Beef, pork, and chicken aren’t the only foods that can benefit from a marinade. Although marinades are great at tenderizing the gristly bits of animal meats for a more succulent bite, they’re also essential for imbuing them with flavors from the inside out. Mild-tasting plant-based proteins like tofu don’t necessarily require textural improvement, but there’s no arguing that they can use some zhuzhing up in the flavor department. Although a simple marinade featuring ingredients like soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha can do the trick, the more creative and experimental you are, the more personality your tofu will have. Enter bourbon — your favorite new tofu marinade ingredient.
Bourbon is a type of whiskey made from at least 51% corn and aged for at least two years in charred oak barrels. Although tasting notes vary by brand, proof, and the style of aging and distillation, the predominant flavors found across most bourbons typically include vanilla, caramel, and oak, punctuated by earthy, floral, and peppery undertones. When combined with sweet, savory, and spicy ingredients, bourbon lends your marinade a dynamic complexity and a well-rounded flavor that takes a plain-tasting block of tofu and gives it a bold, smoky-sweet bite with real character. Because it doesn’t need tenderizing, a bourbon-soaked block of tofu is ready to enjoy in as little as two hours.
Tips for using bourbon in a tofu marinade
Assembling a marinade doesn’t require Michelin-star skills, and introducing bourbon to the mix doesn’t have to complicate the process. With that in mind, it’s still helpful to jot down a few simple tips to achieve a well-balanced, tastefully made bourbon tofu marinade.
Press tofu before marinating it to remove excess moisture and make more room for those complex bourbon flavors to penetrate. Similarly, because silken tofu has a higher water content, it’s best to use firm or extra-firm tofu for marinating. If you’re not cutting it into smaller cubes, score tofu before marinating it to increase its surface area, which helps the marinade penetrate more deeply and evenly throughout the block. A little bit of bourbon goes a long way in a tofu marinade. Around ¼ cup of bourbon for every pound of tofu is all you need – any more than that may leave behind a boozy and astringent flavor.
Combine bourbon with the right ingredients to ensure this libation-infused marinade hits the spot. Savory ingredients like miso, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce can cut through the sweetness of bourbon by providing the marinade with a heavy-handed hit of umami. Spicy ingredients like jalapeño, sriracha, and chili crisp can round out the sweet and savory notes with a trim of fire. Bolster the sweetness of bourbon by adding honey or maple syrup to the mix. Don’t forget to include aromatics like garlic and green onion for a satisfyingly familiar finish. Although tofu can develop a more pronounced and exciting flavor when marinated for just a couple of hours, if you have extra time and patience, max out on flavor by marinating it overnight.
