Grilled Teriyaki Tofu

Grilled food is really delicious to a lot of people. Just because I eat the diet of all vegetables doesn't mean I shouldn't get to grill my food. The slight char and smokey flavor that comes with the finished product is spot on! During a recent visit to my family (and father who grills everything, all the time) I made this Grilled Teriyaki Tofu.

Breakfast sammies!

A good while ago I made some breakfast sandwiches with seitan sausage, tofu "eggs" and onions on homemade bread... Then I completely forgot about them and they got lost in the maze of photos on my camera. Good thing I check before I erased everything from the memory card, because I found these great photos!

Seitan: the wheat meat

(You might want to sit down for this post, it's a long one)

Seitan is one of a handful of mock-meats that can be interchanged easily for meat in a recipe. I find it desirable because of its density and texture, which sets it apart from tofu which can be softer and more fragile. Seitan is just wheat gluten that is seasoned and cooked. It's made by washing away the starch of wheat flour with water until just the insoluble, elastic gluten is left. It is often hidden as a thickener in your food and you don't even think of it (I'm looking at you ice cream!).

In my world, Seitan takes a back seat to more accessible, less expensive, and more healthful meat substitutes like tempeh and tofu. Even the biggest grocery chains carry tofu readily. And I hesitate using the word "substitutes" because I am not looking for seitan to replace the void of a piece of meat. I appreciate seitan, for what it is, how it tastes and how it can be used in different recipes; not because of how closely it comes to beef.

Baked Tofu

While I mostly use various Tempehs instead of tofu these days, I thought I'd buy tofu when I saw it on sale. I was very fond of a spicy baked tofu sandwich at a Deli where I worked, so let's try to recreate it!

Marinade:
5-6 Tbsp Tamari Soy Sauce
1-2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Red Chili Flakes (or to taste, I am going through a "spicy" phase of my life)
3 cloves pressed garlic

I am using one block of firm tofu. After pressing the tofu to get ride of the excess liquid, I sliced it length wise in pieces about 1/2 inch thick. This seemed like a nice, thin, size for a sandwich. It is pretty disappointing biting through a thick piece of tofu. This is only topped buy unseasoned pieces of tofu. Eww...

So! I let the slices marinate for at least 30 minutes, turning the tofu over halfway through to ensure that each bite is delicious. With the oven prepped to 350 degrees, I cooked the slices until browned and slightly crispy; about 45 minutes for this batch. I also saved the excess marinade to pour over the tofu halfway through cooking.

While the end result wasn't quite that of my memory, it has a good salty flavor and a nice after taste of garlic and chili. Without much sandwich stuff, I chose to make some salad rolls! That's a peanut sauce I made with some crunchy peanut butter, fresh ginger, sesame oil and coconut milk. I even have enough left over to cut into appetizers for the Super Bowl tomorrow. Lucky me!