This is a really easy way to prepare cotton (firm) tofu and it looks and tastes great. It can be served hot or cold as an appetizer or as one of the items in a main course and can be made up hours in advance.

Slice cotton tofu into rectangles or squares approximately a quarter inch thick. Coat a baking tray with a thin film of sesame oil. Move the tofu around on the tray to coat the underside with the oil, then turn it over and sprinkle the top with lots of white sesame seeds. Don’t use black sesame seeds on white tofu even though it might seem a good idea because they’ll look like they shouldn’t be there (like little black bugs). Salt lightly and broil, or bake for 15 minutes, checking periodically. The tofu will brown somewhat, the seeds will turn a golden colour, but don't cook it too long. If you let the tofu dry out too much, it takes on the texture of cardboard.

These are also very good wrapped in a piece of nori before placing them in an oven. To do that, cut a strip of nori a little narrower than the piece of tofu you are going to wrap and long enough that the edges overlap. Coat the tofu with sesame oil, sesame seeds and salt, wrap it in the nori and moisten the ends to secure them. Place the wrapped tofu seam side down in the baking pan and bake them only until the sesame seeds that are visible begin to turn golden brown. These should really be served immediately because the nori will become soggy from the moisture in the tofu if it sits around for too long.

With or without a nori wrapping, these can be served with an assortment of dipping sauces, such as black bean, or ponzu (shoyu and lemon).

I don't much care for baked tofu dishes because tofu is already cooked, so baking it will tend to make it dry out and release oils that make it nasty. But I highly recommend sesame tofu.

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