Put simply, the best way to prepare tofu is to freeze, press and marinate it for 24 hours before cooking. 

When you're out shopping and on the hunt for tofu you will see that there are different kinds you can get. 

Silken tofu is great for dishes like puddings, soups or sauces, but for this recipe I prefer firm tofu. 

According to many recipe groups on Facebook it's best to freeze your tofu then defrost before you use it. I can't be bothered with all that but if you have the time it is supposed to help the tofu soak up the flavour better and gives it a better texture. 

If you have decided to freeze your tofu then make sure you leave plenty of time to defrost it before you continue with any prep. The next step in the preparation process is to press your tofu to get all of the excess water out of it. 

You can do this the old fashioned way but laying your tofu between some kitchen towels and piling some heavy books on top. However, if you wanted something easier and a bit more pro then you can pick up a tofu press for around £. I use this tofu pies from Amazon and find that it works well. 

Once you’ve pressed the tofu it’s time to slice it before leaving them to marinate overnight. I like thicker slices of tofu so cut mine into slices that are around 1cm thick. I find that any thicker and it has too much of a sponge texture, but any thinner and it’s too crunchy. 

The final step in the tofu prep process is to marinate your tofu. This recipe uses BBQ sauce but you can marinate your tofu in any kind of sauce or spices. You get the most flavour in your tofu by marinating it overnight but if you don’t have the time an hour or two will be fine. 

Now while these steps do make for the best tasting tofu I have just used the tofu without prepping it before and it still tastes good. 

Bread: there is no better bread for a sandwich than soft white bread cut thickly! All I’ll say is that whatever bread you choose to use for this sandwich make sure it’s toasted so the mayo and vegetables don’t give you soggy bread. 

Tofu: if you don't know what gnocchi is - they are soft pillows of potato dumplings. It cooks easily, goes with anything and is cheap!

Sauce: everyone knows that tofu has no flavour so you need to marinate it in a sauce to get some flavour in there. In this recipe I have marinated the tofu in a smoky BBQ sauce and add lashings of mayonnaise to the bread once it’s toasted. 

Vegetables: you want the tofu to be the hero of this sandwich so stick to simple veg that you can easily prep and will pair well with the BBQ flavour of your tofu. For this sandwich I went with shredded lettuce and fresh carrot sliced into thin strips with a vegetable peeler.

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