ass kickin tofu

I am definitely a spicy food connoisseur. Ever since I was a kid, my dad and I have have been pushing the heat boundaries with copious amounts of Sriracha and hot peppers, much to my mom's dismay. Tonight for dinner, I thought I'd try my hand at baked tofu with a little kick.

Stuff you need: 1. A block of firm (or extra firm) tofu 2. Chili garlic sauce 3. Soy sauce 4.Hoisin sauce 5. Olive oil

Start off by squeezing all the liquid out of the tofu- I like to wrap it in a paper towel and place a heavy object on top while I prepare everything else. While the tofu is indisposed, prepare your marinade. Combine approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil and soy sauce with 1 tablespoon hoisin. Give it a good stir and a taste, and adjust the flavors to your liking- some ginger, sesame oil, or lemon juice would all be nice additions.

When your marinade is ready, grab the tofu, slice it into slabs, and arrange it in a glass baking dish. Lightly coat each piece of tofu with the chili garlic sauce, and then pour the marinade on top. Now pop the dish into the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350 F. About 5-10 minutes in, flip the tofu over so both sides soak up all those great flavors. At this point, I lightly coated the other side of the tofu with more chili garlic sauce. Please feel free to skip this step, unless you like your food with some serious burn.

When the oven is ready to go, pop that spicy tofu in for 15 minutes, flip the slabs over, and cook for an additional 20. When it's looking golden all over, gather some kleenex, a glass of milk, and dig in!

Now that is some tofu that will kick your ass. I mean, real coughing-fit-makes-your-nose-run kind of spice! Yeow! Some steamed broccoli and orange cauliflower were a really nice compliment to this dish- the hot, heat of the tofu, and the mild, subtle veggies were a great combo. I ate half of the slabs tonight, and popped the rest in the fridge for some stir fry tomorrow.

I must say, that for completely making this up on the fly, I'm pretty pumped with the results. Next time, I'll definitely increase the oven temp so it's a little less soft, and a little more crunchy- I think 375 or 400 degrees would work great. Also, I think a longer marinading time would help enhance flavors, but let's be honest, I'm usually hungry and impatient after a long day at the office.

A hot, fiery meal, for a hot, summer day. It needs a little tweaking, but not bad for my first attempt at baked tofu :)