Can I reuse marinade used to marinate tofu?

Question

I already found lots of questions on this site with answers advising not to reuse marinade used to marinate meat. Which I understand, because meat poisoning is no laughing matter.

But what about marinade that wasn't used for meat but for tofu?

What I did:

1. I made a marinade from these ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• Vinegar
• Curry powder
• Instant broth
• Corn starch
• Water

2. I let a batch of diced tofu marinate in it in the fridge for about 20 hours in a closed container.
3. I drained the marinade and filled it in a jar.

Would there be a risk to store this marinade in the fridge for a couple days and then reuse it for another batch of tofu?

Answer 1

Broth mix is presumably salty. 1/2tsp salt per cup liquid is antibacterial. Yeasty beasties on the other hand...

You can reuse awhile before noticing a white yeast scum similarly on brined capers or olives (harmless enough)

One other thing: tofu gives off a lot of water so check if marinade is watered down. Microwaving and draining tofu before the marinade will really increase its sponging up.

Curry powder in marinade benefits from long soak if it's not been heated with the oil.

Answer 2

The problem with reusing marinades that were used for meat, fish, or poultry is that potential pathogens (like salmonella or e-coli) on the raw protein could make their way into the marinade, and propagate over time.

Assuming you removed the tofu from a sealed package with clean hands or a utensil, it is unlikely that your tofu would be a source of pathogens. Your marinade ingredients are also unlikely to contain pathogens. So, as long as the whole thing (tofu and marinade) was maintained at refrigerator temperature, and you were sanitary when mixing and removing tofu (no fingers), it is unlikely that you've introduced potential pathogens into the system. Therefore, it would be safe to remove the tofu, jar the remaining marinade, and store in the fridge for a short time to re-use within a week.