Teriyaki Tofu and Roasted Pineapple

I make my own teriyaki sauce for this dish because the sauce is so prominent in this recipe and store-bought teriyaki sauce is just foul.  I make up the sauce a day before I'm going to use it, so I'll start pressing the tofu and make the sauce the night before Dinner Day, strain out the garlic cloves and ginger chunks and start marinating the cubed tofu the morning of, and then drain off the marinade to roast that night.  If you make this as a freezer kit, I'd freeze the teriyaki sauce separately from the pressed but uncut tofu block.  When you thaw it, cube the tofu and marinate at least an hour before roasting.

You can substitute just about any protein you want in this dish...marinate chunks of chicken breast or pork loin and roast for the same amount of time and at the same temperature.  It's a great way to accomodate vegetarians and non-vegetarians at the same meal without making completely separate main dishes.  If you do use tofu however, you can strain, freeze and reuse the marinate once more (if you marinate chicken or pork, chuck the remaining marinade).

I nearly always serve this with broccoli, steamed or roasted.  Tonight, I'm roasting broccolini on the same sheet pan with the fruit to save creating more heat with the stovetop.  And tonight's oven-use three-fer (#1 tofu/pineapple, #2 broccolini side dish)...a blind-baked crust for strawberry pie! 



Teriyaki Sauce
Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 cup + 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
3/4 cup sugar or Splenda (or a combination)
3 tbsp mirin, white wine, sake, vermouth or rice vinegar
6 cloves garlic, smashed
6 slices ginger, smashed

Mix all ingredients together.  If using sugar, heat the mixture in the microwave for 1 minute to help dissolve sugar.  Cover and let flavors meld overnight.  Before using, strain out garlic cloves and ginger pieces.

Teriyaki Tofu and Roasted Pineapple
Makes 4 servings

1 14 oz. block water-pack extra-firm tofu
1 1/2 cups teriyaki sauce
2 cups cubed pineapple, fresh or from a 20 oz. can or jar
1 bunch broccoli or broccolini, trimmed and cut into serving pieces
Cooking spray

Press tofu under a weight for 3-4 hours.  Cut into 3/4" cubes and marinate in teriyaki sauce at least 1 hour or as long as overnight.  Drain.

Spread tofu on a sheet pan, making sure not to crowd the cubes.  Put drained pineapple on another sheet pan with broccoli (use a third pan, if necessary).  Spray the broccoli with cooking spray. 

Bake tofu, pineapple and broccoli at 375F for 20 minutes, shaking the pans once or twice to prevent sticking. Pin It