I don’t know what it is about my mom’s cooking, but my kids always prefer her food over mine. She made dinner for us every night for the first couple weeks after Ayla was born (I’m spoiled, I know) and every time my boys would gobble up Grandma’s culinary creations. I have to admit I’m a little jealous, but my mom is a fabulous cook so I don’t really blame them for liking her cooking more. The last time we went to visit my parents, my mom made a stir-fry with baked tofu, and of course my whole family loved it, myself included. Tony, who doesn’t normally like tofu, raved about it. He liked that it had a meaty texture and lots of flavour.
My mom’s meal inspired me to try it myself at home. I added it to this amazing fried rice recipe that I found at allrecipes.com. Here’s the link: Fried Rice recipe. Instead of using chopped baby carrots, I just used frozen mixed vegetables to save time.
I didn’t have my mom’s recipe for the tofu, I just made up my own, so it’s not exactly the same as hers but it was still good. My family approved!

First, mix soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, ginger and oil for the marinade. Cut the tofu into small cubes and marinate it at least a few hours, preferably overnight.

When you’re done marinating, place the cubes on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle a little sesame oil over them.

Bake at  375F for about 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through cooking time.

Just look at that beautiful golden brown tofu. You can eat a few right off the sheet, you know, for taste-testing purposes.

I added them into the prepared fried rice right before serving and gave it a toss to combine them. It was a perfect addition to the fried rice. I think everyone enjoyed them almost as much as Grandma’s.

Baked Tofu
1 package extra firm tofu
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
Toasted sesame seeds
sesame oil

Cut tofu into bite-sized cubes. In a small bowl, combined soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, ginger and olive oil. Marinate overnight if possible, or a minimum of 3 hours.
After marinating, place the tofu cubes on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed lightly with
cooking oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle a little sesame oil
over them.
Bake at 375F for 30 minutes total, flipping the tofu over after 15 minutes.

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