BBQ Tofu for Independence Day
Summer tofu ought to be grilled. These are my favorite preparations, both Chinese and Western.
After a resounding loss, Chef Li’s basketball squad retreated to the 串吧 chuanba. Smoking skewers emerged from the kitchen, as did ice cold Xuehua beer, to wash away the salt and cumin and chilies. Raising our glasses to commemorate the night, we toasted each other, one by one. GAN BEI. GAN BEI. GAN BEI. More food. More ice cold Xuehua. More food. More Xuehua.
Feeling woozy, I set my glass to the side. The 40 year olds kept on, relentless. GAN BEI. GAN BEI. GAN BEI. I savored the moment, munching on fried peanuts and biting off multitudinous skewers of tofu.
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Smoke and tofu.
Chef Li convinced me that there is no better combination.
Under the kiss of fire, baojiang tofu melts into an eggy juicyness, which gratefully laps up dry chili powder. Tofu sheets rolls, bulging with fresh herbs or plump enoki, char and glisten. Unadorned yuba sheets, soft and supple, steal a hit of smoke before slipping in between your lips.
Smoke goes where marinade cannot – permeating the tiny crevices within a piece of tofu. In doing so it creates textural contrast. Wet and dry. Juicy and crackly.
This 4th of July, consider patronizing a local 串吧 chuanba, Chinese BBQ bar. Or pick up some tofu from your Asian market, a pair of tongues, and get grilling.
Here are a few varieties to try. Feel free to use your favorite BBQ seasonings.
Tofu Sheet Rolls 烤豆皮卷 kaodoupijuan
What’s the goal? A substantial chew and fresh herb-y or juicy enoki flavor.
Avoid: overcooking (dries out), under seasoning (tofu sheets are bland).
Instructions: Slice your tofu into 4x8 inch rectangles. Roll around enoki mushrooms or cilantro, garlic chives, or other greens. Stack three rolls on top of each other, then stab downwards with two skewers, sealing them shut. Brush with oil and grill over medium heat for a few minutes. Baste with your sauce of choice, flip, and continue grilling until cooked through and the sauce is caramelized. Serve immediately.
See this video for a visual description of a baked version.
BBQ Yuba 油豆皮串youdoupichuan
What’s the goal? Soft and slurpable.
Avoid: overcooking (needs just 1 minute to heat through), seasoning with too much heavy sauce.
Instructions: dried yuba sheets, sold at room temperature, hold up better than fresh frozen. Rehydrate until softened. Trim to 1.5x6 inch rectangles, then skewer. Do so by folding the yuba envelope-style (don’t roll), stab through with a skewer, then unfold. Baste with a little oil, then grill over medium or medium high. Flip after 30 seconds, baste on sauce, grill 30 seconds more, and sprinkle on BBQ spices or seasoning salt. Serve immediately.
See this video for a visual description. Note: they use chicken fat but any oil will do.
Fried pressed tofu 油爆豆干 youbaodougan
What’s the goal? Dry, wispy skin. Substantial and flavorful curds.
Avoid: stewing the tofu too long (the marinade will taste too strong), grilling longer than 10 minutes (the curds will dry out).
Chef David came up with a delectable BBQ plate for Broken Cuisine. Fried pressed tofu is stewed in barbecue sauce for 4 hours at 155F, fully infusing it with sweet tanginess. It’s then grilled over medium heat until lightly charred, basted intermittently with more sauce, sliced, and served over a roasted eggplant and shallot dip. The wispy skin, a result of frying, contrasts with the substantial curdy insides. If you can’t find good fried pressed tofu near you, you can try frying a block of extra firm, then repeating the process. NOTE: hot marinades (i.e., stewing) season tofu much better than cold marinades, as cold marinades don’t permeate the tofu.
Click here for the full recipe.
Spongy Tofu 千页豆腐串 qianyedoufu chuan
What’s the goal? Creamy insides and a dry, crackly skin.
Avoid: baking too long (becomes dry), not using enough oil (becomes dry and brittle), over seasoning (spongy tofu is already a little salty).
Instructions: Slice your tofu into ¼ inch-thick slabs. Add three pieces to one skewer, oriented so that the length of the tofu is flat against the stick, not perpendicular. Do this by folding the spongy tofu slabs in half as they are skewered, then unfolding them. Baste with oil (and your favorite BBQ sauce, if you’d like), then grill over medium or medium high heat, flipping once, until the edges are crackly and slightly puffy. Sprinkle with your favorite seasoning salt (and more of your BBQ sauce, if desired). Serve immediately.