Best Tofu Steak Marinade? [Cooking]

2011 Apr 11
I NOW HAVE A BBQ!!! For the first time in almost two years. This makes me want to grill EVERYTHING. Since I'm a broke student, I can't afford to have nice steak and chicken breast every meal, so I decided to make tofu steak. I like tofu, so I have faith in this project...

I looked up a few recipes online, but I want to hear about your tried and tested recipes that will make me actually CRAVE tofu. So far, I'm thinking either store-bought BBQ sauce with montreal steak spice OR lemon juice, worcesteshire, soy sauce, ginger, honey and garlic.

I'm sure you fine folks have better ideas.

2011 Apr 12
I'd be interested in seeing if people post grilled tofu recipes that are any good . . . :-)

Ground tofu can be substituted for ground beef in things like spaghetti sauce, tacos or vegetarian chili, where it's pretty much indistinguishable.

Not sure about the grilling tofu though.

2011 Apr 12
i love tofu! i eat leftover grilled tofu sliced cold in sandwiches (great with avocado or as a tlt (tofu, lettuce & tomato) on good bread. fresh off the bbq, i will slice it and have it in fajitas or even just on it's own.

to grill it on the bbq, i do it 2 different ways. if the marinade is the key, then i freeze tofu, thaw and slice, this eliminates most of the water, gives it a meaty texture and soaks up marinade like a sponge. if i want a slightly softer tofu (no marinade all the way down to the middle), then i just rinse and pat try tofu and marinade for however long i have.

i always use extra firm for bbq.

for marinades, i just wing it. i do have a moosewood marinade i will post later. for fajitas, i do lemon juice, lime juice, fresh minced garlic and chili powder. other marinades generally have soy sauce, vinegar and honey or brown sugar. i like to add fresh ginger to this and garlic.

i find the trick to tofu is how you handle it before cooking. the cooking won't take long on the bbq.

2011 Apr 12
Follow-up.

Here is some info on handling your tofu. I forgot to add, for the bbq, slice in 1/2 - 3/4 inch thickness. If it overcooks or dries out too much, it will be tough to eat.

To press tofu: Most recipes call for pressed tofu because pressing makes the
tofu firmer and more absorbent. To press tofu, place the cakes of tofu between
two flat plates or baking sheets. Weight the top with something heavy. The sides
of the cakes of tofu should bulge out a little, but not split. Let stand for at
least 30 minutes, remove the press, and pour off the water.

Frozen tofu: The texture of tofu becomes chewy and spongelike when frozen and
thawed. Freeze the cakes whole, thaw, and squeeze out the water. Frozen, then
thawed, tofu soaks up the marinade immediately.

Here is the moosewood recipe I use often. I've put down broil (which is how I cook it, but you can do it on the bbq). Rinse, drain and press your tofu. I make extra marinade to have onhand. I also thinly slice the cooked tofu and use in sandwiches, or I eat it on the side as others would have meat.

Tofu Marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 cakes tofu (about 1 1/2 lbs)

In a small saucepan, bring all the marinade ingredients to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute and remove from the heat. Cut the blocks of tofu into 1/2-inch slices. Place the slices in a single layer in a non-reactive heatproof pan. Pour the marinade over the tofu, sprinkle on a tablespoon of the canola oil and a sprinkle of sesame oil, and set aside for about 5 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Broil tofu for 7-8 minutes, until lightly browned; then turn it over with a spatula and brown the other side.


2011 Apr 12
Also to add, you can cube your tofu and make tofu & veggie skewers. Great served with tatziki & grilled greek flat bread.

Other cheap things to bbq:
- pizza
- polenta (you can buy tubes of it for under $3)
- veggies
- bread
- corn on the cob

2011 Apr 21
Just bumping this up to thank missladi for asking such a great question. I don't have a bbq (so I am suitably jealous-;) but I do have an indoor grill and I am always looking for things to do with tofu.

Francis What do you do with ground tofu? Even though I am still a carnivore I would like to incorporate some vegetarian dishes in my diet. I am following Meatout Mondays on twitter www.meatoutmondays.org so, in keeping with the spirit, I have been trying to eat a meat-free dish every Monday. So far I have had tofu simmered in tomato sauce and a couple of stirfries. These marinates look great and I look forward to trying some of them.

2011 Apr 21
The best tofu marinades I've tried are from the Rebar cookbook, Check it out at Chapters!

2011 Apr 21
for ground tofu, i usually freeze it solid (overnight), then thaw. this really gets all the moisture out and gives it a tougher texture. then i just crumble it up with my fingers until it resembles the size of cooked ground beef. i saute it first to lightly brown and then add to whatever. tofu tacos are an easy one, you can use taco seasoning, water and cook as you would ground beef. top with cheese, avocado, salsa - whatever you normally would.

it will not hold together to make a tofu patty, so only us it as a replacement for ground beef. you could put it in tomato sauce for pasta.

2011 Apr 21
another easy way with tofu is dry frying, then marinating. by dry frying, you slowly cook off all liquid and then it sucks up the marinade like a sponge.
hubpages.com

2011 Apr 23
For ground tofu you can make tacos,nachos or pita or tortilla wraps.

A few years ago I was given a taco kit- the ones you get in a box at the grocery store.
That same day I also happened to have a package of chili or mexican ground tofu.
Ended up making tofu tacos and they were very good.

one elderly lady I know, as a gift ages age she made me a vegetarian sheppards pie.
It was pretty good.

*I think if you dried out your tofu in this slices it would be pretty good.
I sometimes buy tofu jerky at the natural foods store or online.

At Natural Food pantry they have some tofu jerky in strips.
or online I used to buy Stonewalls Jerquee...which is dehyrdated seasoned tofu and quite good.

2011 Apr 26
hipfunkyfun and Prettytastyreviews Thanks so much for the ground tofu suggestions. Loblaws and Metro have both had Yves tofu products on sale recently (tofu, tofurkey, ground tofu, etc.). I like trying new things and ground tofu is one thing I haven't tried yet. Tacos would be great for the summer months when I don't feel like turning the oven on. I now have enough ideas to get started...

2011 Apr 26
hey pasta lover,
i don't buy the pre-ground stuff, i just do my own using a block of tofu. i've looked at it, but figured i could control the flavour using a plain block of tofu better than pre-seasoned. my family loves tofu tacos, so whichever you plan on using, i hope it works well!

2011 Apr 26
hipfunkyfun Thanks for the tip. So far I have been using firm tofu since the texture seems to hold up well when adding it to the stirfries and salads I have been making. I tried silken tofu once that I picked up on a trip to Chinatown but it didn't hold up well in stirfries. It would probably be great for a dip though.

2011 Apr 26
In my experience:

Silken tofu for spreads, dips, desserts etc.

Medium tofu for most savoury tofu dishes, e.g in S&S soup, mapo tofu etc.

Firm tofu as a "meat substitute", e.g tacos, stir fries, "steaks", etc.