Marinated Grilled Tofu with Garlic Spaghetti Squash
Tofu marinade adapted from this blog and spaghetti squash inspired from this blog
Technically it may be spring but there is still snow here (it’s literally snowing right now) so spaghetti squash is still happening in this house. I’m not one to argue that spaghetti squash is a “substitute” for pasta but this meal is a rare instance of spaghetti squash outperforming any type of noodles. It just soaks up all of the delicious sauce and flavor so well. This meal feeds two in my house but only because Andrew loves the spaghetti squash. The squash could easily feed four, so just double the tofu if that’s your plan.
Tofu (Prep)
Half a block of extra firm tofu (or firm)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sriracha (if you like spice, otherwise omit)
Press the tofu for at least 30 minutes. My method is to place it between between two reusable paper towels on a plate and then stack 2 plates on top of it. For 30 minutes, you can leave it out but if you plan to let it press for longer, put it in the fridge. I sometimes remove the second plate if it will press for a while in the fridge.
When the tofu is almost done pressing, make the marinade by whisking together the soy sauce, maple syrup, olive oil, and sriracha.
Cut the tofu into 6 slabs, sorta 1/2-inch each.
Pour the marinade into a baking dish or something similar and put your slabs in there.
Let the slabs marinate on one side for 15 minutes then flip for another 15 minutes. The marinade should basically be gone after this time.
Spaghetti Squash (Prep)
1 spaghetti squash
Cut your spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds.
At this point, we need to cook the spaghetti squash. I use my instant pot to steam it for 7 minutes. If you don’t have an instant pot, I think the oven is your best bet. I think 30 minutes at 400F would work, but you may want to investigate what the internet has to say about that.
After it’s done cooking, let it cool for a little bit on a cutting board. Otherwise you will burn yourself trying to scrape out the inside.
After cooling, scrape out the inside so you have a pile of spaghetti squash insides.
Make it Garlic Fried & Grilled
Half a white onion
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of sesame oil
6 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons of coconut sugar (brown sugar would also work)
6 tablespoons of soy sauce
Dice up the onion into small pieces and press or thinly slice your garlic.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the sesame oil.
After the butter has melted, add the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes. The onion should start to look translucent but it doesn’t need to be fully cooked yet.
Add the coconut sugar and soy sauce and let everything simmer together for a minute.
Add the pile of spaghetti squash and cook through for a bit, at least 10-15 minutes, until the squash has absorbed a lot of the sauce and is fully warmed-through. The squash will release water as it cooks again, so you can cook for longer if it is looking too liquid-y and you want some of that to evaporate.
After adding the squash, preheat a griddle to medium-high heat (or use an outdoor grill).
Grill the tofu slabs for 6 minutes each side if using the griddle or 3 minutes each side if using an outdoor grill. I find waiting to do this part after adding the squash forces me to cook the squash for long enough that some liquid evaporates, otherwise I can get impatient.
Once everything is cooked, scoop squash into bowls, top with grilled tofu, and enjoy!
Leave a comment to let me know how it went, and what you tried!