Hickory Smoked Tofu with Sautéed Baby Spinach

Mrs. WooPigFoodie is a vegetarian, so that means I am “mostly” vegetarian. But I love my smoker and my grill for my non-vegetarian meals (like making real barbecue ribs). Over time, I have learned how to make really tasty and flavorful vegetarian meals on my grill, including my Grilled Veggies and my Oaxacan Grilled Corn.  However, I’ve never cooked anything vegetarian in my smoker until I found a fabulous recipe for an Asian marinated hickory smoked tofu in my Weber Smoke cookbook. It makes a lightly smoked, savory and firm tofu that can stand up to a fork and knife. And it was fantastically delicious!

Here’s how to do it.

You’ll need one pound of tofu (firm or extra firm). You can triple this, which is a good idea because it is so delicious. The tofu will keep in your refrigerator for a week once smoked. Cut the tofu into four slices, about ½ inch thick each. Set them aside on a paper towel covered plate to drain. (The below picture makes them look a little funny, but that’s just the light.)

Now it’s time to make the marinade. I like to start with a glass or ceramic dish with two to four inch sides so that it is easy to lift and easy to turn the food without splashing back onto yourself.  The easiest way to do this is to make the marinade in the empty pan—no extra bowls or cups needed.  So, in your marinating pan, whisk together three tablespoons of soy sauce and three tablespoons of Mirin (rice vinegar — they will have this in the international aisle at your grocery store, and lots more brands at your Asian grocer. I use the Japanese brand Mitsukan becase that is what we have available here in Arkansas. A 12 oz bottle was about $2.50). If you want to go non-vegetarian, you can add in 1 ½ tablespoons of fish sauce. I use the Three Crabs Brand, and this will likely be available only at your Asian grocer. It makes this dish super umami bomby fantastic… so if you are not a vegetarian, I do recommend it. (It contains anchovies, but like Worcestershire Sauce, by the time you buy it, it is just a liquid. Note that it’s super stinky in the bottle, but not in the dish, and you only use a little at a time, so don’t freak out the first time you open it. Maybe don’t even sniff it. You’ve been warned.).

Once your marinade is adequately mixed, it’s time to add the tofu slices. As you lay each in the marinade pan, turn them so that each side gets coated with the marinade. Set the marinade pane in the refrigerator to marinade for 1 to 2 hours, covering it if you like. A longer marinade time is better, because tofu has little flavor on its own and it takes a good bit of time to soak up the marinade. (You can tell it is soaking it up when the color changes to caramel.) Every 30 minutes or so come back and flip the tofu slices, or spoon marinade over their tops, so that all sides will taste good!

It’s time to smoke them. Light your smoker as you normally do, and add two or three hickory wood chunks. If you use a gas grill, turn the burner on at one end and place a smoker box or a double layered foil pouch with hickory chips inside (you can find hickory chips at your home improvement store, in the grill aisle. You’ll pay about $8.00 for a good sized bag). You’ll also want to soak the chips in water for about 30 minutes beforehand, so that it slows down how fast they burn. (You don’t need to do that for the chunks.) If you are using a foil pouch, poke holes in the top of the pouch to let the smoke out.

Take your tofu out of the marinade, and pat the sides dry with a paper towel, then brush them with canola oil (so they won’t stick on the grill). It’s fine to use a canola spray for this. Also, make sure to reserve the remaining marinade for the very end.

Lay the tofu on your smoker or grill grate with about an inch between each slice, and try to keep the internal temperate around 225 degrees. If you are using a grill, keep the burners off underneath the tofu. Only light the burner under the hickory chips. If you have temperature troubles, the tofu will smoke faster if it is running at a higher temperature, and will smoke slower if it is at a lower temperature. Since the tofu doesn’t actually require “cooking,” keep it on your smoker or grill until it has a nice outer color and a firm texture. (Below you can also see some jalapeños from my garden. I turned those into chipotle peppers, in this post.)

If your temperatures are on point, let the tofu smoke for 1 hour, and then flip it over. Don’t add any marinade to it while you’re smoking it; just let it smoke.  You are trying to dry it out a bit to make it easy to slice.  After the tofu has smoked for 2 hours, take it off your smoker or grill and bring it inside. Drizzle the tofu with the reserved marinade, and serve with sautéed baby spinach. (Or do as the Weber recipe does and serve it with an Asian slaw.)

Here’s what it will look like fresh off the smoker, and drizzled with marinade.

Sautéed Baby Spinach

This dish uses one of those large fresh baby spinach bundles you can find in the produce section of the grocery store. (More is better, because spinach shrinks mightily!) The thin green and white stems can be eaten when cooked, so you don’t need to cut them off. But you can if you want to.

Rinse the spinach in plenty of cold water, and set it to drain in a colander. Heat a large pan over medium high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle in a couple of pinches of crushed red pepper. (If you don’t want to use oil, you can use a couple of tablespoons of vegetable broth instead. I like it both ways.) Let the crushed red pepper steep and flavor the oil or broth for about a minute. Add 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic and then immediately add the spinach. (You want to do this quickly so that the garlic doesn’t burn. If it does burn, dump out the oil or broth and start over. Burnt garlic is too strong a flavor for the young spinach.)

After about 2 minutes of sautéing turn the heat down to medium and add a tablespoon of soy sauce and a light drizzle of sesame oil – about a teaspoonful. Turn off the heat and let the spinach steep a bit, uncovered. Taste it and adjust the seasoning. Note that the sesame oil is pretty strong stuff, so start light and then lightly add more as needed.

Hickory Smoked Tofu

 

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This is an Asian marinated hickory smoked tofu that you make using your smoker! It comes out nice and firm, with a gentle smokiness and great Asian flavors. I like to serve this with Sautéed Baby Spinach.

Author: WooPigFoodie

Recipe type: Vegetarian BBQ

Ingredients

• 1 pound of tofu (firm or extra firm). You can triple this, which is a good idea because it is so delicious. (The tofu will keep in your refrigerator for a week once smoked.)
• 3 T soy sauce
• 3 T Mirin (Rice Wine Vinegar) (They will have this in the international aisle at your grocery store, and lots more options at your Asian grocer. I use the Japanese brand Mitsukan because that is what we have available here in Arkansas. A 12 oz bottle was about $2.50).
• If you want to go non-vegetarian, you will need 1 ½ tablespoons of fish sauce. I use Three Crabs Brand, and this will likely be available only at your Asian grocer. It makes this dish super umami bomby fantastic… so if you are not a vegetarian, I do recommend it. (It contains anchovies, but like Worcestershire Sauce, by the time you buy it, it is just a liquid. Note, it’s super stinky in the bottle, but not in the dish, and you only use a little at a time).
• Canola Oil or Canola Oil Spray

Instructions

1. Cut the tofu into four slices, about ½ inch thick each. Set them aside on a paper towel covered plate to drain.
2. Now it’s time to make the marinade. I like to start with a glass or ceramic dish with two to four inch sides so that it is easy to lift and easy to turn the food without splashing back onto yourself. The easiest way to do this is to make the marinade in the empty pan—no extra bowls or cups needed. So, in your marinating pan, whisk together three tablespoons of soy sauce and three tablespoons of Mirin. If you want to go non-vegetarian, add in 1 ½ tablespoons of Three Crabs fish sauce.
3. Once your marinade is adequately mixed, it’s time to add the tofu slices. As you lay each in the marinade pan, turn them so that each side gets coated with the marinade.
4. Set the marinade pan in the refrigerator to marinade for 1 to 2 hours, covering it if you like. A longer marinade time is better, because tofu has little flavor on its own and it takes a good bit of time to soak up the marinade. (You can tell it is soaking it up when the color changes to caramel.)
5. Every 30 minutes or so come back and flip the tofu slices, or spoon marinade over their tops, so that all sides will taste good!
6. It’s time to smoke them. Light your smoker as you normally do, and add two or three hickory wood chunks. If you use a gas grill, turn the burner on at one end and place a smoker box or a double layered foil pouch with hickory chips inside (you can find hickory chips at your home improvement store, in the grill aisle. You’ll pay about $8.00 for a good sized bag).
7. You’ll also want to soak the chips in water for about 30 minutes beforehand, so that it slows down how fast they burn. (You don’t need to do that for the chunks.)
8. If you are using a foil pouch, poke holes in the top of the pouch to let the smoke out.
9. Take your tofu out of the marinade, and pat the sides dry with a paper towel, then brush them with canola oil (so they won’t stick on the grill). It’s fine to use a canola spray for this.
10. Make sure to reserve the remaining marinade for the very end.
11. Lay the tofu on your smoker or grill grate with about an inch between each slice, and try to keep the internal temperate around 225 degrees. If you are using a grill, keep the burners off underneath the tofu. Only light the burner under the hickory chips. If you have temperature troubles, the tofu will smoke faster if it is running at a higher temperature, and will smoke slower if it is at a lower temperature. Since the tofu doesn’t actually require “cooking,” keep it on your smoker or grill until it has a nice outer color and a firm texture.
12. If your temperatures are on point, let the tofu smoke for 1 hour, and then flip it over. Don’t add any marinade to it while you’re smoking it; just let it smoke. You are trying to dry it out a bit to make it easy to slice.
13. After the tofu has smoked for 2 hours, take it off your smoker or grill and bring it inside. Drizzle the tofu with the reserved marinade, and serve with sautéed baby spinach. (Or do as the Weber recipe does and serve it with an Asian slaw.)

3.2.2708

Sautéed Baby Spinach

 

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This is a quick and easy sautéed spinach recipe which has Asian flavors and goes well with my Hickory Smoked Tofu

Author: WooPigFoodie

Recipe type: Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 large fresh baby spinach bunch from the produce section of the grocery store. (More is better, because it shrinks mightily. Double this recipe for each large bunch you buy.)
• 1 T olive oil or 2 T vegetable broth
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 T crushed garlic
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp of sesame oil (go lightly to start!)

Instructions

1. This dish uses one of those large fresh baby spinach bundles you can find in the produce section of the grocery store. The thin green and white stems can be eaten when cooked, so you don’t need to cut them off. But you can if you want to.
2. Rinse the spinach in plenty of cold water, and set it to drain in a colander. Heat a large pan over medium high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle in one teaspoon of crushed red pepper. (If you don’t want to use oil, you can use a couple of tablespoons of vegetable broth instead. I like it both ways.)
3. Let the crushed red pepper steep and flavor the oil or broth for about a minute.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic and then immediately add the spinach. (You want to do this quickly so that the garlic doesn’t burn. If it does burn, dump out the oil or broth and start over. Burnt garlic is too strong a flavor for the young spinach.)
5. After about 2 minutes of sautéing, turn the heat down to medium and add a tablespoon of soy sauce and about a teaspoon of sesame oil. Turn off the heat and let the spinach steep a bit, uncovered. Taste it and adjust the seasoning. Note that the sesame oil is pretty strong stuff, so start light and then lightly add more as needed.

3.2.2708