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Malaysians like to grill pre-fried tofu thanks to its firm consistency. But you can certainly substitute extra-firm regular (not silken) tofu, provided you press most of the liquid out first. Charring the tofu over a blistering-hot fire and serving it with cool, crisp pineapple and a flavorful peanut sauce will overcome the harshest critics of pressed bean curd.
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Tofu may not be the first ingredient most Americans think of grilling
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but if you travel around Southeast Asia, you find it everywhere. Here's how they make tofu steaks at the popular Tom Yum classic restaurant in Kuala Lumpur
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Now, this is a block of extra firm tofu, and the first step is to cut it into steaks
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So what you want to do is cut it in half and then cut each half in half again
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And in order to grill tofu, it's a good idea to press it first
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This removes some of the extra moisture. So what you do is set it on a baking sheet lined with paper towels, tofu on top
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and then more paper towels, another baking sheet, and finally, a bowl of water as a press
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You press the tofu about 30 minutes to 1 hour. What this does, extract some of the extra liquid
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so when you go to grill the tofu, it's firmer. And here is some tofu we pressed earlier
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Next step, the chili peanut sauce. I have heated some vegetable oil on the side burner of my grill
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and now we'll add typical Asian aromatics, chopped fresh garlic, ginger, shallot, and cilantro, also known as coriander leaf
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And what you want to do is fry this mixture until it's aromatic and just beginning to
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brown It very nice to have a grill with a side burner Once the mixture is sizzling add the remaining ingredients and they are Malaysian chili paste
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palm sugar or light brown sugar, chopped toasted peanuts, hoisin sauce, which is a sweet, salty Chinese condiment
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made with soybeans and sugar, sesame seeds, optional MSG
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and finally a few tablespoons of water to thin the sauce to pourable consistency
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Now return the mixture to the side burner. You want to simmer the sauce
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until thick and richly flavored. That's about 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, back to the tofu
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So here's our drained tofu, And what you want to do is lightly brush the top of each tofu steak with vegetable oil
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We'll brush the other side when the tofu's on the grill. So let's take a look at the sauce
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Okay. Here's our sauce. The aroma is unbelievable. That ginger just really hits you
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And what you want to do now is just brush a little bit of the sauce on top of the tofu
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And the sugar in the sauce will help the tofu brown and caramelize
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What I love about Asian grilling is that the flavors are so dynamic and explosive
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So finally, the grill. Now I preheated the grill to screaming hot We arrange the tofu pieces on the grill and so we turn the oiled side down
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And what you want to do while the tofu's grilling on one side is just lightly brush the tops with oil
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And again, with a little bit more of your sauce. And what you can do is give each tofu steak a quarter turn
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Just kind of slide the spatula under it. The idea here is we want to lay on a crosshatch of grill marks
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notice when I grill I always try and line the foods up in neat rows that way when it's time
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to turn I can start at the beginning work through to the end so grill on one side
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and then turn the tofu over beautiful crosshatch of grill marks and you can brush the tops of the tofu a little bit more sauce for extra color and flavor
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A lot of you ask how I come up with all of these recipes
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Well, the simple answer is I travel. I spend about four to five months a year on the road
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In the last three years, I have visited 53 countries in the dogged pursuit of the best of the world's grilling
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Total cooking time is really quick. It's about four minutes per side
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You do that half turn after two minutes. Remember that tofu is cooked
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when it comes out of the package. So really what you just trying to do is caramelize the surface Give it those great grill marks and extra flavor You may wonder why I using a spatula and not tongs
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Well, tofu is fragile, and the spatula helps it hold together. Okay, very nice. That's a cut
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When the tofu is brown, it is done. And finally, with the tofu, slivered fresh pineapple
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cucumber, and bean sprouts. And the bean sprouts, cucumber, and pineapple
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give you a contrast of texture, flavor, and even temperature, cold and hot
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Here it is, our grilled tofu sakes with Malaysian chili peanut sauce
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Okay, so a piece of tofu, and then you can grab some pineapple, cucumber, and bean sprouts
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And finally, a spoonful of sauce. Man, I can't wait to dive into this
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Mmm. The tofu is utterly transformed. It's got the crust on the tofu, that sweet pepper sauce
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It's really fantastic. So there you have it. Malaysian tofu steak, chili peanut sauce
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gives you a whole new perspective on bean curd
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