Spicy and Crispy Oven Baked Tofu

Step 1

Press the tofu: Remove the tofu blocks from the package and place them on the broiler grid and collect the squeezed-out excess water from tofu in the pan. Set a large baking sheet on top of the tofu and weight it down with heavy weights, such as two 64 fl oz juice bottle or something heavy. Leave it set on kitchen counter for 1 hour and then flip the tofu over. Press for an additional hour. You will see a lot of water has collected in the broiler pan in the end.

Step 2

Marinade the tofu: Slice the tofu in half so each slice is about 1/2”-3/4” thick. Use a mini chopper or coffee grinder to grind all the spices into powder. Combine the powder and the rest of marinade ingredients. Lay a single layer of the sliced tofu in a flat-bottomed refrigerator safe container and pour the marinating sauce onto the tofu. Spread the sauce if necessary to make it evenly coated on each slice of the tofu. Cover with lid and refrigerate overnight to get the best result.

Step 3

Bake the tofu: Preheat oven to 400 °F. Lightly grease a metal baking sheet or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the marinated tofu onto the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 25-30 minutes and turn over halfway through baking.

Step 4

Remove the baked tofu from oven and transfer them onto a wire cooling rack.