The Real, Real BBQ Tofu

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

* 375g firm tofu, preferably frozen, thawed and pressed or squeezed
to get rid most of the water in it (this is optional, but recommended)
DO NOT use Silken Firm Tofu unless you want scrambled tofu with no
flavour).
* juice and pulp of 1/2 a lemon
* 2 teaspoons (not heaped unless you REALLY like salt) of Massel
Beef Style stock powder, product of Australia (No animal content, No
added MSG, No gluten, No lactose)
* 3 overflowing desert spoons of light soy sauce. I use Pearl River
Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce - $1.75 for 500ml from Coles -
BARGAIN!!! This soy sauce is NOT gluten free but damn it’s good!
* 1 medium sized red piri-piri chilli (those thin 1 inch long hot
little buggers you get from Asian shops), chopped with seeds
* 2 heaped teaspoons of jarred crushed garlic or 3-4 fresh cloves,
crushed
* 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, about 3 inches long, stripped from
stem and roughly chopped
* 4 sprigs of fresh lemon thyme, about 3 inches long, stripped from
stem. Don’t chop the leaves; leave them whole. Stripping them from the
stem with your fingers lets out plenty of aroma and flavour.
* 5-6 teaspoons of ultra special, top-secret super happy family
wish ingredient (see below).
* Hot and cold water
* Olive oil

Directions:

To everyone at VegWeb. Hi, I submitted a similar recipe to this one a
couple of years ago under the name REAL BBQ Tofu, by Robturtle (which
is still on the recipe list). My new user name is captainnativeveg (I
forgot my old password!). This recipe, however, has been refined over
time, and includes a delicious chilli sherry condiment. I hope you
enjoy it. This recipe is suitable for vegans.

Method: • Press or squeeze excess water from tofu.

• Slice tofu block into 1/2cm "steaks" and set aside. You should get
10-13 steaks from one block.

• Select a container that will accommodate the tofu and add all the
above ingredients except the tofu, water and olive oil.

• Add a small amount of hot water to the mix to dissolve the stock
powder, and then give it a good swish around.

• Add a couple of good dashes of olive oil (but don’t go nuts – maybe
about 2 teaspoons)

• Add about half a cup of cold water, give it a bit of a swish, and
then lay the tofu evenly in the dish.

• Add enough cold water to almost cover the tofu, so the top layer of
steaks is half out of the marinade. Give it another swish around.

• Place a mug or small bowl upside down onto the top layer of steaks
and press it down so all the tofu is covered in marinade. The mug or
bowl should be heavy enough to keep all the steaks submerged. Doing it
this way minimizes the amount of water you’ll add to the brew, which
makes the marinade stronger and cuts down on refrigeration time before
cooking.

• Stick it in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.

Cooking:

• Oil and heat the BBQ and make sure you cook the steaks on a
reasonably high heat. As soon as all the steaks are on the plate, baste
them with marinade using a spoon and making sure that its nicely
swished around so you get all the garlic and chilli and herbs swimming
around in it before you spoon it on. All you have to do is baste them
regularly and turn them occasionally to make sure they don’t burn. Each
time you turn them, baste them and you can’t go wrong. You should be
all out of marinade by the time they’ve cooked – it evaporates pretty
quickly due to the high water content. If you want your steaks dry, let
the last of the marinade evaporate before you take them off the plate
(good cold in sandwiches if you cook them this way). If you want the
steaks juicy (best when hot), save enough marinade for a good coverage
and add this about a minute before you take them off the plate.

• EAT EAT EAT!!!! MMMMMMM!!!!!

"Ultra Special Top Secret Super Happy Family Wish Ingredient" recipe
(or "Chilli Sherry" for short)

• Buy the cheapest bottle of sherry you can find.

• Find a bottle with a lid that has a 300ml (30cl) capacity. I find
then Schweppes 315ml mixer bottles are perfect, as 1 lid full equals 2
teaspoons.

• Put about 8 medium red chilli's (you don’t need to score them or
remove the stems) into the bottle and then top it up with sherry.

• Put on the lid and leave it in the cupboard for about a month before
using it. Once you’ve had it for a while the chilli’s go kind of funny
looking, but that’s nothing to worry about as the alcohol kind of
preserves them. It gets stronger the longer you leave it, and the last
third of the bottle is excellent – nice and spicy!

• This stuff is great on or in almost anything. Try it sparingly mixed
into salad dressings, in marinades of all types, in stirfrys and Asian
curries.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Sorry about the metric
measurements, I'm Australian. email: captainnativeveg@yahoo.com.au

Serves: 3

Preparation time: 1 hour 15 minutes