Oh YUM! Lemon Teriyaki Tofu Recipe

[lorilei]

I just adapted an old FOOD&WINE recipe for dinner last night. It was a lemon teriyaki tofu recipe from a June 2002 issue (I think). I made quite a few changes (including cutting the recipe WAY down to serve 2). But I thought I'd share.

It was a great, FAST weeknight meal. I made the tofu and served it with extra sauce over sauteed kale.


LO VARIATION: F&W Lemon Teriyaki Tofu

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup sake
1-2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

8 oz firm, Japanese-style Nigari Tofu
1 T dark sesame oil


Preheat broiler in oven.

Mix soy sauce, mirin, sake and lemon zest in small saucepan. Place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened and very fragrant.

Mix lemon juice with cornstarch. Add to soy mixture. Bring to boil again and cook for 1 minute until thickened. Leave teriyaki sauce to cool.

Meanwhile, chop tofu into cubes or matchsticks. Toss with sesame oil. Toss with about 1/2 of the teriyaki sauce mixture and allow to marinate while you prepare veggie (I steamed 1 lb of kale).

Put tofu in baking pan and put under broiler for 6-10 minutes, until browned and bubbly.

[wallycat]

YUMMMMMMMM :)

[gertdog]

mmmmm, sounds good. Into mastercook it goes. Thanks Lori!

[KathrynY]

Thanks, Lori - my DH will love this. :)

[lorilei]

Originally posted by KathrynY
Thanks, Lori - my DH will love this. :)

Kathryn - I think it's cool that you can say that :) I know plenty of DH's who balk at tofu!!

[KathrynY]

Yeah, I'm proud of him. :) He lost a lot of weight about 4 years ago and really started to enjoy his veggies a lot more - now he rarely eats meat at all (aside from fish).

Unfortunately, at our house I'm the one who balks at tofu. :o I like Moosewood's Gingered Greens & Tofu, and like that recipe, yours also calls for the tofu to be broiled in the marinade, which I think gives it a lot of flavor. So I'm pretty confident that I'll enjoy this too.

[123Alice]

This sounds wonderful, but I have one question. What's Japanese-style Nigari Tofu? I usually have the Mori Nu Extra-Firm Silken Lite Tofu in my pantry...would this work instead?

[ErinM]

Thanks Lori! I love tofu as well, so into my MC it went. I'd also like to second the question about what "Japanese style Nigari tofu" is...

[lorilei]

I hope you all enjoy! We really thought the marinade for this dish was tasty -- and it's on our list of recipes to repeat! (the teriyaki sauce was so good on the greens, I'm contemplating using it even without the tofu!)


123Alice and ErinM -

Nigari is a type of tofu that uses a natural coagulant called NIGARI (an extract of sea water). The coagulant makes it really firm, and works WAY better than pressing ever does. I love it. Makes the tofu chewy without the spongy texture you get when you freeze tofu. Several companies make it.

I can get Nigari-style tofu from my local food co-op. It's the firmest tofu I've ever found, and I really like its meaty texture. However, any EXTRA FIRM tofu would probably work for this dish. You just need something with a nice, firm "bite".

One thing I wouldn't use is SILKEN tofu for this dish (it tends to be a bit mushier, and doesn't give the same texture).