Jerk Tofu

In my continued quest for tofu marinades, I tried out jerk tofu. If you're looking for a tofu marinade that's different and possibly something you haven't tasted before, definitely try out Isa's recipe. I've never tried anything with jerk seasonings so I had no idea what to expect, and nothing to compare it against. Which isn't very useful to those of you wondering how accurate it is, sorry. But for those of you who are feeling adventurous, it's still good right? (The few times I've seen places serving jerk marinated things, they've been meat. What's with that.) Anyway, the marinade combines all sorts of crazy things together like cinnamon, cayenne, thyme, maple syrup, soy sauce, ginger, onion and lime (among many other things). I have this idea in my head that things seasoned with jerk spices/marinades are supposed to be burnt. I don't know why or where that came from, but the burnt looking parts of the tofu didn't taste burnt. (Here's a picture of someone else's jerk tofu that may have been from the same recipe I used, only baked instead of pan fried.)

My apologies for this lackluster post. I'm not feeling very inspired right now. My fridge seems to be broken and I fear for the lives of all the food living in it. Well I think it's past that point now, so I'm just avoiding eating any of it until the fridge is fixed tomorrow (and new food is bought). I did use a melon baller for the first time today on a watermelon. That was insanely fun. I need my own melon baller now, and a giant watermelon so I can scoop and scoop large bowlfuls of perfect little watermelon balls.

Jerk Tofu
(from theppk by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)

Ingredients
1lb extra firm tofu, pressed for at least an hour*

For the marinade:
1/2 large white onion, roughly choppped
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
juice of 2 limes
zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (or one if you don't want it too spicy)

1. Puree all ingredients for the marinade.

2. Slice the pressed tofu into long triangles like this:
Slice into eigths width-wise
Slice each eigth in half into a long triangle

3. Marinade tofu in a bowl for an hour covered adjusting slices once.

4. Prepare the skillet with a thin coat of olive oil and turn heat to medium high. When pan is hot, lay tofu in a sigle layer. Cook for 8 minutes on each side.

*To press tofu, wrap in paper towels or a clean dish towel and press under the weight of a heavy object, such as a skillet with a heavy book in it. Turn over after 1/2 hour. This will get the water out and allow the tofu to soak up more of the marinade.