Gluten-Free Teriyaki Tofu
This gluten-free teriyaki tofu recipe can be made in under 30 minutes. It is delicious, low GI and incredibly easy to make.
30 mins
Gluten-free
Vegan
This gluten-free Teriyaki tofu recipe is a perfect high-protein vegetarian meal to help you feel full and satisfied when you have limited time. You can prepare this in advance and cook it whenever you’ve got 15 minutes to spare.
This fuss-free recipe is gluten-free as I have used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. It is also low-GI as I have replaced the typical Teriyaki sugar ingredient with agave. You can use any other sweetener of your choice as well. I have used organic form tofu for this recipe, that only costs HKD10!
What is Teriyaki?
Teriyaki is a Japanese cooking technique that involves broiling or grilling a dish that is glazed with a mixture of soy sauce, sake or mirin and sugar. The beautiful caramlised glaze created on the dish after cooking it using this techinique is where the Japanese noun teri (照り) comes from. Yaki (焼き) refers to the cooking method.
Teriyaki comes from Japan, but it is widely adapted used in Chinese, Indonesian and other South East Asian cuisines today. I’ve used my favourite Koon Yick Chinese chilli sauce as part of this recipe to add an extra kick of spice to this.
Why gluten-free Teriyaki tofu?
Usually, Teriyaki sauce is made using soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar. Soy sauce is not gluten-free because in order to ferment the soy beans into a brine, wheat needs to be added to the process. Soy sauce also can be extremely high in sodium. This is why I’ve used coconut aminos for this recipe instead of soy sauce. I’ve also substituted sugar with agave to make this recipe lower in GI.
A gluten-free diet helps those affected by Celiac disease. Celiac disease is a condition when your immune system attacks your body’s tissues as a response to gluten intake. This mostly affects the small intestine and causes diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating. It can also greatly affect mental health as it causes a lot of stress having to change eating habits and avoid foods that contain traces of gluten. More and more people are being tested for gluten intolerances despite not being diagnosed with Celiac disease because there are a large number of people who are triggered by the same symptoms whenever they eat gluten.
Despite gluten being a natural protein found in grains, today’s food manufacturing and food technological processes extract gluten, and increase it’s concentration to enhance flavour, texture and shape. It can be synthetically added to processed foods to increase the protein amount and act like a binding agent for foods that don’t naturally bind together. This is why many individuals avoid gluten or try to limit their intake whenever possible as many individuals have found easier digestion and greater energy. Processed foods today are manufactured in ways that can greatly affect our health.
What are coconut aminos?
Coconut aminos is a brown sauce made from fermenting the coconut palm sap with sea salt. Despite the name, coconut aminos don’t taste like coconut at all. The coconut sap comes from the coconut tree’s blossoms and not from the actual coconut. The method of creating coconut aminos is a technique far more sustainable than many other farming techniques.
Coconut aminos contain no soy, wheat or gluten which is a great alternative to soy sauce for those with allergies or intolerances. The coconut blossom sap also contains several nutrients and vitamins that are all beneficial to our health. Most importantly, it is low GI which is great for those with diabetes.
What grains can you pair this with?
For those who require gluten-free grains, your options are quinoa, millet, red rice, wild rice, black rice. You can also pair this with buckwheat noodles.
For other whole grains that are not gluten-free, you can pair this with barley, bulgur and couscous.
What can I garnish this with?
After roasting this in the oven or pan-frying this over low to medium heat, you can place this over your choice of grains and garnish with the following:
- Spring onions
- Wakame
- Fried/dried/dehydrated garlic
- Sesame seeds
- Extra sauce
As always, if you loved this recipe, don’t forget to comment below or rate this recipe using the STARS in the recipe box below. Hope you enjoy this!
Gluten-Free Teriyaki Tofu
This gluten-free teriyaki tofu recipe can be made in under 30 minutes. It is delicious, low GI and incredibly easy to make.
Ingredients
For The Tofu
- 360 g Organic Nigari Tofu I got mine from Top Soya
For The Marinade
- 4 tbsps coconut aminos
- 1.5 tbsps pure sesame oil
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp ginger grated
- 1/2 tsp agave
- 1 red chilli chopped
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan Pink salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 1-2 tsp Koon Yick Chilli Sauce OPTIONAL
- Sichuan peppercorn OPTIONAL
Instructions
- Cut the tofu piece in half and score it at the front and the back
- Place it in an empty container
- In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the marinade together and pour it over the tofu in the container
- Tighten the container with the lid and give it a good shake for the marinade to absorb into the tofu
To Bake/Roast
- Roast this in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 175 degrees
To Pan-Fry
- Pan fry this over low to medium heat until the surface crisps up and turns golden brown. It can easily burn so keep a look out.
- You can serve this with any of the grains mentioned above
- Garnish this with sliced spring onions, wakame (Japanese seaweed), sesame seeds and dried garlic
