Teriyaki Tofu over Brown Rice + Green Beans

In a small pot with a tight fitting lid, combine the rice, water, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and stir. Then reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for about 35 minutes or until the rice is tender and water has absorbed. If you’ve made white rice instead it only cooks for about 17 minutes!

In a saucepan, combine the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce: 1 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoons honey, 2 minced cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon dried ginger, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar. If using, add 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Whisk it all together.

Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 1 teaspoon of butter until it’s melted. Then stir in the 4 ice cubes until they’re melted to help the sauce cool. Pour it in a shallow dish and pop it in the fridge to cool completely.

Place the tofu on a work surface and cut it in half to 2 even squares. Cut each of those on a diagonal into triangles. If the tofu seems thick, you can then slice each triangle into 2 thinner triangles which will have more flavor after being in the marinade. Ultimately though, the shape doesn’t much matter.

When the teriyaki is cold, reserve about half of it for brushing on later, and add the tofu to the rest. If it feels like the pan is too big and they aren’t coated enough, transfer it all to a small bowl or a ziplock style bag. Turn to coat the tofu. Marinate for as long as you can and up to 48 hours.

Place the marinated tofu evenly spaced on a lined baking sheet. This sauce will get sticky! Lining the pan will save clean up time. Pop into the oven and bake for about 9 minutes. Slice the pan out and carefully flip the pieces and brush it with half of the remaining sauce. Return to the oven for 5 minutes more.

While the tofu is cooking, trim the green beans. You only need to remove the stem end, just a tiny nip to take off the woody part. Set beans in a steamer basket with about 1” of water. If you don’t have a steamer, just place the beans directly in a pot with the water. Cover and bring to a boil. Steam for about 5 minutes for bright green and crisp but tender beans. Remove from the pot and place in a bowl. Toss with a pinch of salt and the remaining teaspoon of butter.

Plate a scoop of rice. Top with green beans. And top that with 2-3 tofu triangles. Drizzle any of the uncooked sauce over the top to taste. Garnish generously with both colors of sesame seeds - but if you only have white ones or don’t have any at all, it is fine to leave them off!