You asked and you shall receive, here is another easy, yummy tofu recipe for your weekday meal rotation. This recipe is healthy and fast – we’ve been making it once a week here in my house. Dare I say this is better than beef with broccoli? I’m not sure about you but I’ve never been a huge fan of steak and certainly not the kind you can take out from a Chinese restaurant. If you are still a meat eater (no judgement) hopefully you’ll opt to try this recipe out and see if you can’t satisfy your craving for take out and learn to love tofu at the same time!
The secret to making tofu yummy is all in how you cook and flavor it, it’s such a blank canvas for recipes and lends so much healthy protein while containing very little fat and calories. Always choose organic tofu as non organic soybeans are sprayed with herbicides that have been know to have carcinogenic properties – eek! All that ickiness aside tofu is amazing when prepared properly, you get crunchy little baked cubes with soft insides that when covered in yummy sauce is basically the cat’s meow.
For this and other recipes where you’re baking it, its best to use extra firm tofu. Pressing the tofu is critical even with the firmest tofu to get good results. I like to cube and press my tofu earlier in the day so it’s ready for me to cook up for dinner, the longer you can press it the better and crispier it will bake up. I’ll set it to press early in the morning, go do my morning workout and then come back and store it in the fridge til dinner. You can also get a tofu press which I have but the dish towel and sheet pan method works better IMO.
We all know how good broccoli is for you so I’ll save you all the information on this cancer fighting, vitamin packed veggie – this is just one more way to make it taste delicious and the quick cooking keeps it ultra crisp in this recipe so you’re retaining a lot of those nutrients. What I will recommend is one of my all time favorite quick dinner mommy helpers and that’s microwave rice! I love the frozen packs you can pick up in the freezer section at Trader Joes or my other favorite which is Seeds of Change. I keep the brown basmati, Spanish and brown rice and quinoa in my pantry at all times to add to meals. Spend more time pressing and baking your tofu and less time making rice = that’s called balance people and it’s the bees knees.
Let me know if you make this recipe, I’d love to see your photos!
Just like Take Out Healthy Baked Tofu & Broccoli Bowl
Equipment
- Sheet pan
- Large Skillet
- Heavy Pan or Dish
- Clean Kitchen Towels
Materials
- 1 block Extra-Firm Tofu cubed
- 1/4 cup Garbanzo bean flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 bunch Broccoli Florets washed and cut
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
For the Sauce
- 2 tsp grated garlic
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 6 tbsp low sodium tamari or low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Cube your extra firm tofu into equal size pieces and lay on a sheet pan lined with a kitchen towel. Place another towel on top and top with another sheet pan, lay a heavy cast iron skillet, brick or heavy pot on top to press out the tofu and remove excess water. Allow to sit for 10 mins and up to 1 hour for best results.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Once the tofu is pressed add it to a large bowl and toss with salt, pepper and the garbanzo bean flour. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil after coating with flour and toss so thoroughly coated.
- Place the tofu on a clean sheet pan lined with parchment paper, don't crowd the pan you want the tofu to be able to crisp on all sides. Bake for 25-30 mins turning once during baking.
- While the tofu bakes, make your sauce by whisking all ingredients together in large pyrex
- In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil til hot then add in your broccoli florets. Cook 2-3 mins over medium heat until the edges of the broccoli just begin to get brown.
- Next, add in your sauce and tofu and cook everything together another 2-3 mins til the tofu is warmed and the sauce thickens. Serve over brown rice and top with sesame seeds and chili flakes if desired.
