Savory, tangy, with a touch of sweetness, this Marinated Miso-Ginger Tofu is straight delish!
I had the most GLORIOUS day running errands around Barcelona not too long ago. It was actually my first day out really doing things after the quarantine in Barcelona, which many of you may know was super strict. Months of only being able to leave the house to go to the grocery store or to the pharmacy, not even to exercise! That being said, this day that I had out running errands just seemed like the most fabulous errand day of my life, simply because I was freely riding my bike around the city and wasn’t locked inside my tiny apartment.
What topped off this day was the lunch that I ate at a flexitarian restaurant called “Green Berry“. I had a “Marinated Miso Longevity Bowl” that absolutely blew my mind. The tofu was something like I have never tasted before. I forced some information out of my waitress and she mentioned a few of the ingredients, and also said that they allow it to marinate in a vacuum-sealed bag for several days. While I don´t have a vacuum sealer, I did my best to remake this tofu the best that I could with the ingredients that I typically use. And I´m not gonna lie, the result came out pretty dang good!
What is Miso Paste?
Miso paste is one of those ingredients that I used to see in recipes and think, “That’s an ingredient that I would probably buy and never use.” Until one day I finally gave in and bought it, and I realized that it was actually very versatile and added lots of umami flavor to all kinds of recipes.
Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans that provides a salty umami flavor to Asian dishes. The soybeans are mixed with salt and koji (a type of mold), and can also be mixed with grains such as rice or barley.
It is available in most large grocery stores in the US, and in organic stores in Spain. There are few different variations, the two most popular ones being white and red miso paste:
- White Miso (Shiro Miso): Actually light yellow in color, this is the lightest type of miso that has the mildest flavor and is the most versatile
- Red Miso (Miso): Underging a longer aging period, red miso is the saltiest variety that has a much stronger taste than white miso. A little bit goes a long way!
What to eat it with:
This Marinated Miso-Ginger Tofu goes super well with rice or quinoa and whatever veggies you like! An easy tip for sprucing up your rice a little bit is to mix in 1tbs of soy sauce and 1tbs of dark sesame oil with about 2 cups of cooked brown rice. A few times I have eaten this tofu with brown rice, sugar snap peas, avocado, cashews for some crunch, sesame seeds, and I top it all off with a squeeze of lime. This is a great combo!
Below you have step-by-step instructions on how to press tofu, which is the first step of the recipe. The rest of the steps you will find in the recipe card!
How to press tofu
The important first step is to press the tofu to get all of the liquid out. When you buy tofu, it is packed full of water. In order to allow the tofu to soak up the marinade, you need to get that water out to leave room for the good stuff! It is very simple. Here you have the play-by-play.
What you need:
- Block of tofu
- Plate
- Kitchen Towel
- Something heavy with a flat bottom. I use a heavy pan.
Step 1: Cut the tofu in half
You can either press your tofu as a block or cut it first. When I cube the tofu, I usually cut it in half first as it seems to get a bit more water out. If I am slicing it in thinner slices, I usually leave it whole as a block as it is easier to press that way.
Step 2: Wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel
This will allow the tofu to absorb the water that is pressed out of the tofu. Some people use paper towels. But you will go through a bunch of wet paper towels and they will slightly stick to the tofu. Yuck! Just use a kitchen towel that doesn’t shed any fabric.
Step 3: Place something heavy on top
You need something heavy that can spread weight evenly over the tofu. In my case, my big ugly fying pan works perfectly!
Step 4: Let sit for at least 20 minutes
Once it has sat for at least 20 minutes, you are good to go!
Short on time? Do the quick method:
There are many times where I simply don’t have time or patience to press the tofu for 20 minutes. In these cases, I simply cut the tofu into the sized slices that I need, wrap the tofu with a kitchen towel and press it together with my hands, pressing out the moisture into the towel. This option also works well and if great if you are in a pinch!
Check out the rest of the recipe below! I have also included the recipe for the bowl that I like to eat it with.
Marinated Miso-Ginger Tofu
Ingredients
Marinated Miso-Ginger Tofu
- 9 oz tofu (250 g)
- 3 tbs white miso paste
- 3 tbs soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark sesame oil
- 1 tbs neutral flavored oil (I use safflower)
- 1 tbs rice vinegar
- 1 tbs fresh ginger, minced
- 1.5 tbs maple syrup
- 1 tbs lime juice (from 1/2 of a lime)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbs cornstarch (optional)
Ingredients for the rest of the bowl, if making (makes 2 bowls)
- 2 cups brown rice, cooked 380g
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 1 tbs sesame oil, dark
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 handful sugar snap peas
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup cashews, roughly chopped
- 1 lime cut in quarters
Instructions
Marinated Miso Ginger Tofu
- Press the tofu. If the block that you have is about an inch (2.5cm) thick, slice the tofu in half horizontally. If your block is thicker than that, slice it into three slices horizontally. Wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel, place it on a plate, and place something heavy on top such as a large heavy pan. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes. See instructions with pictures in the blog post.
- While you are pressing the tofu, combine the ingredients for the marinade. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy sauce, white miso paste, dark sesame oil, neutral flavored oil, rice vinegar, minced ginger, maple syrup, lime juice, and water. Mix well.
- Once you are finished pressing the tofu, unwrap from the towel and cut into equal bite-sized pieces.
- In a shallow dish that is large enough to lay out all of the tofu cubes without overlapping, pour about 1/4 of the marinade to cover the bottom of the dish. Place the tofu cubes on top, and pour the rest of the marinade over the tofu. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but it is even better if you let it sit for 2 hours or overnight!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, 180 degrees C
- Remove the tofu from the fridge and place the tofu cubes (without the marinade, we will use that later) in another shallow dish or bowl. Sprinkle 1 tbs of cornstarch over the tofu and mix gently so that it is all covered. This step is optional, it just allows the tofu cubes to become more crispy when baking. I have forgotten this step before and it still came out delicious!
- Line a baking dish with parchment paper. Place the tofu cubes out evenly and place into oven. Bake for 30-35 min, flipping halfway. When you take them out of the oven they should be crispy and brown around the edges.
- In a medium-sized non-stick skillet, add the marinade. Heat on low and add the tofu, tossing to coat evenly. with the marinade.
For the bowl:
- In a medium-sized skillet, add 2 tbs of olive oil on medium heat until shimmering. Add the sugar snap peas and sauté for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown rice.
- Make the bowl: Divide into two bowls the brown rice, miso ginger tofu, sugar snap peas, and avocado slices. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and chopped cashews on top. Serve each bowl with a quarter of a lime to squeeze on top. Enjoy!