaves holes in the tofu where the water ice crystals were. The drier the tofu is to begin with the better it will freeze. Here is a link that might be useful: Soy allergies
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Comments (12)
Press or drain the tofu for an hour or less, to get excess moisture out. Just letting it rest between layers of terry towelling will help, or set slices of tofu on a cookie sheet, lay a cutting board or another cookie sheet on top of the tofu and hike up one corner of the cookie sheets so the water can drain away. I usually line a baking sheet with foil, spray it with oil, set the tofu slices on the foil, and sprinkle them with garlic powder, soy sauce, and maybe some oil. Some other seasonings worth trying, individually, are cumin, coriander, ginger, or chili powder. Bake the tofu until it's as crisp as you like it. Treated this way, refrigerated tofu keeps well without the bother of rinsing, and it makes a packed lunch sandwich that doesn't need refrigeration.
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Hi Mandie! I once had a work colleague with a kidney stone problem, he was extremely sick so I know what an ordeal you have been through. I thought your husband might be on a low oxalate diet because I have heard about it poisoning some animals when eaten at high levels. Actually I ended up doing some research on oxalic acids this summer because I got ambitious and made sorrel soup out of the wild sorrel weeds growing in my garden. I had read somewhere that it could be toxic but I found out only in large amounts, and also not good for people on a low oxalate diet, which was the first time I had heard of such a thing. Also obviously you would want to avoid a lot of protein and salt, both of which are very reactive substances for the kidneys to deal with. It all makes sense except the tomatoes thing. I found listing the oxalate levels of certain vegetables. Maybe it is just concentrated tomato sauce? Anyway, I don't know how your husband feels about hippie food, but I have been eating a diet lower in protein than the average American for almost all my life. We eat excessive amounts of protein, much more than is necessary in the US and it is acutally related to a lot of our health problems. I adore whole grain foods so could happily live on brown rice and whole grain pasta with some oatmeal, cornmeal, barley, wild rice and bulghur wheat thrown in for fun. I put a good stir fry made with brown rice on my list of the 10 best things I have ever put in my mouth. You could add bits of chicken or any other type of meat to it to add flavor. Luckily I see that corriander is low oxalate, so you can make delicious thai fried rice with ginger, cilantro, garlic and lime juice with a dash of hot pepper. Or go mild and make butternut squash lasagne with a white sauce. I think hubs could eat a mild white sauce if it was made with a lower salt cheese which you will have to search out. I have a lot of pasta dish recipes because I eat pasta almost every day. Also a lot of recipes for rice, like risi e bisi (italian for rice and peas). And a simple broth with tofu or a few meat pieces and lots of noodles is what the Chinese eat for lunch almost every day, it is good!! Rice stuffed squash is also a favorite of mine, and I eat a lot of roasted vegetables, many of which are on the low oxalate list. Of course if hubby is a meat and potatoes guy, this will be tough. He is just going to have to learn to be a rice or pasta plus a little meat kind of guy! Let me know if any of these kinds of foods sound good to you and I will post the recipes. Like I said, I eat some kind of whole grain based main course for every meal, but many folks aren't open to that style of eating because it is so unfamiliar. You can also eat the not whole grain versions too, which I guess are even lower in oxalates, like white rice and semolina pasta. Also, your husband can still eat bread, which for me is the staff of life. I eat bread with tea and jam for breakfast every morning. I love apple or peach jam, which is low oxalate. I also make mushroom barley soup which is good, and low oxalate. And due to being a person of very modest means, I eat cabbage almost exclusively as my salad green in the winter, and I see that it is low oxalate. I am the coleslaw queen, lol! Here is a link that might be useful: Low oxalate diet PDF from U. Pittsburgh Medical Center
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LOOKING for: easy tofu recipes
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Comments (12)
Since some of mine are on Zaar, I will warn you to read my page first before trying them. It is under the name house. There is a disclaimer there on the current database and the recipes located on Zaar. As to easy, look nothing could be easier as long as you know how to do tofu. Since we aren't taught by our parents it isn't easy. First There are two types. One is the Mori Nu type aka silken. It is soft like a cottage cheese or cream cheese. It is best in smoothies and desserts such as pudding Don't try to drain it by pressing unless you plan on crumbling it. The other, waterpacked is firmer. If you freeze it, it is much tougher and more meatlike but will resemble a sponge. Esp if you freeze, drain. Simply put on a slanted board and put a heavy plate or pan on top. Let sit until the water stops running. Now it is ready to marinate. Tofu has taste. However it is so bland everything else overshadows it. Use your favorite 'sauce'. At our house we sometimes just pour sundried tomato dressing or raspberry pecan dressing over it and crumble and serve on a salad. The catch is marination time. The longer it sits, the more it will taste like what you are soaking it in. For a Western Beginner I recommend at least over night. Me? well heck I nibble it as I cut it so... However when we started the wife out on it, I soaked it overnight. Now what to do? Lets see Crumble and put on salad I make a dish that uses the tofu, our favorite bread dressing and veggies mixed in for a casserole. If you are lacto add a vegetarian cheese on top and melt. I make our favorite stir fry sauce, marinate and simply pan fry with no oil [use cooking spray for this]. Bake until golden brown and serve with sides Toss cooked or uncooked in a stir fry Make Chocolate pudding or Vanilla pudding BBQ it Toss in your favorit stew Make Dumplings such as Buddah's Jewels for a fancier meal Mix with Seitan and make a loaf to replace turkey on thanksgiving After you start working with it, the net has oodles of recipes that you can pick up in a hurry. If you follow the link off my Zaar page, it will take you to where I now keep the recipes and I vouch for them as accurate. There is a long page of tofu recipe on the site under Vegetarian/Vegan on this site. Some are for advanced users and some are for beginners. The Orange Lacquered Tofu and Ricker's Tofu Roast are my favorites. The chocolate pudding ain't shabby either. Note Ricker's tofu roast uses Seitan in the mix. That is simple to make. 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten [you can find that in the bakng section usually by Hodgson Mills or Bob's Red Mill] and 1/2 cup water, mix, knead 5 minutes boil in your favorite broth for an hour then use, refrigerate in broth or freeze in broth for future use. And if you run into trouble give a yell. Humm maybe I better thaw the garlic pepper tofu for supper. Psst if you run into any smoked tofu? Give it a try. I love it.
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alicesRestaurant
Original Author
18 years ago
thanks breezyb - no I didn't try the original recipe because when I looked in the store for the canned chipotle peppers, couldn't find easily (granted my search time was limited). I will look further now with your good recommendation. Thanks!
breezyb
18 years ago
It really was very good - & if you like things spicy, do up the amount of chipotle sauce. I doubled it & it came out nice & smoky/spicy without being incendiary.
alicesRestaurant
Original Author
18 years ago
I finally made it the way the original recipe was written
at eatingwell.com. I finally found the canned chipotle peppers. Not sure why but I had looked several times in the grocery store (on separate visits) in the section for the jar of red peppers. Not sure why I didn't look closer to the cans of tomato sauce but in any event, thanks to breezyb, I finally looked for them in the right spot, found them and tried this.

It was very good the way the recipe is written, I agree. But I also think the real reason it is so good is the chipotle/mayonaise mixture. MMMMM is that good. I'm going to use that again. I may never go back to using plain Hellman's mayonaise again.

--Alice
breezyb
18 years ago
Oh & the leftover chipotle/adobe stuff lasts for weeks in a jar in the fridge if you don't use it all in one sitting, or you can freeze it in a plastic container or portioned out in ice cube trays. But like you Alice, I use the stuff in EVERYTHING - it's addictive.

In fact, I'm making a Chipotle Mac & Cheese recipe tomorrow. It's not strictly vegetarian, as it asks for sausages, but it sounds good. My husband doesn't eat any red meat, so I'll be using Chicken Andouille sausages for this, as the store was out of my usual Turkey Chorizo.
breezyb
18 years ago
One more thing - if/when trying to find this at the grocery store, it'll either be with the tomato products or with the Mexican items. Our grocers here have it with the taco/salsa items.
msazadi
18 years ago
I don't like mayo so would you substitute yoghurt or sour cream?
alicesRestaurant
Original Author
18 years ago
Yes, I think sour cream or yoghurt to a lesser extent would work. I'm of the opinion that anything mixed with Adobo sauce is gonna be delicious. (very spicy though)
lpinkmountain
18 years ago
I make something similar to this, tofu baked with barbecue sauce, and then do something akin to the old "ham salad sandwich spread." After baking with the sauce and cooling, add some light mayo to give it a spreadable consistency, then add chopped green olives with pimentos, sweet pickle relish and/or capers, and if you like, chopped celery and scallions. Can add more barbecue sauce if it needs more flavor. Great on crackers with bean soup or stuffed in a pita.
aktbet
17 years ago
Hey, that link at eatwell.com doesn't work anymore. I tried searching the site for the recipe mentioned above but couldn't find it. Does anyone have the original recipe and could post it here?

Thanks so much. aktbet
elphaba_gw
17 years ago
Yes, the recipe is still on the site but has a different URL (see below).

Also, check out the other recipes in their vegetarian collection. They've got some very good lookin' recipes IMO.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tofu Lettuce Tomato (with chipotle sauce)

RECIPE: slab of baked tofu sandwiches - surprisingly good

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alicesRestaurant
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RECIPE: slab of baked tofu sandwiches - surprisingly good

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