A while back, when we first got our copy of The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet the first recipe we tried was for the Denver Omelet Burger. While we really the idea, the resulting texture was described as pasty and it felt like the peppers and onions overwhelmed the vegan bac’n bits. I’ve always wanted to return to this and try changing a couple of things to create something very inspired by Joni Marie’s original recipe, but with a bit more texture and less oil. The Great Vegan Gluten-Free Burger Experiment is the perfect time to revisit the recipe!

I actually removed all the oil called for in the recipe save some spray oil for sautéing the pepper, onion, and garlic as well as some for the cast-iron drop biscuit pan. Once again this pan is the perfect thing for baking vegan burgers!

Other changes: I used a single, large orange bell pepper and only half a medium onion, both diced quite small. I used a couple of cloves of chopped garlic too. This I sautéed in a cast iron skillet until the onions started to caramelize.

I pressed the heck out of the tofu, thinking this was part of the texture problem the first time we tried. Next, rather than blend the tofu with oil and spiced, I just crumbled it up fine in a bowl, added all the spices in with the tofu and mixed it up by hand.

To bind this all I stuck with the chickpea flour (besan), but reduced to 1/2 cup and added 1/2 cup of gluten-free, instant oats as well. I also decided to throw 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast in there for stickiness and saltiness. I left out the salt the original recipe called for, but I think it should stay in with the next try with this revamped recipe.

One little change I make with all recipes calling for liquid smoke; I use smoked paprika instead. Since the original recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, I just increased to 1/2 teaspoon of sweet, smoked paprika.

The results, all squished together by hand, were promising and held together well, especially after letting the mixture stand for five minutes to let the oats hydrate.

The drop-biscuit pan came out of the oven, heated to 350. I made 6 good-sized breakfast burgers and put them into the oiled cups.

These baked for 10 minutes. I turned them and then baked for 10 additional minutes. They came out nicely browned. Next attempt I’ll use red bell pepper for a more striking look. The oat/besan mixture gets a nice color and these held together beautifully in a nice patty.

I served them alongside hashbrown squares from Trader Joe’s, a pile of steamed broccoli, and a little avocado on top.

There’s a couple of small changes I’m going to make, and I want to see how these pass the “freeze test”, but these may become a great breakfast to-go, particularly for long travel days.

For over five years Christie has suffered from a severe, life-affecting cough. She’s seen several doctors, had all kinds of tests, and taken several different medications, but nothing really has solved the cough. This year we changed physicians and our new one immediately started doing several tests for food allergies and sensitivities that could be causing systemic inflammation, affecting her lungs.

We were pretty worried it would turn out to be something we really loved, like soy (miso, tofu, tempeh, Soy Curls…) or tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, etc. When the results came back the culprit was gluten. Another round of tests was ordered to rule out Celiac, which thankfully came back clear, leaving only the signs of systemic inflammation severely affecting the lungs. We were hugely relieved and felt like removing gluten was something we could do. Honestly, after so many years it feels good to have anything we can do.

I set about to rid our house of gluten-y goods, giving everything away to friends so that at home Christie would know she could eat most things (I am still getting one of my favorite cold cereal indulgences, Barbara’s Peanut Butter Puffins, which Christie hates and therefore won’t mistakenly eat). What it quickly brought to our attention was how often our “easy dinners” were centered around several products that contained gluten. Tasty things and easy on a busy night, but honestly not so great for either of us.

While I’ve been doing some creative things with tofu (two new recipes coming soon!), and we have several go-to legume recipes, I wanted to start experimenting with veggie burgers and cutlets. Hearty, healthy legume & grain dishes that I  can make up in large batches, cook, and freeze servings of for quick dinners.

One of the first things I’m trying out is my now, newly made gluten-free, Marvelous Quinoa Nut Loaf. A generous slice is in the freezer to see how well it does reheated.

Next up was the lovely looking Scarborough Fair Burger from Joni Marie Newman’s cookbook, The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet. We’d been meaning to try making it for ages, but now we’re extra motivated since the recipe is already gluten-free.

When I got all the ingredients together I felt the mix was a little wet and added an extra 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast to help bind it and also because I’d forgot to make the TVP with broth!

After baking for the full time the burgers still hadn’t formed up fully. So I set our oven on convection and cooked them an additional 5 minutes, which helped a lot. They came out looking very tasty.

We served them on Happy Campers Gluten-Free Wild Buns and they dressed up beautifully!

Next week there will be another Burger Experiment to report on! Please post your suggestions for great gluten-free burgers and cutlets in the comments.

I’ve been experimenting with refrigerator lemon pickles for a couple of years now. Tonight I wanted to work with lemon and other Japanese flavors, but didn’t have any preserved lemons in the fridge. Rather than put off using up some fresh shiso I had on hand, I decided to experiment with using other methods to infuse lemon flavors, plus make a garnish of the fresh lemon as well.

First I sliced up a large lemon in very thin slices. You might want a mandoline to get very thin slices, but it can be done with a very sharp knife (I used my nakiri). I layered the slices onto a plate then layered thick slices of extra-firm, water-packed tofu I’d pressed for 40 minutes, on top of the lemons. I sprinkled on a little Alaea salt and black sesame seeds. I let this sit for 15 minutes.

I heated up a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat and added a few tablespoons of avocado oil and let it heat up. I put the tofu sesame-side down into the hot oil and then layered the sliced lemons over the top of the tofu. It seared in a covered pan for 12 minutes before removing the lemon slices (reserve), spraying the tofu with oil, and flipping the slices over. Lemon slices where placed back onto the tofu slices and pan covered to let tofu sear for another 12 minutes.

I removed the lemon slices and set aside. Into the pan I poured half of a mix of rice wine vinegar, tamari, red miso, and mirin over the tofu and let the liquid reduce in the pan. Once all liquid had reduced I removed tofu from the pan and added back in the lemon slices. These were spread out in the bottom of the pan to sear lightly for a couple of minutes before turning to sear on the other side. Once both sides had seared I added the rest of the sauce I’d mixed and let it reduce with the lemons.

The whole thing was presented with the hot lemon relish topping the seared sesame tofu and a chiffonade of fresh shiso.

There was also some summer squash chips made with thin slices of patty-pan squash tossed with dried cilantro, avocado oil, and Alaea salt. These roasted on a pan in the oven on convection setting, 235 degrees.

All this was accompanied with brown rice tossed with lemon zest and shiso.

We ate all of it. It was amazing. There will be recipes.

40 days without a post! Yikes! Let me remedy that by sharing my birthday dinner.

Really, it was the day after my birthday, because we were both too tired to make food after a picnic at the beach and a stop at a farmstand, two of my favorite things to do.

I love finding good farmstands. Usually they involve getting out of the city, although in Portland there’s a growing number of family farms setting up small stands in the city, the trip to them is usually lovely, and sometimes there’s great photography options too. Best of all, there’s the chance to possibly talk to the family and workers who actually grew the food I’m buying.

Last night, a slightly belated dinner, I made an all-grill dinner to celebrate the bounty of summer and farmstands. Mobile phone photos because we were too impatient to just eat all the yummy food! Although there isn’t an exact recipe, I’ve included notes on how each dish was made.

Here’s one of the dishes, Marinated Tofu, Cauliflower, and 3 kinds of Summer Squash (yellow & green zucchini and pale green patty-pan). Everything was chopped into largsih, but still bite-sized pieces and put into a bowl. 1/4 cup of olive oil was drizzled over along with 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, fine Alaea salt, freshly ground pepper, 4 mashed & torn up garlic cloves, and dried herbs were added. About 1/2 teaspoon of both dry basil and oregano were added along with a slightly smaller amount of dry rosemary that was lightly crushed and broken up into smaller bits. All of it was tossed together so everything was equally coated and let sit for 30 minutes.

Two kinds of roasted chilies; Sweet Banana Peppers (from the farmstand) and Padron Peppers. Christie had recently been introduced to Padron peppers roasted in some oil at a local Peruvian restaurant, Andina, during a team dinner. We found some at the market and tossed them, along with two kinds of chilies from the farmstand, in avocado oil before roasting on the grill. Once nicely grilled they went back into the bowl with the remaining oil and were lightly sprinkled with coarse sea salt.

Here’s everything going at once! I so love this new grill and this is a perfect example of why, look at all this smoky, grilled goodness!

Finally, here’s dinner all plated up. Note the pretty, orangeish pepper on the left. By time decided to cook these I’d rather forgot what kind of chilie it was. So this lovely photo is mere minutes away from my being reminded it was a Hungarian Wax Pepper after biting off about 1/3 of it at once. While a lovely, spicy taste at first, the heat rapidly progressed to burning in the ears, sinuses, and of course my tongue.

I eventually was able to cool things down enough to eat again after trying some Yumm Sauce on corn cakes. The remainder of these I plan to remove seeds, stem, and skin before blending into a paste I’ll divide up in 3s to add a little heat while cooking things like chili and dahl.

A few years ago I was inspired to make a savory bread pudding after a neighbor gave us a day-old baguette. Since last year’s quest for the perfect quiche base, I’ve wanted to revisit this comfort food favorite and make a few changes. We love the new result and I am happy to offer this new version for the So Delicious Spring Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

While the recipe calls for a full-size baguette, the equivalent amount of any stale bread will work great. The best versions combine a few dry heels of a different types of bread so you get a big variation in the taste and chewiness of the bread, which is awesome. The version pictured here used the ends of three different bakery loaves: Walnut Whole Wheat and Country Brown, both from Ken’s Artisan Bakery, plus a bit of White Sourdough, from Grand Central Bakery (bakeries noted for folks in or visiting Portland).

The Stuff

• 1 stale baguette, coarsely cut up
• 1 medium bunch of kale, washed, stemmed & shredded
• 2 small leeks, white parts only, sliced thin
• 1 large carrot, diced small
• 1 large stalk of celery, diced small
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 12.3-ounce packages lite firm silken tofu, drained of water
• 1/2 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• Leaves from 8 stems of parsley, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black salt* (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• sweet paprika to sprinkle over the top

*Black Salt, or Kala Namak is usually found at a Desi market or a good pan-Asian market that features ingredients popular in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is mostly sodium chloride, but it also contains sulfur in addition to the other minerals. It is pink or light purple in color and imparts a more subtle flavor cooked. It can be skipped, just add 1/4 t of sea salt, but it worth the effort to seek it out. If you don’t have any suitable markets in your area, Kala Namak Salt can be purchased online.

The Making

Preheat oven to 375.

In a skillet heat the olive oil on medium-high heat and saute garlic quickly, less than two minutes, until it begins to sizzle. Add in celery, carrots, and leeks. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to sauté until the veggies begin to soften. Add kale, cover and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until kale is softened. After 10 minutes drizzle champagne vinegar into the pan and cover for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl add coarsely chopped up bread, fresh parsley, and sautéed vegetables.

Add the remaining ingredients into a blender. Process until mixture is completely smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides to be sure everything is incorporated. Pour this mixture over the bread and vegetables. Mix all ingredients together, making sure bread is coated with the tofu-custard.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with Canola oil. Pour bread, custard and vegetable mixture into dish. Lightly press down so that the pan is evenly filled. Dust top with sweet paprika.

Put pan into the oven and immediately reduce heat to 350. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool five minutes before cutting and serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 171
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 241 mg (10%)
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 3 g
Protein: 11 g

Last year I came up with a quiche recipe that highlights the delicious winter veggies we’re still enjoying in early spring. However, spring 2014 Portland  has been unseasonably, but gloriously, sunny and warm. With the appearance of fresh asparagus in the market I was inspired to make this colorful spring quiche for the So Delicious Spring  Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

This recipe makes two whole quiches in pre-made pie shells which makes it a star recipe for a brunch gathering. I use pre-made pie shells to speed up the preparation of this beautiful dish. I recommend Wholly Wholesome for pre-made pie shells. They have organic vegan, white & whole wheat pie shells as well as a gluten-free shells! I’ve used the wheat crusts, both white and whole wheat, and they’ve come out wonderfully every time.

The Stuff:

• 1 small, red, sweet bell pepper, 1/4″ dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small red onion, 1/4″ dice
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1/2 pound asparagus, sliced in thin rounds (reserve 12 of the tips, cut at 2″ for garnish)
• 12 grape tomatoes, sliced in thin rounds
• 12 grape tomatoes sliced lengthwise, set aside for garnish
• 2 T fresh basil, chiffonade
• 3 T chopped parsley
• 1 t dry oregano
• 1t dry marjoram
• 12 oz firm, water-packed tofu
• 1 package firm, silken tofu
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/2 t dry mustard
• 1/2 t black salt* (optional)
• fresh pepper & sea salt
• 2 pre-made pie shells

*Black Salt, or Kala Namak is usually found at a Desi market or a good pan-Asian market that features ingredients popular in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is mostly sodium chloride, but it also contains sulfur in addition to the other minerals. It is pink or light purple in color and imparts a more subtle flavor cooked. It can be skipped, just add 1/4 t of sea salt, but it worth the effort to seek it out. If you don’t have any suitable markets in your area, Kala Namak Salt can be purchased online.

The Making

Bake the pie shells according to the directions and set aside.

Bring a saute pan to medium-high heat and lightly coat with spray oil. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, add garlic and continue to saute until very fragrant, about 3 more minutes. Add zucchini, asparagus, and bell pepper, sauteing for 7 minutes before adding dried herbs, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Saute for another 7 minutes and remove from heat.

Squeeze out water from water-packed tofu. No need to press for a long time, just squeeze out a little of the excess water with your hands. Crumble into large mixing bowl and add sauteed veggies, fresh herbs, and sliced tomatoes.

Put silken tofu, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, almond milk, vinegar, turmeric, dry mustard, and black salt into the container for a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides to be certain all dry ingredients are incorporated well with wet. Add contents of the container to the mixing bowl with the tofu and sauteed veggies.

Mix together all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour mixture into pre-cooked pie crust. Garnish each quiche with the reserved asparagus tips and sliced grape tomatoes.

Place filled pie crusts onto a baking tray. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean.

Let quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 servings (six generous slices per pie crust)

Nutritional Info (with crust)

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 238
Total Fat: 14 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 242 mg (10%)
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Sugars: 4 g
Protein: 12 g

*Want a lower-calorie & gluten-free version?

You can also ditch the gluten and the calories in the crust by distributing the quiche into two dozen silicone baking cups that have been lightly sprayed with oil first.

Bake 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees, until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean. This makes a whole pile (e.g., 24) of gluten-free mini quiches to enjoy!

These pack well for lunch or picnics, just don’t remove the silicone baking cup and stack into a container. They retain their shape well and are quite tasty chilled or at room temperature.

Nutritional Info (without crust)

Serving Size: 2 mini-quiches
Calories: 91
Total Fat: 3 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 109 mg (5%)
Carbohydrates: 8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 3 g
Protein: 10 g

We love the mini crustless quiches from Fat Free Vegan, but have been on a quest for a full-sized quiche with a little more varied texture. For several weeks now I’ve been experimenting with quiche recipes on the weekends and finally have something I’m happy to post a recipe for. You can feel free to vary the veggies you add, changing them to fit the seasons, but the mix I include is pretty tasty.

The final version featured fresh kale raab we’d picked up the same morning at the Farmer’s Market. If you can get kale raab in the spring it is particularly lovely to find. Tender, sweeter, and so delicious, raab is a real treat when the spring veggies start coming in. Here in Portland we often see raab arrive before asparagus.

The Stuff

• 1 large, sweet bell pepper (red or orange)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small red onion
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 bunch kale or kale raab OR 1 large head broccoli
• 4 T chopped chives
• 4T chopped parsley
• 2t Herbes de Provence
• 12 oz firm, water-packed tofu
• 1 package firm, silken tofu
• 2T cornstarch
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup vegan milk*
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/2 t dry mustard
• 1/2 t black salt
• fresh pepper & sea salt
• 1 pre-made pie crust

The Making

Pre-bake the crust according to the directions and set aside. This recipe honestly makes a bit more than the pre-made crust and pan will hold, so I usually make a half dozen crustless quiches in silicon baking cups too.

Finely dice all veggies. Shred kale thinly or dice leaves along with the raab.

Bring a saute pan to medium-high heat and lightly coat with spray oil. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, add garlic and continue to saute until very fragrant, about 3 more minutes. Add zucchini and bell pepper, sauteing for 7 minutes before adding 2 tablespoons each of the parsley and chives, Herbes de Provence, sea alt & freshly ground pepper, and kale. Saute for another 7 minutes and remove from heat.

Squeeze out water from water-packed tofu. No need to press for a long time, just squeeze out a little of the excess water with your hands. Crumble into large mixing bowl and add sauteed veggies & herbs. Add in remaining parsley and chives.

Put silken tofu, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, vegan milk, vinegar, turmeric, dry mustard, and black salt into the container for a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides to be certain all dry ingredients are incorporated well with wet. Add contents of the container to the mixing bowl with the tofu and sauteed veggies.

Mix together all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour mixture into pre-cooked pie crust. You will have enough to fill 6 silicon baking cups that have been sprayed with oil first. Place filled pie crust and baking cups onto a baking tray. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean.

Let quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

*This recipe also featured a new product from So Delicious, a lovely, creamy Barista-Style Coconut Milk Creamer. A few weeks ago So Delicious graciously offered to send me some to try out, so I’ve used it in a few places where I’d otherwise have used soy or almond milk.

Christie has totally fallen in love with the Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk to add to her smoothies. There should be a smoothie recipe coming soon.

So far the creamer has been a good stand-in and adds a nice richness to the dishes I’ve made with it. It might be boring, but I’m just loving the creamer added to my black tea in the morning, even more so than the  is really wonderful in my black tea in the morning!

There’s also been an experiment with Irish Soda Bread, using both the Barista-Style Creamer for a savory bread and the Vanilla Coconut Milk for a sweet bread with dried blueberries.

Last summer I finally got the hang of fresh fava beans and we were hooked. This year we haven’t had any yet, but last weekend I picked up a few pounds at the Gresham Farmers Market.

Summer Rolls - Shiso & Favas

The combination of shiso in our garden and fresh favas inspired me to answer Christie’s desire for sushi.

The favas are pretty slippery, which made putting the roll together a little tricky.  I was also rushing a bit with the rice, which meant it was a little thick. Next time I try these out I’ll do a much thinner layer of rice and perhaps a really thin maki roll.

These make me want to get some purple shiso growing. I think the contrast to the bright green favas would be striking.

Although there’s a bit of labor involved in the whole “peel, boil, blanch, peel” process, fresh favas are amazing. I made sure to set aside a few for each of us to enjoy.

Beautiful Favas!

I also made us a very quick salad with purple cabbage, aged brown rice vinegar, and shiso flowers.

And the feast was rounded out by grilled tofu, two ways, and grilled kale.

Grilled Goodness

Yes, you read that right, I grill our kale. It becomes a little crispy, little smoky, a little wilted, and entirely delicious! I’ve also found that a drizzle of tamari and wasabi over the grilled kale is fabulous indeed

Tofu 1 (on the right): “Mushroom Ultimate” seasoning. We bought this seasoning last time we drove down to California. We make a regular stop in Corning to visit the Olive Pit. I used the seasoning like a dry rub for the tofu, then grilled. Really delicious!

Tofu 2 (on the left): “The Old Favorite” being a mix of nutritional yeast, freshly ground black pepper, and granulated garlic. This is such a favorite mix I’m going to start keeping a blend of it in our spice cabinet.

What is not to love about Bánh mì? These sandwiches are a tasty import from Vietnam served on crusty baguette. How can you go wrong with that?

If you haven’t found them yet, either get on it and find, or better yet make your own at home.

The Stuff

• 8 Grilled tofu slices
• 1 mini baguette
• 16 grilled daikon slices (or just some fresh, shredded daikon)
• Your favorite vegan sandwich spread (check out: Vegenaise or MindfulMayo)
• Dill relish
• Grainy mustard
• fresh coriander leaves

The Making

Slice your baguette into 4 pieces, then slice in half lengthwise. You can try to be tricky and slice only part way through (like a hot dog bun), but you don’t need to.

Spread a little sandwich spread and grainy mustard on one side, some dill relish on the other. Layer on 4 slices of grilled daikon and 2 slices of grilled tofu. Top with a few fresh coriander leaves.

Done. Try not to offend anyone with moans of pleasure while you eat.

A note about the grilled daikon. I sliced a daikon into 1/2 – 3/4″ rounds. Grilled while I did the tofu, so about 5-7 minutes on each side. Glaze and flip again, each side. Since these were pretty darn thick slices I sliced them in half again before putting on the sandwich.

Yes, one more gratuitous shot of the sammie

There’s quite a few things that I never even consider posting a recipe for. It is easy to forget that things I consider “obvious” about cooking are mysterious to someone who is new to cooking.

Case in point: Grilled Tofu

I love grilled tofu and it is one of the go-to methods I use for cooking tofu. It is such a staple dish for me that I don’t even think of it terms of “recipe”. In the wet, cold months in Portland (which is to say, much of the year), I use my trusty Lodge cast-iron grill pan, but in summer months you’ll find me out on the deck seeing just how many different veggies I can grill alongside slices of tofu.

I prefer to use the extra firm, preferably vacuum packed, type of tofu for grilling or baking. These look like bricks of tofu in plastic with very little water; found in the refrigerator section along-side water packed tofu. The texture is extra-dense, has been pressed already, and gets very chewy after a good grilling. These pieces make for a great sandwich since they don’t fall apart easily. The extra or super-firm varieties packed in water work well too. The aseptic packed, silken-style tofu does not work with this method, save it for making custards.

The Stuff

• 6-8oz extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/4″ slices
• spray canola oil, suitable for high heat
• 1/4 c Sauce for glazing, option (Vegetarian Hoisin, BBQ sauce, Miso Glaze, Sweet Chili Sauce, etc.
• and/or Some spices for a dry crust, optional (garlic pepper, lemon pepper, Szechwan Seasoning, Garam Masala, etc.)
  and…. if you’re making dinner…
• A whole pile of your favorite, seasonal veggies all sliced up for grilling or stir-frying

The Making

If you’re cooking indoors on the grill pan you’ll want to let it heat up for a few minutes before turning the heat down to medium-low. If using a BBQ grill, get it heated up so the grill itself is hot. I use a gas BBQ, so this only takes a few minutes. If you’re using a charcoal grill, you’ll want to let the coals settle down to a nice glow (although I’m sure there’s any number of websites with suggestions on the right method for grilling veggies and/or tofu over charcoal).

Lightly spray the grill surface with canola oil. Spread out the sliced tofu evenly across the grill surface. If you’re using your BBQ you’ll be able to multitask here and get some veggies going.

Let the tofu get a nice sear on the grill surface, cooking for 5-7 minutes. The top layer will start to look a little dry and the edges may be starting to brown or even char slightly (if on the BBQ). Spray tops lightly with oil before flipping over to cook on the other side. If you are applying a dry crust of spices sprinkle them over the tofu after spraying tofu with oil, spray with a little more oil, then flip.

While the second side grills for 5-7 minutes, use a high-heat basting brush to apply a light coat of glaze over the tofu. If you are using a dry crust of spices you will spritz the grilled tofu with oil again and sprinkle spices evenly over the top.

After the tofu has grilled on the second side, turn your heat down to low or lower the flame of your gas BBQ. If you’re using charcoal, you will just need to watch carefully. You will flip over the glazed sizes again so the glaze caramelizes on the surface or the dry crust of spices browns.

Grill the glazed side down for only a couple of minutes (2-3 max) while you apply glaze or spice crust to the second, now-dry size. Flip one more time so the glaze or spice crust is grilled on both sides before removing from the grill and served with a pile of your favorite veggies.

If you make up a pile of grilled tofu it will keep in the fridge for several days. These slices make for a great sandwich.

The recipe above shows me using an Asian BBQ sauce I’ve been testing for The Blissful Chef (a.k.a. Christy Morgan) for a book she’s working on of SE Asian recipes. In the test recipe the sauce was paired with tempeh “meat”balls. We had plenty of sauce leftover after testing the recipe and it kept very well in the fridge. It was an awesome glaze for the grilled tofu, carrot (yes, grilled carrot… tasty) and a pile of grilled daikon (oh yes, delicious) I made the next day.