Grilled Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing
Firm tofu is brushed with miso and pan-fried for the perfect quick and easy addition to any salad or bowl. Mix ginger, soy, and a few more flavors in with the miso for the finishing dressing to this grilled tofu salad recipe!

It’s nearly mid-January and I’ve been working hard testing recipes, writing, and photographing my next Steamy Kitchen book. Writing a cookbook is possibly one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done – even skydiving holds no candle to obsessing over creating perfect recipes and enticing photos for 12 months.

I’ve enlisted one of my best friends, Kelly, to help me once a week in the kitchen. Kelly was the very first friend I made when we moved to Florida and I don’t think I would have made it without her love and support – Scott and I had sold a house, bought a house, moved cross-country, started a business, got married, went on a honeymoon and got pregnant in 2 months flat. (Whew!)

Nathan, Andrew and Kelly’s son are best friends as well, all of them around the same age. The 3 Muskateers are often spotted dashing across the lawn with Nerf guns, hiding in a corner playing their Nintendo or out in the back pond luring a fish.

Kelly is a grad from Le Cordon Bleu, works as a personal chef and at the Viking Cooking School — so she knows her way around the kitchen. I couldn’t have found a better match!

Grilled Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing

Here’s a recipe we’ve developed together a couple of weeks ago using Japanese miso. We’re working with Marukome, the makers of the brand new Miso & Easy (miso in a squeezable bottle) with substitutions using regular miso paste. It’s healthy — transforming bland tofu into crunchy-crisp and savory-sweet tofu when brushed with miso and grilled.
 

How to make Grilled Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing

The Ingredients:

The steps are simple – the tofu slices are brushed with miso on both sides as you grill or pan-fry them. Make sure you get firm or extra firm tofu – the softer tofu will fall apart on the grill.

The miso dressing is so simple, just whisk it together in a small bowl with a fork.

 

Grilled Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing

Grilled Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 14 ounces extra firm tofu
  • 2 teaspoons cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoons Miso & Easy (3 teaspoons miso paste + 3 teaspoons hot water), divided
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon oil for salad (olive, canola, vegetable, grapeseed)
  • 4 handfuls of salad greens + any other salad vegetables of your choice

Instructions
 

  • Cut the tofu block into 1/2" thick slices and with towel, pat each slice tofu dry on both sides.
  • In a small bowl, add just 1/2 of the miso (we'll use the other half in the dressing). Brush the tofu on one side with some of the miso.
  • Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, drizzle in the cooking oil and add the tofu, miso side down. Cook for 2-3 minutes until browned. Brush the top of the tofu with more miso. Carefully flip the tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  • Whisk together the remaining miso, soy sauce, ginger, water, sesame oil and sugar. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking to finish the dressing.
  • Assemble the salad greens and vegetables, serve with grilled tofu slice and miso salad dressing.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

To turn this Grilled Tofu Salad into a Buddha bowl:

Just add a base of grains, rice, or noodles!

Rice & Noodles Route:

Or, some quick-cooking grains to consider:

  • Quinoa – 10-15 minutes typically; can’t go wrong with directions from the box!
  • Barley – We like cooking barley in vegetable broth instead of water. This grain also takes about 40 minutes to cook.
  • Bulgur – Fast and tasty. I like Bob’s Red Mill brand.
  • Farro – Bon Appetit has the perfect recipe for cooking farro.
  • Freekeh – This one is my favorite! See if you can find cracked freekah at a health food store. Here’s how to cook it.

Whatever base you choose, season with salt as desired before topping with your tofu. Alternate adding your greens and that lip-smacking dressing you were already working on! Top it off with something crunchy – nuts, seeds, fried noodles, tempura scraps – right before eating.