In the chaotic kitchen of a recipe developer, you get a food blog called FoodMayhem.
I'm Jessica, an Asian-American, born and raised in NYC, and that's Lon, my Jewish, white husband. While professionally trained as a French culinary- and pastry chef, many of FoodMayhem recipes are my attempt to preserve and share authentic Chinese and Taiwanese recipes learned from my mom. We don't eat Chinese food every day, so you'll get a little bit of anything we find delicious enough to share: from our Eastern European side; recipes and techniques learned from my restaurant days; restaurant reviews, food travel tips; and a few other juicy bits along the way. Welcome to FoodMayhem!
This recipe has been swimming around in my head for a while, editing back and forth, with nothing written down. I finally let it materialize and I’m very happy with it. Even Mr. Soba-hater, Lon, gave me the thumbs up. It’s really refreshing and perfect for summer so make sure to try it before fall comes around.
Lon doesn’t really like soba but sometimes I like a challenge. He gave his thumbs up on this one and I loved it! It’s pretty darn easy too.
We had friends over for dinner tonight and since one of our guests was a vegetarian, I decided to try to improve on that tofu recipe I had been working on for Lon. With just a few changes to the preparation and baking temperature (marinade staying the same), Lon loved the texture. Our guests seem to like it as well. It’s not the most attractive looking tofu but it does taste good. My improved recipe is below the picture (photo updated 9/15/15)…
Start with 1 Block (16-18oz) Tofu
Marinade
Instructions
In case you’re curious about what else we had for dinner:
Lon is not a big fan of tofu but likes the texture of the tofu at City Bakery. He’s not sure, but thinks it might be baked and then seared. I haven’t tried it yet and decided to try baking some tofu to see if Lon likes it. We both really liked the result.
First, make sure you use a good tofu. There is a huge difference between fresh tofu and packaged tofu. I like buying fresh tofu from a store on the corner of Bowery and Grand. They sell three blocks per box, each about 3.5″x3.5″x1.5″.
Press the tofu between two plates and put something heavy on top. Let the tofu drain for an hour, while pouring the liquid out every 20 minutes. While the tofu is draining, you can make the marinade by whisking ingredients together. Place the tofu in the marinade and refrigerate for three hours, turning blocks of tofu over once. I baked it in a 400 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes (with some marinade coating the bottom of a pan) because I was also making a roasted pork tenderloin. I’ve read that it is better slow baked at a lower temperature. Optionally, you can sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top before serving.
Marinade:
I served the Baked Sesame Tofu with white rice, Chinese broccoli, and a roasted pork tenderloin. The tenderloin was marinated overnight in the same marinade I used for the turkey legs. The dinner was a big success!
We’ve been trying to eat less pork because of Lon’s cholesterol. He doesn’t like tofu that much and I don’t want to eat chicken every day. As you may have read before, I’m not a fan of breast meat so I bought turkey legs. I decided to de-bone them (leave skin on) because I wanted to use the grill. This marinade is enough for 2-3 turkey legs. Grill time will vary because turkey legs vary greatly in size.
Marinade:
Just mix ingredients together and marinate meat for at least 4 hours.
The turkey tasted a bit like BBQ Pork and we both loved it!! I’m sure the marinade would be great for chicken or pork as well.
