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Baked Tofu in Almond & Cilantro Sauce

January 16, 2008

This recipe was revised on December 2, 2008.

I originally saw a photo of this finished dish on Swell Vegan, drooled a little, and then asked for the recipe, pretty please. A-K was kind enough to e-mail it to me.

I know conventional wisdom is that tofu merely takes on the flavors of the ingredients around it, but I do think it has a mild, sort of yeasty flavor of its own. It always reminds me a tiny bit of matzah brie or matzah balls. I like the way plain tofu tastes, and could eat it straight, so I guess it’s no surprise that I like it in a recipe, too.

I do not, however, like smoked tofu. And neither does my mom. The original recipe calls for almost equal amounts of plain and smoked tofu, and using it falls squarely in the “what was I thinking?” category of food prep. I really don’t like the flavor of smoke in any food (BBQ potato chips, pea soup, etc.) so who knows why I thought the tofu would be any different. It permeated this dish, and I’m omitting the smoked tofu from the recipe below, because I can’t in good conscience recommend it! Make it without, especially if you’re new to tofu… I think you’ll be happier.

All in all, this sauce is really delicious and different — I thought it would wind up tasting like a peanut sauce, but it’s more grown-up than that. The addition of the cauliflower (not in the original recipe) bumps up the veggie power and takes some of the emphasis off the tofu. If we were willing to eat around the smoke-flavored bits, which we gladly did, you can bet the recipe prepared without them will be a real winner.

Baked Tofu in Almond & Cilantro Sauce
Adapted from Swell Vegan

1 head cauliflower, cut into 2-bite size pieces
1 package extra-firm tofu, drained & cut into bite-sized cubes
1 c. frozen peas

2/3 c. almond butter
2 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 c. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1½ c. water

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place cauliflower, tofu, and peas in a large bowl and set aside.

To prepare the sauce, combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sauce has thickened and all the water is incorporated into the other ingredients. (My almond butter was a little stubborn, and I had to work at it with a spatula, smooshing it down to get it to combine with the water.)

Pour the sauce over the tofu and veggies and gently toss to combine. Bake the mixture in a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish for 40 minutes. Serve over brown rice.

Filed under: Veggie Mains