Summer barbecues don't need to mean ho-hum food for your vegetarian friends. In the recipe below, tofu is flavored with a sweet, homemade barbecue sauce your friends are sure to love. The sauce can even be made in a big batch and used for vegetarian and meat-based dishes alike.
The secret to giving this tofu tons of flavor is draining and marinating it in advance. When drained of any excess liquid, tofu becomes the perfect sponge for soaking up all those flavors. To make this dish even easier, you could even use your favorite store-bought barbecue sauce – it will still be delicious!
Vegetarian Barbecue Tofu
1 16-ounce block tofu
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 dash hot pepper sauce
Wrap the tofu in several layers of paper towels. Place on a flat baking sheet, and top with another baking sheet or a flat plate. Top the plate with several heavy cans, then place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together the barbecue sauce ingredients.
When the tofu comes out of the fridge, slice it into inch-wide lengths. Toss with the sauce and marinate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the tofu from the fridge and arrange, without shaking off the excess marinade, on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, flipping once in the middle of cooking.
