by Author Name Withheld 48

Created on: August 10, 2008

Nothing says "summer" like a freshly grilled tofu kabob. But where do you turn for help getting started in Tofuland? Look no further, because I'm here to help.

I'm a tofu expert.

Seriously. You can be one too with these easy instructions:

Buy the firmest tofu you can find. Bountiful Bean Herb Tofu is my favorite. Always buy the kind of tofu that is in a water filled carton in the refrigerated section. Those little boxes of tofu sitting on the shelves in the grocery aisles are only useful for dips and puddings.

The first step to preparing your tofu is to press it. Remove the tofu from the carton, and you may want to rinse it with some cold water. I like to put the block of tofu on a plate, put another plate on top, and set a large, cast iron frying pan on top. If you buy firm enough tofu and you're in a big hurry, you can skip this step. But I wouldn't unless I had to, because when you press all that water from the tofu it leaves more room for the tofu to absorb the flavors of the marinades I am about to tell you about!

Once the tofu has been pressed, pour off the extra water and cut your tofu into cubes or strips. There really isn't a right or wrong size. The smaller the pieces, however, the more flavorful they will be, since there will be more surface area covered with marinade, and the tofu itself does not have a lot of flavor.

Marinade 1:
Mix a cup of soy sauce, a half cup of apple cider vinegar (balsamic or plain may be substituted), a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, a splash of liquid smoke, several cloves of chopped garlic, and some ground pepper in a large bowl. Or...

Marinade 2: Add a 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter to the above mixture. Sounds icky, but it's great. It turns it into Kung Pao Tofu.

Now soak your tofu in whichever marinade you made. It won't take long since this marinade is pretty powerful. Another option is just use barbeque sauce or buffalo sauce.

Line your grill with aluminum foil and spread your marinated tofu out evenly. You can also make a little foil pouch that can be flipped.

Tofu cooks quickly. If it's your first time making it, just try a piece when it looks ready to see if tastes right to you. Unlike meat, there's no need to worry about whether it's still raw.

To make tofu kabobs, just pop the marinated cubes on skewers as you would any meat, and grill. For kabobs, you may want to start with the slower cooking vegetables, like potatoes, adding fast cooking vegetables like tomatoes and mushrooms, along with tofu, last.

Anything meat can do, tofu can do. Only better!

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