Grilled Sriracha-Marinaded Tofu w/ Kale & Seeds Salad and Jasmine Rice
Tonight’s dinner was inspired by this pin on Pinterest:
Which is why I was so attracted to the recipe in the first place. But I knew I had to change the marinade, because the original recipe called for 3/4 cup of Sriracha – talk about breathing fire! I like things really spicy, but I also want to be able to feel my tongue after dinner.
After perusing Pinterest for more grilled tofu recipes, nothing seemed quite right. So I did what my mom says good cooks do, I took a little of this and a little of that and made my own. I decided to pair it with my sister’s Kale & Seeds Salad because it just seemed like they’d be perfect together.
Nutrition Info/Ingredients:
I apologize that I don’t have the usual step-by-step photos that I put in my recipe posts. I completely forgot to snap pictures until the end! But since this was such a hit, I know I’ll make it again soon, and when I do, I’ll update this post with those photos.
The first thing to do with the tofu is place it between paper towels and push out the excess water. Some recipes say to put the tofu under a stack of books to really squeeze all the water out, but that’s unnecessary for this recipe. Since the tofu will be grilled, any excess water will come out then. Plus, if it was too dry to start with, it would get bone dry on the grill, and that just sounds unappetizing, doesn’t it?
Next comes the marinade. I put everything into a small bowl and just did taste tests to adjust it accordingly. About 4 TBSP of Sriracha, 1 TBSP of sesame oil, 1.5 TBSP low sodium soy sauce, and 1/2 TBSP (if that) of the Island Teriyaki from Soy Vey. I loved the final product because it was well balanced, and the spice hit you at the end, not as soon as you tasted it.
I left the tofu whole when I marinated it, but you could easily cut it in half (width) from the start. I left it in a covered container for 9 hours total. About halfway through, I flipped it over. Then about an hour before I put it on the grill, I cut it in half, made sure the marinade was covering all of it, and left it out to come to room temperature. The key to the tofu taking on the flavor of the marinade is to let it stay for as long as possible, overnight would have worked really well, too.
I wanted to make sure that the tofu wouldn’t stick to the grill, so I put some oil on paper towels and coated the grill before I turned on the heat. It worked perfectly.
Place the tofu on the grill and leave it there without moving it for about 8 minutes. After that time, flip it over and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. If all goes well, you’ll end up with something that looks like this:
Check out those grill marks! They make me look like an expert!
While the tofu was heating up, I made the kale salad by chopping the kale and adding each of the ingredients you see above. Some taste testing is needed for the dressing, which is why I made it in a tiny bowl first. Adjust the amounts according to your taste preferences. I liked lots of lemon juice, but you may not.
Finally, I decided to add some jasmine rice to complete the meal, because I thought it would help cut any spiciness from the Sriracha tofu.
The meal turned out better than I could have hoped. The moment my sister put her first bite in her mouth, she was praising the dish! She told me that she thought it was amazing, and that she was definitely going to make it herself soon. She loved it!! I was so happy that this little Pinterest experiment worked out.
Doesn’t that look delicious? This dinner was both light and very filling, if that makes sense. The kale has so much fiber that you feel incredibly satisfied, but the tofu is so light and almost airy that you don’t feel as heavy as you do after eating a piece of meat. This is the ideal dinner to have after a long day of high temps.
The other thing I really liked about this meal is that it wasn’t the same old run-of-the-mill grill recipe. It was something completely new. You can only have so many grilled steaks, lamb chops, or chicken breasts before you get a bit tired of it. At least that’s how I’ve been feeling lately. The grilled tofu was something so fresh and different.
Do you think you’ll try grilled tofu? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, if you do.
Bella on the Beach 