Glazed Tofu Roast with Orange & Cloves

The verdicts

Ingredients

• 14 oz extra-firm tofu
• 1 orange sliced
• 16-24 whole cloves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp prepared mustard
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder (or use 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced or grated)
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1.5 tbsp whiskey
• 1/4 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 2 tbsp apricot jam
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger (optional)
• 1/4 tsp smoked salt (or regular salt)
• 1 tsp paprika (regular or smoked)
• 1/3 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

1. The day before you want to eat the tofu roast, open the tofu, drain excess liquid, and then press it. I strongly recommend using a tofu press (mine is linked in the notes). If you make tofu with any regularity, it's totally worth owning. Otherwise, wrap it in a clean towel and stack some heavy objects onto it, like textbooks or a cast iron pan. For this recipe, it's really important to press the tofu very well, so if you're using the towel method, after 15 minutes, replace the towel with another dry one, and repeat. With a tofu press, 15-20min should do the trick.
2. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the marinade. Place the block of tofu in the smallest dish that it fits in with room around the sides. A loaf pan or smaller is best. This allows the marinade to go up around the sides of the tofu and saturate its interior the most. Pour all of the marinade over your tofu block and cover it. Marinate for 24-36 hours. Flip over the block of tofu about halfway through this time, or more frequently if you can manage it. Each time, also spoon some of the marinade from the sides over the top. The goal is to get as much of the marinade into the tofu as possible.
3. When the tofu has marinated and is ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a small baking dish (9x13 or smaller) with parchment paper. I recommend using excess parchment paper to go around the sides a little bit, for the easiest cleanup later. Line the orange slices on the bottom and place the marinated tofu block on top of them. Take a small, sharp knife and score the top of the tofu in a diamond pattern. Place the individual whole cloves, round side up, in the intersections between the lines.
4. Bake for 60 minutes. Start checking the tofu at 45 minutes and take it out sooner if the edges are getting too dark. It's normal for the oranges to burn; they won't be getting eaten.
5. While the tofu is baking, add all of the glaze ingredients to a saucepan and stir to combine them and dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until reduced by about half, thick and glossy, with some of the raw alcohol flavor cooked out.
6. Once the tofu comes out of the oven the first time, pour the glaze all over the top of it. Return it to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes longer, until the glaze is thickened onto the tofu roast and just starting to darken at the edges. Basically, just keep checking it until it looks like it's about to start burning. That's when it's done 🙂
7. Let your tofu roast rest for about 15 minutes, then remove the cloves and burnt oranges, and feel free to dig in. I like to serve it on a new bed of fresh orange slices, but this is optional for serving, of course :).

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