I made this baked tofu and coconut kale a couple weeks ago but I forgot to tell you about it. All that changes now.

I usually shy away from making tofu because it requires more effort, sometimes to no avail. Tofu recipes that I’ve used in the past call for placing a block of tofu between paper towel-lined plates and letting the extra moisture soak out. Even after doing that, the tofu can be soggy and not crisp on the outsides like I want it to be. It’s disappointing.

Then I saw this recipe for baked tofu with coconut kale. I’ve never baked tofu, only fried it, so I was interested to see what would happen. I also liked the idea of baking kale. I’ve done that before to make kale chips, and this recipe sounded similar. It also called for toasting coconut flakes in the oven, which I’m a big fan of. It’s the closest thing I can get to a Hawaiian vacation in St. Louis.

This recipe is gold. Once you make it, you’ll want to repeat it every week or so. I haven’t yet because I’ve been distracted by Bosnian food (more on that later), but I’m going to soon.

The tofu is crisp on the outside and soft and pillow-y on the inside, with lots of flavor from the soy sauce. It pairs well with the crispy tofu and the crunchy coconut. The dish is easy enough to make on a weeknight and it keeps well the next day, so it’s delicious for lunch. Those are two of my highest standards for a recipe.

I served the tofu over brown rice but serving it over white rice or quinoa would also be delicious. You could even get creative and make tacos with it.

In lieu of reposting the recipe, here’s a link to the one on Food52. I followed it pretty much to the letter, except I subbed sunflower oil for grapeseed oil because that’s what I had in my pantry.

Here’s a song to get you started on your baked tofu journey. I can’t believe that I’m just now realizing how good The Weeknd’s last album is. Where was I in 2016? Technically I can answer that question, but in the context of this album, it feels like I was on another planet.