Grilled Or Pan Fried Marinated Tofu Food

GRILLED OR PAN-FRIED MARINATED TOFU

Steps:

• Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a 2-quart bowl. Whisk together well.
• Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towels. Slice into 1/2-inch thick slabs, and blot each slab with paper towels. Add to the bowl with the marinade, and gently toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes to an hour, or for up to a day.
• To pan-fry the tofu, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. When the oil is hot, add the tofu in one layer (you may have to do this in batches). Cook on one side for one to two minutes, until lightly colored. Using tongs, turn the tofu over and cook for another one to two minutes, or until lightly colored on the other side. Remove from the pan, and serve with additional marinade or soy sauce. To grill the tofu, prepare a medium-hot grill. Brush the grill with oil, and grill until grill marks appear, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Remove from the heat, and serve with additional marinade or soy sauce.

PERFECT GRILLED TOFU

Steps:

• Wrap tofu in a clean dish towel and weight it with something heavy such as a large can; leave it to drain for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix together remaining ingredients in a bowl.
• Cut each piece of tofu crosswise into 6 thick slices and put it all in a baking dish. Pour marinade over tofu, turning to coat, and chill, covered, turning occasionally, at least 30 minutes or up to 48 hours. Longer is better, but shorter is totally fine.
• Preheat a gas grill on high heat (450 degrees F to 650 degrees F) 10 minutes, then reduce heat to medium (325 degrees F to 375 degrees F)--or do whatever the equivalent is if you're using charcoal. Oil grate.
• Transfer tofu from marinade (letting excess drip off and reserving marinade) to grill with a spatula. Cover grill and cook tofu, turning once, until well browned but before grill marks get black, 10 to 15 minutes total. Transfer tofu to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
• Bring reserved marinade to a boil in a saucepan and boil until it reduces to about 1 cup, about 2 minutes. Pour over tofu and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

PAN-GRILLED MARINATED TOFU WITH TWO VARIATIONS

Steps:

• Cut tofu into 1-inch thick slices. Arrange tofu sliced in a 3 quart rectangular baking dish; set aside. If using dried mushrooms, in a small bowl combine dried mushrooms and enough hot water to cover; let stand for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse mushrooms; chop mushrooms.
• For marinade, in a blender or food processor combine all the ingredients for the chosen marinade and blend together until nearly smooth. Spoon mixture over tofu in dish. Turn tofu slices to coat with marinade. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, carefully turning tofu slices occasionally.
• In a large skillet heat remaining 1 tbsp of oilie oil over medium heat. Remove tofu slices from marinade, allowing excess to drip off; discard marinade. Add tofu to skillet. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes or util browned and heated through, turning once.

GRILLED TOFU WITH ASIAGO AND WALNUT PESTO

Steps:

• For the Asiago and Walnut Pesto:
• Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth.
• Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Cut the tofu in half diagonally to make 2 large triangles. Cut each large triangle in half to make 4 smaller triangles. Place the triangles, long side down, on a cutting board and carefully cut each into 3 slices. Brush the tofu triangles, on each side, with the extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill the tofu for 2 minutes on each side.
• Carefully transfer the tofu to a serving platter. Spoon the pesto over the tofu and serve.

MARINATED TOFU STEAK FOR ONE

Steps:

• Press tofu block gently to release as much water as possible. Rub grill seasoning all over the block of tofu. Put into a resealable plastic bag and freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• Remove from the freezer and thaw on the counter until soft enough to cut. Slice in half lengthwise. Return to the bag, drizzle with olive oil, and seal. Rub the outside of the bag to help coat the tofu steaks with oil and seasoning. Let rest for 15 minutes.
• Heat a griddle or an outdoor grill over medium heat. Add tofu steaks and cook until crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn over and cook until the other side is crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot.

SPICY GRILLED TOFU

Steps:

• Place the tofu slices on several layers of paper towels and cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 20 minutes, pressing down occasionally with your hands to squeeze out the water.
• Place the tofu in a single layer in the bottom of a 13x9 glass baking dish.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, maple syrup, tamari, chile paste, garlic, and pepper.
• Pour mixture over the tofu, stirring to coat all the slices.
• Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• When the tofu is marinated and ready to cook: Spray grill rack or pan with nonstick cooking spray. Heat grill or grill pan to medium heat.
• Place tofu slices on the grill. Reserve the marinade.
• Grill tofu 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until the outside is browned and crisp.
• Return tofu to the baking dish and toss the slices with the reserved marinade.
• Serve immediately.

THE BEST PAN-FRIED TOFU

Steps:

• Take your block of tofu and wrap it in several layers of paper towels.
• Gently press the tofu with your hands or against the counter top to release the liquid. This will take about a minute.
• Slice the tofu into pieces about 1/2 an inch thick.
• Set tofu aside.
• If you are using a non-stick pan heat it slightly on medium-high heat (about 30 seconds) before adding oil.
• If you are using a cast iron pan, please heat for about 1 minute to 1 1/2 minutes on medium-high heat. Cast iron is very thick and you want the pan to be heated evenly before adding the tofu.
• Add oil to heated pan.
• Gently spread oil over the entire surface of the pan.
• Set the tofu pieces in the pan, leaving ample room between them. They should sizzle when placed in the oil. Sprinkle the tops with salt and a little cayenne pepper.
• Now, the MOST IMPORTANT step is -- LEAVE THEM ALONE for about 6 or 7 minutes. Just gently shake them to make sure they don't stick to the pan. Do NOT turn them or agitate them in any other way. When you see a golden crust beginning to creep its way up the sides of the slices, turn them and spice the other side. Add more oil if the pan seems too dry.
• The second side will only take about 4 minutes to cook.
• When they are evenly browned take them out of the pan and place them on paper towels to drain.
• These are very simply seasoned and basic and can now be used any way you like. I like these with steamed broccoli and peanut sauce -- or in a sandwich with grilled peppers and mushrooms and aioli -- or just eaten with ketchup:-).

GRILLED TOFU

Steps:

• Arrange sliced tofu in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate. Press top with more paper towels to remove excess water. Arrange tofu in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, or any shallow dish that can hold the tofu in one layer.
• In a small saucepan, combine oil, garlic and ginger over medium; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant, 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, sugar, pepper and 1/4 cup water, and cook, stirring to dissolve the sugar, about 2 minutes.
• Pour hot marinade over tofu. Gently turn tofu slices to evenly coat, then cover dish tightly with plastic wrap to seal in heat. Refrigerate for 6 hours (or up to 8 hours), flipping tofu slices halfway through.
• Heat grill to medium and grease grates well (or heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium and lightly grease). Grill tofu over direct heat until golden and caramelized, about 3 minutes per side.
• Meanwhile, transfer marinade to a small saucepan over medium and warm through, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in scallions.
• Transfer tofu to a serving plate and spoon over the sauce. Serve warm.

ASIAN-STYLE GRILLED TOFU

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine teriyaki, vinegar, lime juice, ginger, Splenda, red pepper flakes and garlic powder.
• Open package of tofu and drain.
• Slice tofu diagonally in half to form 2 triangular shaped pieces; turn triangle onto long flat cut side with point facing up; cut into 3 triangular slices, each about 1/2-inch thick.
• Repeat with second triangle to form six 1/2-inch thick triangular slices.
• Spread tofu onto a paper towel-lined tray; top with more paper towels, and cover with a sheet pan; evenly weigh down sheet pan with soup cans and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Change paper toweling and repeat.
• Transfer tofu to a shallow glass dish and add marinade; let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, turning slices over after 15 minutes.
• Drain marinade into a small saucepan.
• Bring a large pot of water to boiling.
• Heat a ridged grill pan over medium-high heat and brush with 2 teaspoons oil.
• Cook fettuccine in boiling water according to package directions, adding snow peas, pepper and onion during the last 4 minutes of cooking.
• Grill the tofu, about 2 minutes per side, until nicely marked and hot.
• Stir broth and cornstarch into marinade and bring to a boil; boil until thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Drain noodles and vegetables.
• Toss noodles and vegetables with thickened marinade and sprinkle with sesame seeds, then top with grilled tofu.