Argh, I keep forgetting to take photos for these recipes.  I was all set to take photos for this one, and then kittens happened.

• 2 tbsp. honey
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• dash of sesame oil
• 1 package extra-firm tofu
• 2 bell peppers
• snow peas
• 1/3 cabbage
• 1 12-oz package soba noodles
• 1/2 jar of salad olives

Baking tofu is a new technique to me.  The interesting thing about it is that it turns the tofu into an entirely different dish.  It gets chewy, a texture kind of reminiscent of oysters.  Anyway, the trick to baking tofu is to remove as much moisture from the tofu as possible.  Drain the tofu and cut it into long, thin strips with a knife (see?  Here’s where a photo would have been helpful.)  Block the heck out of them with a towel.  You might want to wrap them up in the towel, put a plate with a weight on it on top, and leave them there for a while.

Put the thoroughly blotted tofu strips onto a foil-lined baking pan.  Mixed together the soy sauce, honey, and oil, and sprinkle it on top.  Stir them around a bit to make sure they’re coated.  Or coat them with whatever sauce floats your boat – tofu will take on the flavor of whatever is around it.  Bake in the oven at 350º for 15 minutes, stir, then bake another 15 minutes.  Once the soy sauce becomes a gooey, chewy coating like road tar, you’ll see why you foil-lined the pan.

The rest of the recipe goes together like a regular stir fry.  Chop the peppers into long, thin strips and sauté on high heat along with the snow peas.  Chop the cabbage into long strips.  Once the peppers and peas are softened up a bit, throw in the cabbage.  Then throw in the soba noodles, olives, and baked tofu strips.  Fry that all up until it’s as brown as you like it.

Sweet and salty – great combination!