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.
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
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.
To turn this Grilled Tofu Salad into a Buddha bowl:
Just add a base of grains, rice, or noodles!
Rice & Noodles Route:
- How to Microwave White Rice
- How to Microwave Brown Rice
- Dried noodles like Japanese soba, Chinese egg noodles or dried rice noodles
- Korean “japchae” noodles made from sweet potato
- Fresh Asian noodles – flat rice noodles, fresh egg noodles (these cook in less than 5 minutes)
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.
