Tofu Steak

5 from 19 votes

This is the best recipe for tofu steak ever! Marinated in a fabulous sesame soy marinade sauce and seared in a grill pan for beautiful grill lines and locked in flavor.

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 266kcal

Author: Alison Andrews

Ingredients

Tofu Steaks:

24 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (680g) (2 blocks of 12 ounces (340g) each)
½ Tbsp Sesame Oil For Frying

Marinade Sauce:

1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Clove Garlic Crushed
½ tsp Liquid Smoke
½ tsp Garlic Powder
½ tsp Onion Powder
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

Press the tofu. Put the tofu on to press for 30 minutes. Ideally use a tofu press but if you don't have one then place the tofu onto a plate with another plate on top of it and then stack something heavy on top like heavy books or a heavy pot.
Prepare the marinade sauce. While the tofu is pressing add sesame oil, soy sauce, tomato paste, maple syrup, crushed garlic, liquid smoke, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and ground black pepper to a measuring jug and whisk together until well mixed.
Marinate the tofu steaks. When the tofu is finished pressing, slice it into four rectangular steaks. Place the steaks into a shallow tray and brush all sides with the marinade sauce and leave to marinate for 15 minutes.
Heat a grill pan on medium heat. When hot, brush it with sesame oil.
Grill the tofu steaks. Add two tofu steaks to the hot grill pan and let them cook for 3 minutes. They should stick to the pan when they first go in, this is fine. After 3 minutes they should release easily from the pan. Flip them over and cook on the other side for 3 minutes. They should now have nice straight grill lines on them.
Brush with marinade sauce. When the tofu steaks are cooked, use some leftover marinade sauce to brush the steaks on both sides and then remove them from the pan.
Repeat with the next two tofu steaks.
Serve with veggies, salad or chips or topped with vegan peppercorn sauce.

Notes

Gluten-Free. For gluten-free switch the soy sauce for tamari or use a gluten-free soy sauce.
The grill pan must be hot. When the pan is sizzling hot then when you add the tofu steaks to the pan they will sear to the pan and stick. A few minutes later they release on their own with those lovely grill lines and then you can flip them and do the same on the other side. If the pan isn't hot enough when you add the tofu, they won't sear properly to the pan.
Use a high heat oil to brush onto the grill pan. We used sesame oil in the marinade so decided to stick with sesame oil for the grill pan. Sesame oil is a high heat oil with a high smoke point so works great for this. Grapeseed oil also works well.
If you don't have a grill pan you can use a regular frying pan or skillet. You won't get the grill lines of course but it will still taste just as amazing.
Leftovers. If you have any leftover steaks, store them in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can reheat in the microwave or in the frying pan. Tofu also freezes really well. So if you want to freeze this recipe you can definitely do so. Thaw in the fridge and then reheat as usual.

Nutrition