This recipe is inspired by a restaurant that used to be in East Hampton called Babette’s. I used to add their tofu to my salads every time I went there. Since they’ve closed, I decided to make my own version. I don’t have an air fryer because I don’t have room for one, but you can easily turn your oven into one. If you have a convection setting, turn it on and place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven so the air circulates. This recipe is so easy and flavorful, and is one of my favorites—Iris’ too!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 55 min |
| Active: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 2 to 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra-firm tofu
- Nonstick cooking spray, for the rack
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce plus 2 tablespoons more if needed, recipe follows (or use your favorite store brand)
- 2 tablespoons avocado, vegetable or olive oil
- One 10-ounce package spiralized sweet potatoes noodles
- 2 teaspoons grated garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup minced yellow onion
- 2 cups ketchup
- 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
Instructions
- Drain the liquid from the tofu. Wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel and place a heavy-bottomed pot on top. Press out the remaining liquid at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fit it with a rack. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cut the tofu in half across the equator, then dice into 1-inch cubes. Put into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the BBQ sauce and toss to coat. Line the tofu on the rack in an even layer. Bake until the tofu is heated through and firms up slightly, about 20 minutes. If it looks like it’s drying out, baste with the remaining 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet potato noodles and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, toss to coat and cook for 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil, toss to coat and cook until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Transfer the noodles to a serving bowl, top with the tofu and garnish with scallions.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onions until translucent, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, broth, vinegar, sugar, molasses, Worcestershire, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, mustard, cumin and coriander. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 857 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 140 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 70 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 60 mg |
| Sodium | 1925 mg |
Reviews
I made it and didn’t like it. When KLB initially made the Tofu with Curry Ketchup, ( Episode: A Week of Winter Meals) GZ poopooed it and rightly so. But I guess she needed to redeem herself by making the Tofu with BBQ sauce and then GZ suddenly thought it was good yet he only ate one piece of it. In a very early episode of The Kitchen, Jeff Mauro made Crispy Szechuan-Style Eggplant and Tofu (Episode: Ultimate Meatloaf) it was delicious and that’s how tofu should be made. Food does not always need to be dumbed down.
I actually loved this recipe a lot. I cooked the bbq infused tofu in my air fryer – which only took a couple minutes. I confess, I burned the tofu the first time I made it. Also, I had a little of the tofu left over the next day. The noodles weren’t as good as leftovers, but the tofu tasted much better. So next time, I plan to soak the tofu in the BBQ sauce overnight and see if the tofu is infused with even more flavor.
I made the entire recipe. I liked the BBQ sauce and overall it was a good idea. However I had to cook the spiral sweet potatoes much longer than 3 minutes to get tender. I also needed to add BBQ sauce to the tofu after I placed it on top of the sweet potatoes. Next time I’d make a side salad so I won’t eat so much potato.
149 g of carbs per serving! Looked delicious, and healthy, but glad I checked the nutrition info first.
This was delicious!. I added a bit of peanut butter to the sweet potatoes.
I’m willing to try a lot of things. If you have tried it and don’t like it, please explain why. A 1 star review, with no explanation,does not help those of us that are interested in making this.
How can someone review a recipe that just aired??
Why are ratings allowed here without comment, which it says are required