Recipe: Sriracha Baked Tofu

If you couldn't guess by now, I love spicy food! I looove sriracha. Doesn't everyone? (Aww look at my bottle! I need to get some more, PRONTO!) If for some crazy reason you haven't had it before it's a spicy garlicy and slightly sweet and salty hot sauce that is pretty much addictive. It's in a bottle with a green cap and a rooster on it. If you like hot sauce, you will love it. 

So let me tell you a little story (real little!) - I went to this grocery store which will be unnamed that had a great salad bar. The salad bar had some "Sriracha Tofu" and I piled some on my salad. "How exciting!" I thought. One bite though and disappointment quickly set it. It tasted so bland. How could this happen?! How could sriracha-anything taste bland? 

Fear. Fear, people. Because too many people are afraid to just embrace the spice. 

So check it out - no fear here!

It's spicy as heck. It's also amazingly flavorful. 

Also it's easy. Did I mention EASY? If you look around this site you'll see that I try to keep things as easy as possible. For my sanity and yours.

The only hard part is that you have to freeze your tofu and then thaw it out. Just chuck the whole package in freezer when you get home from the store. The morning you want to cook the tofu take the package out of the freezer and let it thaw. I know this seems unnecessary if you've never done it before. But look at the following pictures. It makes a WORLD of difference. The texture is completely changed by freezing.

Sriracha Baked Tofu

1lb firm or extra firm tofu (frozen, then thawed completely)
6 Tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce  (that's 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons)
1/4 cup tamari (or soy sauce. I use low sodium)

• Take your thawed tofu out of the container and squeeze it with your hands over the sink. It's going to feel like a sponge so if you want to let your kids try it they might like it!
• Slice the tofu into 1/4 inch slices. (I first cut my block in half and then cut into slices)
• Mix together your tamari and sriracha is a large zip top plastic bag. Add in the tofu and gently squeeze it several times to get the marinade soaked into the tofu. 
• Let it marinade from 20 minutes to a couple of hours.
• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the tofu on it in a single layer. 
• Cook for 20 minutes on one side, flip and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until slightly crispy on the edges. 
• Serve as a crazy spicy side, chop and add it to your stir-fry, add it to miso soup, or even make some sushi! 

OR make some super good Sriracha Tofu Summer Rolls with Spicy Sesame Sauce!