Broiled BBQ Tofu

Tofu isn't really as scary as some people think. One of the great things I find is that it absorbs any flavor you marinate it in, so you do you don't get that bland taste some people tend to dislike about. I had cut them in to rectangular blocks and marinated them for a couple of days for maximum flavorage, if that's even a word. When it finally can time to cook them up. I placed them on a foil lined baking sheet and broiled them for 10 minutes on each side. The edges get a bit crisp giving the tofu an almost char look.

The neat thing about the marinade is that it can also be used as a sauce. From the photos, it may not be the best looking thing on a plate, but the taste sure does make up for it. I even wrapped a piece of bread around it and made a mini sandwich out of it with a dash of sriracha. Mmmmm...

Makes 6 pieces.

Broiled BBQ Tofu

1 pack firm tofu into water

marinade
1/2 c soysauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper

In a bowl, combine the ingredients of the marinade together. Whisk together until slightly thick and the brown sugar has fully dissolved. Set aside.

Drain the water from the tofu, carefully pat dry with a paper towl and into 1/2-inch rectangle blocks. Arrange the tofu blocks on a airtight container. Pour the marinade into the container. Be sure to cover cover all pieces. Marinate for at least an hour before cooking or a 1-3 days before to let the tofu fully absorb the flavor.

Preheat your broiler. Line a baking sheet with some foil and place the tofu rectangles flat. When the broiler is hot enough place the tofu rectangles cook for rough 10-15 minutes on each side until the edges are slightly crisp. Lightly baste with the marinade.

Serve warm in a salad, sandwich or your favorite dish.

Marinated Broiled Tofu Sandwich

Here's that other tofu recipe I mentioned a few days ago when I posted that Pan-Fried Tofu. The longer title of this would be Marinated Broiled Tofu Sandwich with caramelized onions and mushrooms on sourdough. Way too long to put on the title line. I had a couple pieces of tofu blocks that I had marinated in the Filipino BBQ sauce left and this time around I decided to broil them. Giving them a nice crisp crust and soft inside. I served this along some caramelized onions and I sauteed with some chopped white onion then added some shredded cheese and a dash of hot sauce into the mix.  You hungry yet?

Then on the bread I spread a really tin layer of dijon mustard to give it that nice little tang. Pressed it with ol' Georgie and what you got here is one really good sandwich. You wouldn't really think that you'd be eating tofu, if you ate this.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Marinated Broiled Tofu Sandwich

1 14 oz package firm or extra firm tofu - water drained
4 slices of bread or 2 sandwich rolls

1/4 shredded cheese
1 tbsp butter
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp hot sauce
dijon mustard
1/2 sliced mushrooms
1/2 small sweet onion - sliced

Marinade
1/2 c soy sauce
juice of half a lemon
3 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar
1 large garlic clove - fine chopped

Combine the ingredients for the marinade together in a shallow dish. Make sure the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

Remove the tofu from the package and carefully pat dry with a paper towel. Slice them into 4 or 5 3/4-inch to 1 inch steaks. Places the slices into the marinade.

Marinate the tofu steaks for at least an hour before cooking. Even better is done the night before for better flavors absorption.

Preheat you broiler.

Prepare your skillet. Melt the butter on low heat and saute the onion until they have lightly browned. then add the mushrooms and saute again until the mushrooms had darkened in color. Season with some salt and pepper. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Take you tofu steak and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Broil for 5-8 minutes until the top layer has charred slightly. Then flip and repeat for the other side.

Spread a thin layer of dijon mustard on all 4 slices of bread. Then add the cheese to the onion and mushroom mix as well as the hot sauce. Combine well. Divide the mixture between the two sandwiches. Slice the tofu steak in to 1/2 pieces and place them among the sandwiches. Put the top bread and toast the sandwich in your panini press of a clean skillet.

Heat each side for 3-5 minutes until the bread is toasted. Or you can toast the bread before assembling the sandwich.

Broiled Grouper Lettuce Wraps

Grouper. Group...er. Or as I just found out Lapu-Lapu in tagalog. I never knew the two were the same fish. haha... No wonder I liked it a lot. I've had this fish before, whole (head and all) in a sweet and sour dish. It's a white fish similar in taste and texture to the halibut. Before I found out it's Philippine name, it was the obvious choice to make when I ventured into the farmer's market and waltz my way to the Dry Dock Fish booth. I don't think I've seen it there before.

I decided to serve this fish as a "make your own"-style lettuce wraps. Give the person the opportunity to put as much into the lettuce as they want. I seasoned the grouper and broiled it. Coming out flaky, juicy and flavorful. I had some time the day before so I made some tartar sauce to go with the fish, which brought a nice balance of flavors. Chopped up some tomatoes and green onions. Also some shredded cheese.  Put those into separate small bowls. Cut out the best looking leaves from a nice head of red leaf lettuce. Set it out on a board and served it as it was.

It's a fun, interactive meal for all. Put as much or as little and make it your own.

Serves 2-3

Broiled Grouper Lettuce Wraps

2 group fillet (or your choice of while fish)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
     ( or your choice of seasoning)
1/2 c sweet onion or green onion - chopped
1 ripe tomato - small diced
1/2 shredded cheese (your choice)
Lettuce
Tartar sauce (see recipe below or store bought)

Lightly coat the filets with some olive oil, then season well with salt, pepper, paprika or your choice of seasonings. Let it rest at least 30 minutes before cooking to let the seasonings settle into the meat. 

Preheat your broiler.

Place the filets on a foil lined baking sheet and broil until the fish for 8-10 minutes. Then flip and broil the other side for another 5-10 minutes. Based on 3/4-inch thick slices.

Putting it together: 
Serve the tartar sauce (recipe below), onion, tomato, cheese  and cheese into small separate bowls, the grouper on the plate and let your diners create their own lettuce wraps.

Note: feel free to add any other condiments you prefer.

Tartar Sauce

1 c light mayo
1 1/4 tsp sweet relish
1/2 medium onion - finely chopped
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp dry thyme
2 Tbsp horseradish mustard (Emeril's)
1/2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients together and set aside. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving to let the flavors blend. May be made in advance.

Broiled Ginger Teriyaki Salmon

There's this one sushi place I love to go to in Pasadena, CA., called Afloat Sushi. It's one of those conveyer belt places. They have theirs in little boats floating on water. Once of the items I always have to get is the flame broiled salmon teriyaki. It's chunk of salmon flame broiled and basted with a teriyaki sauce. I always end up eat two of those. Along with a salmon skin roll.

I bought a nice long fillet of sockeye salmon from the farmer's market. Divided it for two. I simple seasoned it with salt, pepper and minced garlic. Placed it in the broiler for a couple of minutes giving it an initial cooking. At that time I made a ginger teriyaki sauce. It includes fresh ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, some ground pepper and tomato ketchup. After the first few minutes, I basted the salmon with a thick layer teriyaki sauce and broiled it for another couple of minutes letting the sauce coat the fish. I basted it one last time right before serving. The final result was a tender flaky fish with a slight firm crust. So good.

At the request of my lovely mom, I served this over some sauteed asparagus with white wine sauce. I think I got her hooked on that sauce!!!!

Serves 2.



Broiled Ginger Teriyaki Salmon
2 salmon fillet
salt
pepper
1 garlic cloves - minced

Teriyaki Sauce:
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp grated or minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove - minced
1 tbsp tomato ketchup

(To view the white wince sauce click here)

Preheat your broiler.

Combine all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce until sugar dissolves and slightly thickened.

Season the salmon fillets with salt, pepper and the minced garlic. Place the salmon on a lightly geased baking sheet and set into the broiler for 2-3 min.

The baste well with the teriyaki sauce. Broil for another 2-3 min.

Remove from broiler and serve.

Sweet & Sour Veggies

After all that food from Saturday, I needed to have a relatively light meal. In comes the eggplant and some string beans. I had some leftover sweet and sour sauce saved from the Mini Tuna Burgers. And put two and two together and what do you get? Sweet and Sour Veggies. I didn't want to put too much effort in the kitchen with using any pots and pans. I decided on broiling them rather than baking. Shortens the cooking time for me.

Cut both vegetables into sizable sticks and broiled them. I only used a simple seasoning of olive oil, salt and pepper. After roughly 18-20 minutes, the string beans have a crisp texture, while the eggplant are nice and tender. Serve with some rice or eat alone.

Crisp and chewy. What more could you ask for?




Sweet & Sour Veggies

1/2 bundle String Beans (cut into 3-4 inch sticks)
1 Large round Eggplant (cut into 1/2 thick sticks)
1/2 c sweet and sour sauce
olive oil
salt
pepper


Preheat your broiler.

In a large bowl, toss the string beans and eggplant with olive oil, salt and pepper, coating it thoroughly.

Place on a flat baking sheet and put into the broiler for 18-20 min. After the first 5-10 min, give the eggplants and string beans a quick turn. Even out the cooking.

The eggplant will get nice and tender while the string beans will become nicely crisp.

When done pour over the sweet and sour sauce and lightly toss. Serve immediately.

Broiled Mini Tuna Burgers

Did you know the first burgers were made in Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut. Now, it's one of the mostly widely know and loved food all around. I've mentioned this before when I posted the 10 fun food facts for the month of April. Their burgers are flame broiled and served between two slices of toasted white bread with cheese, tomato and onion as a garnish. No ketchup allowed. It's frowned upon. I'm serious with that last sentence, which makes me want to visit the place even more.

What does that have to do with these burgers? Absolutely nothing. Thought I'd share that with you all. No...wait...I lied. Back up a bit. Ok, so I had made a mini loaf of pan de sal over the weekend. I didn't have enough room on the baking pan and thought it'd be cute to make a mini baby loaf. For those interested, I got my mini-loaf pans at Sur La Table. I bought 4 for $2 each. It's a 2"x4" size. They do look cute when the bread comes out of the oven. You just want to go "aww...".

I wanted to make crostinis with it, but I didn't really have an idea what to top it with. I got a craving for tuna, yet I didn't want it on my usual salad fix. I cut loaf into 1/8-inch slices and as I did, burgers came into mind. I had some grape tomatoes left in the fridge as well as a block of manchego cheese.

I decided to made a simple sweet and sour sauce for the "ketchup". Mixed up the tuna with an avocado instead of mayo and added some sweet relish, panko crumbs and some ground pepper.

You can make the regular sized version of these burgers. Just double up the ingredients and use regular sized bread. Adjust broiling time accordingly. These fit me just right. You can use them as starters, too.

Makes 7 mini burgers.



Broiled Mini Tuna Burgers

1 7oz can tuna in oil.
4 tsp sweet relish
1 small avocado
1 c panko crumbs
pepper
14 small slices of bread
grated cheese
4 grape tomatoes (sliced)
sweet and sour sauce


Preheat your broiler.

Make the sweet and sour sauce. This can be done ahead of time and will keep for a long time in the fridge.

Drail most but not all the oil from the tuna. Mix in the sweet relish, avocado and panko crumbs. Season it with some pepper.

Mold the tuna mixture in 7 small patties. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Toast the slices of bread either in the toaster oven or the conventional oven for 5 min.

Put into the broiler for roughly 10-15 min then flip and cook the other side for another 5-10 min. You want to see a good char crust on it. 2 min before removing sprinkle the cheese over the patties and let it melt into gooey goodness.


Putting it together:
Spread some of the sweet and sour sauce on both slices of bread. Top with the tuna patty and tomato slices.

Pinoy Style: Broiled Baby Back Ribs

Here's a Filipino way to so some ribs. It's actually a take on the dish bistek, which is stir-fried beef strips with sautéed onions. Instead, we used baby back ribs and broiled them for two hours.

It's really easy to make, it just takes time. It's a "set it and forget it" kind of dish. Leaving time to do other stuff like writing or playing a relaxing game of sudoku. Go run an errand or something by the time you get home you got some delicious ribs. Plus, the onions are really easy to put together and only takes minutes.

You can use a slow cooker as well. After marinating, place all the ingredients in the slow cooker before going to work. Set it on medium to low. 8-hours later you got some awesome ribs. Ready to eat. Simple.

The end result will come out tender and clean off the bone goodness. I had this with some steamed rice.




Pinoy Style: Broiled Baby Back Ribs

1 slab baby back ribs (cut into pieces)
1/2 c soy sauce
1/3 brown sugar
juice of half a lemon
1 onion (sliced)
olive oil


Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar and lemon juice. Stir until the brown sugar fully dissolves.
Spread the marinade over and let it rest for at least an hour. This may be done ahead of time, if not cooking on the same day,

Preheat your broiler.

Transfer the ribs into an oven safe dish, covered with foil and place in the broiler for 2 hours. Save the marinade.

Heat the oil in a pan and saute the onions until tender. Take the marinade and add it to the onions. Saute for 2 min.

When the ribs are done, pour over the onions and sauce onto the ribs.

Serve with some steamed rice.