Last month I was lucky enough to meet the owner of a Tofu Press company at a vegetarian and vegan festival and have been trying out his Press on blocks of tofu since he was kind enough to provide me one to review. It’s a great little press and I’ve used it to make sauteed tofu cubes several times now. Here are just a few of the recipes I’ve used the press to make:
- Tofu Fish Sticks
- Slow Cooker Smoked Tofu and Stars
- Miso Soup
- Tofu Breakfast Scrambler
- Butternut Squash Thai Noodles with Marinated Baked Tofu
- Mock Tuna Panini
But my all-time favorite way to eat tofu is marinated and baked atop a bowl of brown rice. Delicious and simple.
Marinated Baked Tofu
Marinated Baked Tofu Recipe
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package firm or extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger, to taste
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey granules (optional)
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
Cut pressed tofu lengthwise.
Marinate in mixture of all remaining ingredients.
Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes.
About the Press
The press is manufactured by a small company. In fact, I got to meet Ben, it’s owner, at a local vegetarian and vegan festival. This product was created out of necessity on Ben’s part to press the water out of bricks of tofu in a more effective and convenient way. Like Ben, I used to press my tofu with plates, towels and large cans of food. It takes a long time and the “Towers-O-Cans” are not always the most stable. The press is a simple presser, built almost like a flower press, to press the water out of tofu.
How does the press fare?
Don’t rush! The first time I pressed my tofu, I didn’t pay much attention to the amount of time I took to turn the cranks on the press and press out the water. So, of course, the walls blew out of the sides of my tofu. If you take the 15-20 minutes to SLOWLY turn the cranks like the instruction sheet recommends, it works beautifully. It’s certainly a lot simpler and quicker than the towers-o-cans way.
I’ve never used another type of tofu press, so I can’t compare it to others, but as for the comparison to the plate and cans method, it’s much simpler and more effective. The only caveat is that you have to pay attention to it. While with the tower-0-cans method, you stack and walk away for a few hours, with the EZ Tofu Press, you have to be actively cranking every few minutes. This minor inconvenience is more than made up for by the speed (about 20 minutes versus a few hours with the old method) of the process.
Overall, I love it and, if you’re a big tofu user, it’ll be a great addition to your kitchen gadgetry collection. If you’re a fan of Alton Brown’s credo of not buying kitchen gadgets with only one use, never fear! You can also use this to press water out of frozen spinach!
Note: While I was provided with products for the giveaway, my opinions are 100% my own. See my full disclosure policy here. This promotion, open to U.S. residents only, is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. I hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send an email to [email protected].
