Flavorful Baked Tofu & Summer Rolls

I've been wanting to try out Nupur's Summer Rolls for a very long time now and finally bought the rice wrappers. Once the necessary veggies were chopped, these were a breeze to put together and the rice wrappers were very sturdy and also sealed beautifully when rolled. It made for a delicious, healthy, light dinner on a Friday evening. I wanted to make some really flavorful tofu because the rest of the veggies going in were raw (read bland) and this came together really well, so much so, we ate more than half of this just by itself and only stuffed the remaining in the rolls.

BAKED MARINATED TOFU


Ingredients:

Extra Firm/Firm Tofu - 10 oz
Light (less Sodium) Soy Sauce - 2 tbsp

Sriracha Chilli sauce - 2 to 3 tsp or to taste

Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp

Honey - 1 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp (optional)

Sesame seeds - 1 to 2 tbsp

Cornflour - 1 tbsp

Black pepper (powder) - to taste

Oil spray (like PAM)

Method:
1) Wrap the Tofu blocks in 2 thick paper napkins (or washcloths) and press down with a weight so that all the water is released and it's kind of dry. This way it will absorb more of the marinade. Cube the Tofu into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces.

2) Meanwhile in a big bowl, blend together the soy sauce, chilli sauce, ketchup, honey, ginger garlic paste & sesame seeds. Toss the Tofu pieces in it and let it marinate for an hour atleast. If it's going to be marinated for very long, then it's probably better to refrigerate it.
[NOTE: The marinade shouldn't be too watery]

3) When ready, preheat the oven to 400F. Line baking sheet with foil (if preferred) and spray some oil. Sprinkle the cornflour and pepper powder on the tofu cubes and toss so it coats evenly.

4) Spread this out on the baking sheet in a single layer and coat with a little bit more oil. Bake in a hot oven for 30 to 35 minutes (turning over once halfway through the process) or till browned. Enjoy as is or use in the summer roll recipe.

For Nupur's Summer Rolls

These are extremely versatile and so we are at a liberty to pick the fillings going in so I just used what I had on hand that day - shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, the baked tofu pieces (above), mint and coriander leaves, mung sprouts, roasted red bell peppers and sprinkled pepper and the dipping sauce on the veggies before rolling them in. Yum!

This is my entry to JFI-Soya being hosted by the very talented and artistic Sia of Monsoon Spice. JFI is the brainchild of Indira of Mahanandi .

Check out my other Tofu / Soy recipes:
Pan-Fried Tofu with Peanut dipping sauce
Tofu Scramble
Soya (granules) Upma