Pineapple Teriyaki Tofu

My housemate Jessie and I came up with this recipe and it couldn't be easier! The tofu is nice and delicious, the veggies all blend well together, and the sweet, slightly spicy sauce pulls everything together. It's also really easy to make substitutions--I made this with my mom when I was last home, and we added leftover broccoli and potatoes instead of the tomatoes, which was delicious! If you don't have chili garlic sauce, you can add some minced garlic and chopped jalapeño with the onion and bell pepper.

Also, since we came up with this recipe ourselves, I thought I'd do some photos all the way along! Here we go:

Here's the sauce. You could also use another kind of teriyaki sauce.

The first step is to make the tofu: press, marinate in the sauce, dredge in cornstarch, and saute until brown and crispy. It should look like the above photo.

Set the tofu aside, add more oil to the pan, and add sliced bell peppers and onions...

...and saute until nice and soft.
In a small, dry, nonstick pan, cook the tomatoes until the skin starts to become brown and blistered. Shake the pan from time to time to make sure everything gets browned.

Add in the tomatoes, pineapple, diced ginger, the leftover marinade, and more teriyaki sauce to make a good sauce (you probably won't use the whole jar--make it as saucy as you like).

Saute until everything gets warm and soft. Taste, and add salt and chili garlic sauce.

Finally, toss in the tofu and some salted, roasted cashews for crunch.
Here's the plated dish, served with some rice and greens. Dig in!

Pineapple Teriyaki Tofu

1 block extra firm tofu (not silken tofu)
3-4 T cornstarch
1 jar Soy-Vey Island Teriyaki Sauce
Vegetable oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
A generous handful of grape or cherry tomatoes
1-1 1/2 cans pineapple, cut into chunks (or buy the kind already in chunks)
1-2 tsp diced fresh ginger, to taste
Salt, to taste
Chili garlic sauce, to taste
A handful of roasted cashews (try to find roasted, unsalted ones if you can)

1. Prepare the tofu. For a chewier texture, freeze overnight, then defrost. For a creamier texture, skip this step. Either way, then press the tofu under heavy cans or a heavy pot for 2 or more hours. Cut into cubes and then place the tofu in a bowl and cover with the teriyaki sauce. Marinate at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes. Dredge the marinated tofu in cornstarch (I do this by shaking everything around in a gallon-size Ziplock). Make sure to reserve the leftover marinade.

2. Heat some vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet (or wok). Add the tofu cubes and fry until they are a deep golden brown. Set aside. Turn the heat down to medium. Add more oil to the pan if needed and then dump in the onion and pepper slices. Stirring often, cook the onions and peppers until soft. Turn off the heat.

3. Put the cherry tomatoes in a dry, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Shake the pan, occasionally at first and then more frequently as the tomatoes start to brown, until some tomatoes have burst a little and all are starting to get browned spots.

4. Add the tomatoes to the onions and peppers along with the pineapple chunks and the reserved marinade. Add more teriyaki sauce as desired to create a sauce-y consistency. Cook a few minutes, then taste and add fresh ginger, salt, and chili garlic sauce to taste. Continue to cook until the sauce is somewhat reduced...eyeball it until it's all looking good.

5. Add the tofu and the cashews to the skillet and cook about 5 minutes more, just to warm everything through. Serve with rice.