Baked Tofu in a Peanut Sauce

I have been making an awful lot of scrambled tofu lately, and while that quickly soared to the top of my Vegan Comfort Foods list, I was looking to do something a bit different from the pan-fried or scrambled tofu dishes.

I love a good savory peanut dish, and thought that it would go nicely with slabs of baked tofu. I had this for dinner last night in wraps made from large leaves of green leaf lettuce along with some spaghetti squash. I couldn't resist and spooned some extra peanut sauce on top. Lovely.

Unfortunately, I scarfed this down before taking a picture. Yes. It was that good.

Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

• tofu
• peanut sauce, jarred or homemade*
  

Directions:

1. Take a block of tofu and slice it into uniform 1/2-inch thick slabs.
   


2. Press the excess water out by placing the tofu pieces on a flat surface lined with a double thickness of paper towel. Cover with more paper towels and place something heavy on top, like a cast iron skillet. Let sit for 3 hours.
   


3. Pour some of the peanut sauce in a container. Add the tofu and cover with more of the sauce. Be generous. Cover and put in the fridge and let marinate for a good 6 hours.
   


4. Preheat the oven to 350.
   


5. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying with cooking spray or brushing it with olive oil.
   


6. Lay the slices of marinated tofu on the sheet and spray lightly with cooking spray.
   


7. Bake for 20 minutes. Take out the sheet and flip over the pieces, hitting them again with the cooking spray and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until golden brown and delicious. The longer you bake it, the denser and chewier it will be.
   


8. Serve over noodles, rice, or in a wrap.
   


9. Optional: Garnish with chopped peanuts, lime and cilantro.
   

Spicy Peanut Marinade

Ingredients:

• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 T soy sauce – I used Bragg’s liquid Aminos
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 t agave nectar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small hot chili pepper, minced - add more to taste if you like it spicy
  

Directions:

1. Mix the liquid ingredients together.
   


2. Add the minced chili and garlic.
   


3. Add the peanut butter and stir well with a whisk until the mixture is well-combined.

Notes:

• I saw an ad for the Tofu Express, which looks intriguing, though really I can do the same thing with a plate, a bunch of paper towels and a cast iron skillet, and it doesn't cost me $40.
  
  I have to wonder, though, looking at it: Where does the excess water go? Is there a channel for it to run off and away from the tofu?