Grilled Tofu With Sautéed Greens Food

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 TOFU WITH BOK CHOY AND COCONUT LIME SAUCE

Steps:

• For the lime coconut sauce: Mince the garlic as finely as possible to release all of its flavor, then place in the saucepan. Finely chop the shallot and place into the saucepan. Break down the lemon grass with the back of a knife, then run the knife up and down the stalk (to break down the fibers) and finely slice. Add the lime juice and zest followed by the wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until the liquid has reduced to ¼ cup.
• For the grilled tofu: Press the water out of the tofu by placing it between two plates lined with paper towels. Weight it further by placing a heavy jar on the top place and rest for 30 minutes. When the tofu is pressed and firm slice it into four pieces, lengthwise. Heat a grill pan coated with olive oil and sear the tofu about 2 minutes on each side, lightly salting each side. Keep in a warm 300 F oven while finishing the dish.
• Finish the sauce: When the sauce has reduced to ¼ cup, strain it to remove the solids, then add liquid back into the pot. Pour off the liquid from the cold coconut milk and add the solid part into the pot. Stir, bring to a low simmer and set aside over very low heat.
• For the Bok Choy: Heat a skillet over high heat and add oil. Once the oil starts to heat and bubble, add the bok choy. Cook until wilted, about 1 minutes, then flip and cook the other side. Add water to finish cooking the bok choy. Add the ginger, garlic and a pinch of salt. Toss and finish with the herbs.
• Assemble the dish: Place the greens on a serving platter, followed by the warm tofu and the sauce. Any extra sauce can go into a small bowl on the side. Garnish with more fresh herbs and serve.

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.

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 TOFU WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut tofu into eight ½ inch thick triangles.
• Marinate for one hour in soy sauce, orange juice concentrate and brown sugar.
• Grill or broil until browned.
• Puree veggie broth, peanut buutter, brown sugar and ginger.
• Sprinkle tofu with sliced scallions and serve with the peanut sauce.