Garlic and Ginger Baked Tofu Soup

We had a cool couple of days lately in Boulder to remind us that summer isn’t exactly here yet. It’s been wet, cool, and cloudy. Perfect weather for soup!

So, I made one of my standbys- Baked tofu soup. I originally started making this soup as a spin on Vietnamese Pho, but this version is more simple and I’m calling it soup, not pho.

I had some homemade chicken broth, which, I know… is not as vegetarian as tofu. Got it. But, I always make chicken stock from whole chickens, so I had some on hand.

I made a simple marinade of

  • 4 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth (don’t kill me you strict vegetarians!)
  • 3 TB soy sauce
  • 2 TB rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup Kecap Manis (Sweet Soy Sauce)
  • a splash of fish sauce
Slice you frozen, thawed, pressed firm tofu into cubes and bake at 400 for 45 minutes or so.
I added some diced onion to a quart of my homemade broth and let it cook down a little before adding some frozen peas. Ladle over the baked tofu, add some hot sauce if you’d like, and enjoy.

Baked Tofu Pho

I made up some baked tofu, following my Spicy Ginger Baked Tofu recipe and added it to a simple veggie broth I made for the mushroom gravy on my Turkey Meatloaf in Mushroom Gravy. After the broth came to a boil, I added some Udon noodles and cooked them in the broth. Just ladle it into a bowl, add some baked tofu, and enjoy… with chopsticks.

Sweet and Sour Baked Tofu

I had some extra Sweet and Sour BBQ Sauce, so I decided to make baked tofu.

Let’s review the tofu process to ensure you make delicious tofu.
Step 1. Buy firm tofu. I prefer Denver Tofu.
Step 2. Freeze it
Step 3. Thaw it. This might take all day, so plan ahead.
Step 4. Open the package and squeeze out some of the water.
Step 5. Press it. Place the brick of tofu on a hard surface on top of some paper towels. Cover with paper towels and something heavy, such as a cutting board with some cookbooks on top. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes.
Step 6. Slice it into strips or cubes.
Step 7. Marinate it.
Step 8. Bake it.
I added 2 cups of water to 1 cup of my Sweet and Sour BBQ Sauce to marinate the tofu, and baked it at 375 for 45-50 minutes, until the excess moisture was absorbed.
I served this with some Sesame Noodles.

Coconut Soup with Spicy Ginger Baked Tofu and Noodles

Here is a simple soup recipe. I had some frozen broth from a Baked Tofu and Coconut Soup I made, so I used the rest of that broth and improved upon the tofu. I’m no authority here, but you can probably call this a vegetarian pho.

Here’s the marinade for the firm, frozen, thawed, pressed, sliced tofu:
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 TB toasted sesame oil
  • 1 TB onion powder
  • 1 TB garlic powder
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 TB sweet soy sauce (Kecap Manis)
  • 1/2-1 TB Chinese chili paste
  • 1.5 c white wine
  • 1/2 cup water
I made my marinade and let the tofu sit in it a few minutes before baking at 375 for 45 minutes or so, until all of the liquid was absorbed.
Meanwhile, I reheated my coconut broth, and when the tofu was done, I added some udon noodles to the broth. When they were cooked, I served myself a hearty bowl of soup.
Enjoy.

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