Grilled Tofu And Sauteed Asian Greens Food

UDON WITH TOFU AND ASIAN GREENS

Steps:

• Cook the udon noodles as the label directs. (Don't overcook or they will get mushy.) Drain, reserving about 1/3 cup of the cooking water.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Pat the tofu dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Add the tofu to the skillet and sear until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside and keep warm.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil and the greens to the skillet. Cook, tossing, until just wilted. Add the scallions, red pepper flakes, the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the soy sauce and sugar. Add the reserved cooking water; heat to create a broth. Divide the noodles and greens among 4 bowls and top with the tofu.

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.

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.

GRILLED TOFU AND SAUTEED ASIAN GREENS

Steps:

• Cut tofu crosswise into 6 slices. Arrange in 1 layer on a triple layer of paper towels and top with another triple layer of towels. Weight with a shallow baking pan or baking sheet and let stand 2 minutes. Repeat weighting with dry paper towels 2 more times.
• Stir together soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, Tabasco, and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a glass pie plate. Add tofu slices in 1 layer and marinate, turning over every couple of minutes, 8 minutes total.
• Heat a lightly oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Lift tofu from marinade with a slotted spatula (reserve marinade) and grill, turning over once carefully with spatula, until grill marks appear and tofu is heated through, 4 to 6 minutes total.
• While tofu grills, heat remaining teaspoon vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté greens, tossing with tongs, until beginning to wilt. Add reserved marinade and sauté, tossing, until greens are just wilted, about 1 minute. Lift greens from skillet with tongs, letting excess marinade drip off, and divide between 2 plates.
• Serve greens with tofu slices.

GRILLED SOY, GINGER AND LIME TOFU STEAKS WITH CHARRED BABY BOK CHOY

Steps:

• Put the tofu steaks on a paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet and top with more paper towels, pressing gently to remove excess moisture. Remove the paper towels and towel and sprinkle the tofu with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Stir to combine the soy sauce, cilantro, lime juice, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and scallion whites in a medium bowl. Pour 1/3 cup of the marinade over the tofu steaks, flipping to coat both sides. Reserve the remaining marinade for serving.
• Put the bok choy on another rimmed baking sheet and brush all sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Prepare a grill for medium heat and brush the grates of the grill with oil.
• Put the tofu steaks and bok choy, cut-sides down, on the grill at an angle across the grates. Close the lid of the grill and cook for 5 minutes, then rotate both the tofu and the bok choy 90 degrees and cook another 5 minutes with the lid closed. Flip the tofu steaks and bok choy and cook for another 10 minutes with the lid closed, rotating 90 degrees halfway through to create crosshatch grill marks.
• Remove the tofu and bok choy to a platter. Spoon the reserved marinade over the tofu and bok choy and sprinkle the tofu steaks with the scallion greens and toasted sesame seeds.

GRILLED TOFU WITH SAUTéED GREENS

Steps:

• Slice tofu width-wise into 6 pieces (each slice about 3/4 inch/2 cm thick). Place a layer of paper towel, or clean tea towel, on a cutting board. Arrange tofu in a single layer; cover with another layer or paper towel (or tea towel), and firmly press on tofu to remove excess moisture. Repeat two more times with dry paper towels, or tea towels. In a shallow dish, whisk together sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar and garlic. Add tofu; marinate for at least 30 minutes, turning once. Preheat grill over medium heat. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add spinach and sauté for 2 minutes, or until most of the spinach is wilted, but some leaves still retain their shape. Season with red pepper flakes and pepper; remove from heat, and cover to keep warm. Place tofu on preheated grill and reduce heat to medium-low. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once or twice, or until tofu turns golden brown, and has visible grill marks. Divide sautéed greens between two plates; sprinkle with sea salt and black sesame seeds. Gently place three pieces of tofu over sautéed greens. Serves with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice if you like. Serve immediately. Serves 2.

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.