Glazed Lemon Tofu

This Glazed Lemon Tofu is tangy with fresh lemon and zest, spicy with ginger and red pepper flakes, sweet with maple syrup and salty with a dash of soy sauce or tamari. It is ready in under 30 minutes, you don't have to turn on the oven, and you can even make it in one pot!

Tofu is magical when spiced, as you already know if you make full-flavored tofu recipes like this Chilli Tofu and Air Fryer Tofu. This sticky Glazed lemon tofu is just as magical. It has lashings of maple syrup and ginger woven through the tart, fresh lemon and it'll more likely than not have you licking your fingers and going, ooh, yummm!

This is a weeknight dish, or at least it's ostensibly so because it comes together so quickly and needs barely any prep. But it does does very well for weekends too when you want to spend your time doing things other than cooking but want a delicious meal nevertheless.

It comes together in one pot, in about 30 minutes, and it tastes amazing on a bed of brown rice with nothing more than a scattering of scallions. And as decadent as it tastes, it's really good for you.

It's packed with proteins, fiber and vitamins, and it has very little added oil. And I make it easy for you by cooking the tofu on the stovetop instead of baking it in the oven, so that saves you an added step of preheating your oven and waiting for the tofu to bake up.

Expert tips

• Use super firm or high protein tofu. I really love the texture of super firm tofu and it's a really easy tofu to cook because it holds up better than other kinds. But if you can't find this, extra firm tofu would be a decent substitute. You don't have to press water out of super firm tofu, but with extra firm, be sure to swaddle in paper towels and place in a colander with a weight on top for about 30 minutes so you get all the water you can out of it.
• The first time you brown the tofu, cut it into bigger pieces, which just makes it easier to take it in and out of the saucepan. And there's less flipping and turning over than if you were to cut it into cubes off the bat.
• Use a good non-stick pan to brown the tofu. As much as I love my cast iron and steel pots and pans, I keep a non-stick skillet on hand precisely for dishes like these, where I want to brown foods without adding too much oil.
• You can make your sauce in the non-stick skillet, to make this a one-pot dish. But if you're a guy or gal who prefers to make their sauces in a saucepan (aren't you a stickler?) you can certainly do so, but you'll have two things to wash.
• There's lot of lemon in this recipe -- about six tablespoonfuls of juice -- and the zest of two lemons, but then you really want it to be lemony and tofu is like a flavor sponge, so don't skimp.
• The lemon goes in at two -- even three -- stages. You will marinate the tofu in lemon before it goes on the skillet, there's lemon in the sauce, and finally I just sprinkle on a wee bit of lemon zest on top while serving to give that final lemony hit.

Serving ideas

All you really need to serve with this dish is rice -- brown or white are both perfectly fine. There's a decent amount of sauce in this recipe, and the rice will soak it up. Better still, the flavors of the sauce are robust enough to stand up to brown rice. Sprinkle on some scallions for a really nice flavor finish.

I'd probably also serve some steamed veggies on the side, like bok choy or chard or broccoli for a complete and decadent -- not to forget healthy -- meal.

Ingredients

• Super firm tofu (or high protein tofu)
• Lemons
• Vegetable oil
• Maple syrup
• Vegetable stock (water is fine as a substitute, but stock adds great flavor)
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Red pepper flakes
• Tapioca starch
• Tamari
• Toasted sesame seeds

More tasty vegan tofu recipes

• How to marinate and bake tofu for Indian dishes
• Easy Mango Chipotle Glazed Tofu
• Oven Blackened Tandoori Tofu
• Tofu Makhani
• Easy Tofu Curry