Teriyaki Tofu and Lemon Broccoli

This dish may change your opinion of tofu. It is unanimously one of our family's favorite dinners and, unfortunately, there are rarely any leftovers. The key step to ensure that you have crispy, delicious tofu is to strain it first. You can either do this by placing a heavy cast iron pan on top of a plate over the tofu on top of another plate lined with paper towels OR do it yourself a favor and buy a tofu press. (This is the one we have and it works great). As long as we're talking gadgets, we'd also highly recommend investing in a rice cooker. Rice cookers allow you to "set it and forget it" with any type of grain (rice, quinoa, barley, farro, bulgur, etc.). They're foolproof and easy to clean. This is the type we own. But again, you can still make this meal pretty easily without the gadgets and it will be delicious!

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 20 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry jasmine rice

• 3.75 cups water

• 1 Block extra-firm tofu

• 1 cup low sodium soy sauce

• 1 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 4-6 large heads of broccoli

• 2 tsp. minced garlic

• juice of 2-3 lemons

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

• 1 bunch fresh scallions (diced)

Directions

1. Cook rice and water in rice cooker (or on stovetop).

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Place tofu in tofu press according to press instructions. Set aside for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, chop broccoli into bite sized pieces.

5. Slice tofu into 1" cubes.

6. In a medium mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, syrup, and rice vinegar.

7. Gently place tofu cubes in marinade bowl, ensuring that all surfaces get covered.

8. Carefully remove tofu with a slotted spoon and place cubes on the parchment lined sheet.

9. Bake for 20 minutes or until tofu edges are nicely browned.

10. Meanwhile, pour remaining marinade into a small saucepan and heat on medium to a gentle simmer.

11. In a large wok (or even 2 large skillets if the volume of broccoli is too big) heat oil on medium high.

12. Add broccoli, salt, and pepper flakes, stirring occasionally.

13. After about 5 minutes, add garlic until fragrant (another 2 minutes) and then pour in lemon juice and stir to coat broccoli thoroughly. Continue to cook broccoli until it is soft but still bright green (not yet yellowed or browned). Remove from heat.

14. On each plate, serve 1 cup of cooked rice topped with 2 cups of broccoli, ~1/3 cup of tofu, a couple of spoonfuls of the hot marinade, and garnish with scallions. Enjoy!