• Preheat oven to 400”F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Prep a large bowl. Drain the tofu and break it into bite size pieces inside the bowl (you want about 1 inch irregular pieces here). DO NOT PRESS THE TOFU!
  14 oz block extra firm tofu
• Season Tofu. Sprinkle the tofu pieces with the nutritional yeast, paprika and onion powder. Now drizzle over the top with the shoyu, olive oil and maple syrup (or brown sugar). Using a flat spatula give everything a toss to coat all over. Do this carefully so you don’t break up the tofu too much.
  2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tsp granulated onion, 1 tsp sweet paprika, 2 Tbsp shoyu or tamari, 1 tsp maples syrup, 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Sprinkle in the tapioca and give another gentle toss to coat.
  1 Tbsp tapioca starch/ flour
• Transfer the seasoned tofu to the prepared baking sheet and roast @400”F for 15 minutes. Give it a gentle toss and roast another 15 minutes until nicely golden all over. (NOTE: For extra doneness and a firmer center you can cook an additional 5 minutes and taste, you want to make sure you are not overcooking it at this point once most of the moisture has evaporated).
  

The Orange Sauce

• About 5 minutes before your tofu is done whisk together all the sauce ingredients except the strip of orange peel and dried red chiles.
  3/4 cup orange juice, 3 Tbsp shoyu or tamari, 3 Tbsp maple syrup, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 3 garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger root, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 pinch red chili flakes
• Transfer the sauce to a large pan together with the orange peel and dried chiles if using and bring to a boil. Simmer for a couple of minutes until you see the sauce starts to thicken slightly. (It will continue to thicken once you add the tofu due to the tapioca coating). NOTE - you don’t really want a reduction here so keep a close eye on it.
  zest from 1 orange + 2-3 inches orange peel, 2-3 dried red chiles
• Transfer the roasted tofu to the sauce and toss to coat all over. Simmer another minute or so until the sauce has thickened to your liking and is coating the tofu beautifully. (At this time you can add in drained water chestnuts if using).
  8 oz canned water chestnuts
  
• Serve hot over rice garnished with thinly sliced scallions, black sesame seeds and extra red chili flakes.
  scallions sliced at an angle + sesame seeds