Prep time: 20 mins
Marinade time: at least 1 hour
Cook time: 6 mins
Ingredients
Din Tai Fung Tofu, serves 4 tofu lovers, or 6-8 regular people
1/4 c soy sauce (I use Kikkoman)
1/2 c BLACK vinegar
1 T sesame oil
2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled (about the size of my thumb?)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 c maple syrup
2 blocks firm tofu, pressed to remove all water
1 T sesame seeds
Instructions
Place marinade ingredients (everything but the tofu and sesame seeds) into the blender and blend until ginger is completely broken down and combined.
Slice the tofu. Because I cook mine on the grill I slice each block into 4 pieces. You could slice into smaller pieces if you want, but then you risk losing them through the grates!
Place tofu into a baking dish of some sort to marinade. I have a pyrex baking pan that fits all 8 slices just perfectly! Pour the marinade over top and spread it around so that it coats all of the tofu. Set aside to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour, preferably more. I let mine marinate at room temp for about 2 hours, but you could marinate in the fridge overnight also.
Once the tofu has marinated it's time to cook! I like to cook mine on the grill and get those pretty grill marks, but you could also bake the tofu (about 375/400° for 30-45 minutes), or pan sear it.
Strain the leftover marinade through a mesh colander to remove the ginger pulp and floating bits of tofu into a separate dish and reserve.
For grilling (on a gas grill): Preheat your grill, set to medium low heat. Using long tongs, dip a paper towel into some neutral cooking oil and rub the grates to help prevent some sticking. Place the tofu on the grill and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Rotate each piece of tofu 90° and cook for about 3 more minutes. Flip each piece of tofu and cook for 3-4 minutes on the second side. Rotate 90° again and cook for 3 more minutes. By this time each side of tofu should have those nice grill marks! Set aside.
Mix 1 T of sesame seeds into the remaining marinade. Feel free to reduce it over medium heat on the stove top if you want a thicker sauce. To me it doesn't make much difference either way!
To serve—Place your tofu on your plate, or on top of a salad, rice, etc. and drizzle with the marinade sauce. I've got a recipe for the salad pictured coming up later this week! Enjoy!
