When To Season Your Tofu With A Marinade Vs A Dry Rub

Despite what people may think, tofu is one of the most flavorful and satisfying forms of plant-based protein. However, tofu is only as flavorful as you make it: It must be seasoned and prepared properly to reach its fullest potential. Luckily, it's pretty easy to work with. Grilling, baking, and air frying tofu are among the most popular ways to prepare the soy-based protein. Each method gives it a different texture to accentuate the tofu's flavor in a different way, but it's important to correspond your seasoning method to your cooking method. Priyanka Naik, chef, author, and host of "Make It Vegan," gave us her expert tips on when to marinate your tofu versus when to season it with a dry rub so you can prepare perfect servings of it for years to come.

When it comes to grilling tofu, Naik said, "It's best to use a marinade so it seeps into the porous surface of the tofu and adheres to it." Before marinating tofu, it's important to press it with a high-quality tofu press, like this ToFuture press from Amazon. Pressing your tofu before grilling will allow it to better absorb all of those good flavors, and it will result in a firmer texture too. Once you press it, toss your tofu in a marinade ahead of time for an infusion of flavors. If you want to ensure top-notch flavor, let your pressed tofu sit in a marinade overnight before grilling it. 

There are many dishes in which marinated, grilled tofu is the optimal preparation method. Our jerk-marinated grilled tofu recipe, for example, works well with a marinade because its flavor and texture imitates jerk chicken. These flavors crave a crispy, grilled, slightly charred texture, which is just what you'll get with a thorough liquid-based marinade and a few minutes on the grill. 

On the other hand, Naik said, "Dry rubs are better for baked or airfryer tofu." A dry rub does not use any sort of liquid ingredient, so there is great opportunity for an epic crunch. Depending on the textures of the dry rub itself, that texture will generally remain on the surface of the tofu. However, this doesn't mean that those flavors won't reach the inside of the tofu: If you let your dry rub marinate for a few hours before baking it or throwing it in the air fryer, those flavors will still reach inside the tofu in the best way possible. 

Once you've pressed your tofu and have ensured that it's nice and dry, mix your seasoning of choice to spice up your tofu; we like using a blend with punchy spices like paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder, but don't forget to add a bit of salt and pepper, too. Mix everything up, and then throw the tofu into an air fryer preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, where it will remain for about 15 minutes or so. This method can also be used in the oven, though you'll want to make sure your oven is a bit hotter, around 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Alternatively, you can broil it on low to achieve a unique texture somewhere in between grilled and fried. For both methods, be sure to flip the tofu halfway so that each side gets nice and crispy.