Winner winner tofu dinner!

I’ve been on a bit of a five-spice kick lately, adding it to many of our everyday stir-frys, roasted veggies, and marinades. But these five spice tofu noodle bowls that we whipped up for dinner a few weeks ago were such a hit that I had to write down the recipe to share with you guys!

The components here are super simple. I just whipped up a batch of my favorite sesame noodles and sautéed some tofu until it was nice and crispy. Then I tossed the tofu with a quick 3-ingredient sauce (made from hoisin, five spice and rice vinegar), served the tofu over the hot sesame noodles (yum), and topped the bowls off with some roasted broccoli (or whatever veggie you prefer). And wow, all of the sweet and savory layers of flavor just worked here. So, so good.

We also learned the next day that the leftovers arguably tasted even better, served either hot or cold. So we’ve been making and enjoying these noodle bowls for meal prep for our weekday lunches ever since. If tofu isn’t your thing, feel free to make them with chicken, pork, steak, shrimp, salmon, tempeh, or whatever protein you love best. And if you feel like adding some spice, I highly recommend serving with a drizzle of sriracha too.

Here’s how to make them!
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Two things my husband can never get enough of: CASHEWS and TOFU.

Then man snacks pretty much every day on a handful of cashews or some kind of nuts, and always makes sure that they are extra-well-stocked in our pantry. And when it comes to making a big stir-fry for dinner, a batch of well-seasoned crispy tofu will always be his protein of choice. So when I was craving some old-school Chinese cashew chicken a few weeks ago, we decided to swap in tofu instead for a vegetarian (also vegan and gluten-free) substitute.

And you guys, this stir-fry was awesome. ♡

I modified my usual ginger stir-fry sauce so that it could be completely vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free (no oyster sauce), and it was so good that I totally recommend making a double-batch while you’re at it to use later (or just make yourself a super-saucy stir-fry). Feel free to also swap in whatever other stir-fry veggies or nuts that you have on hand, and dish this up over rice, noodles, quinoa or whatever sounds good. Barclay and I can also vouch that this one keeps and reheats well, as we’ve made it for easy meal prep lunches a few times since. And best of all, it’s just delicious.

Let’s make some cashew tofu!

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So named because — as our friends said — this recipe has the power to magically turn anyone into a tofu lover. ♡

Barclay and I have been tinkering around with this one for the past few months, ever since we had dinner with some friends this summer who served us a version of Ottolenghi’s black pepper tofu. We instantly fell in love and ate every bite, and and then ran home to try making the recipe ourselves. (Since, as I mentioned last week, this vegetarian husband of mine loves his tofu.)  But when we looked it up, the recipe called for a bunch of ingredients that we didn’t have on hand and was also quite time-intensive. So we modified a simpler, speedier version of our own. And in the months since, we have tweaked and tweaked our recipe until it was just right for us. And oh my goodness, it is a total winner.

We absolutely love this tofu!

It’s full of bold, savory, garlicky flavors, plus a nice hint of sweetness. It can be as spicy or as mild as you prefer. It’s nice and hearty, yet still naturally vegan. And wow, is it delicious.

I’ve been excited to share this one with you for awhile, so I’m happy that today is finally the day! Let’s make some tofu!
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Finally, after sharing recipes this week for how to bake chicken, steak, pork, salmon, and shrimp, we arrive at the recipe that kicked off this whole back-to-basics protein series…

…how to make baked tofu!

I admittedly never used to be the biggest fan of tofu. But after meeting and marrying a vegetarian who absolutely loves it, tofu has found its way into our weekly dinner rotation nowadays about once a week. And I’ve come to appreciate how awesome it can be when prepared well, plus the multitude of ways that you can prepare it! We love it nice and soft in soups (hello, miso soup, hot and sour soup and sundubu jjigae). We love chopping and mixing it into sofritas and healthy meatballs (coming soon) and veggie burgers. We love popping it on the grill and searing it up in a skillet. But most of the time?

We love making this ultra-simple baked tofu recipe in the oven.

It’s just about the easiest recipe in the world, and yields a batch of tofu that is surprisingly crispy on the outside, yet still nice and soft on the inside. And perfect for topping steaming bowls of soup or curry noodles, tossing with sauce in a tofu stir-fry, adding to burritos or salads or tacos, or whatever else may sound delicious. And of course, this basic recipe is also easily customizable with your favorite seasonings or sauces that you’d like to add.

So whether you’ve been on Team Tofu for years, or you’re a newbie ready to give it a try, here are all of my best tips and tricks for how to make the best crispy baked tofu recipe you’ve ever tried!

Baked Tofu Recipe | 1-Minute Video