Drain the tofu:

Remove the tofu from the packaging. If you plan to drain it overnight, you’ll need a setup that can be refrigerated. I set my tofu on a wad of paper towelling, which I rested in a glass baking dish. I piled more towelling atop this, then fitted a heavy clay loaf tin over the tofu. I tucked this carefully into the fridge, then laid two full glass jam jars in the loaf tin. It was a little Rube Goldberg, but it worked.

If you plan to drain your tofu for a few hours, I did something similar with cutting boards and clean dishtowels, using two textbooks from my graduate English program as weights. I knew they’d be useful someday.

Marinate the tofu:

Make the marinade:

In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, brown rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, star anise, salt, and lemon juice to taste. Taste the marinade; tweak for your taste.

Slice the tofu into squares and arrange in a small lidded baking dish. Anoint with the marinade. I used a pastry brush to gently paint both sides of each piece of tofu. The marinade may seem scant. Don’t worry. There will be enough. Once you’ve used the liquid, pour the solids over the tofu.

Allow to marinate for at least 2 hours; ideally overnight. If your kitchen is reasonably cool and you plan to cook within a few hours, it is okay to leave the tofu on the counter. Otherwise, cover lightly with foil and refrigerate.

To cook the tofu:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat, if you have one (I don’t). Carefully transfer the tofu to the baking sheet and shake a little cornstarch over each piece if you’d like additional crisp coating.

Place tofu in oven and bake, turning each piece frequently with tongs. The tofu will be fragile at first, but firm up as it cooks, becoming easier to handle. Mine was ready within 35 minutes. For some reason I didn’t expect it to smell of anything–tofu always seems so bland–but the soy and sesame scented the kitchen. This will indeed smell done when it is.

Serve marinated tofu as a snack, sliced into soup, Asian-inflected salads, Udon noodles, stir-fries, or anywhere else you enjoy tofu.

Provided your tofu was fresh from the package, this will keep about five days, refrigerated. I don’t suggest freezing it.

Notes:

I’ve found cheaper brands of tofu taste “off,” which is why I suggest buying organic. Even organic tofu is inexpensive.

I use Ohsawa Organic Brown Rice Vinegar. This is not cheap. If you prefer use Mirin–which is cheap and widely available.

Following David Lebovitz’s advice, I added (ahem) cornstarch to the tofu just before baking. This is to help the crisp factor. You might note there’s a bit too much cornstarch in these photos, so lighten up accordingly.

There isn’t much marinade. In fact, it might seem like there won’t be enough. There will.

I know I say this in nearly every recipe I publish, but there’s plenty of flexibility here. Taste the marinade as you go. The 1/4 teaspoon of pepper flakes adds flavor without making things terribly spicy.

I am indebted to Mollie Katzen’s The Enchanted Broccoli Forest for help with measurements and general information regarding tofu. David Lebovitz’s post about tofu was also helpful, as was Nancy Hachisu’s writing about marinating tofu in Preserving The Japanese Way.