switcheroo
Recipe: maple miso tofu
Winter went out like a cuddly little kitten last week. The last day of winter was warm, sunny, and so pleasant that I left the deck door open for Kaweah to come and go, which she loves to do. Sometimes she’ll just stand halfway in the house and halfway on the deck. But her old legs can’t stand indefinitely anymore. When I set her foamy bath mats out on the deck, she opted to lounge in the sun and absorb all of the energy falling to Earth.
last day of winter
Of course, it’s now spring break (all of Boulder seems to be on spring break this week) and it snowed all weekend. People have been shaking their fists at Punxsutawney Phil for his prediction of an early spring. When will silly people ever learn? I trust my local meteorologist over a giant rodent to tell me when to expect a powder day. Colorado spring skiing is what’s what.
five days into spring
nothing fazes her
8°f and gorgeous
that’s gonna be closed for a little while longer
But it is spring despite the winterish temperatures. The snow is heavier, stickier, wetter. It takes more effort to push it around than the powdery fluff of winter. And the longer hours of the day feel like you have emerged from a cave. Sunset is around 7pm at our house, which is Kaweah’s dinner time. She used to petition for dinner at 4:30 in the afternoon in winter when it got dark, but now she seems utterly delighted and taken by surprise when we say, “Do you want some dinner?”
dramatic sunset
Ever since I got home from my trip to Vermont and New Hampshire, I’ve been trying to keep my meals on the light side. I have some lovely organic maple syrup (and other maple products) courtesy of Coombs Family Farms, but I just can’t fathom eating THAT MANY waffles and pancakes, no matter how good the syrup is. You know me, I am one for the savory dishes. A maple miso tofu recipe appealed to my desire for lighter meals. The added bonus is how ridiculously straightforward and quick it is to prepare.
you need: maple syrup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sambal oelek (or any chili paste), white miso, firm tofu
brushing oil on the parchment paper
cut the tofu into 1/2-inch thick slices
I’m using grade B maple syrup in this recipe as I tend to prefer it for baking and cooking as well as eating (on pancakes and waffles). That doesn’t mean you can’t use other grades of maple syrup, but grade B is a good choice for this dish. If you want to know more, read about maple syrup grading in the U.S.
pouring the maple syrup
a touch of heat (use more or less to your liking)
whisk it all together
There are two parts to the prep: the sauce and slicing the tofu. The assembly is just placing the tofu on the parchment and spooning or brushing the maple miso sauce over each piece. I used a brush so I could coat the sides of the tofu. It’s all about the sauce. I’m all about the sauce.
arrange the tofu slices so they each have their personal space
brush the maple miso sauce on the slices
Now to broil! If your oven has a high and a low setting for the broiler, go with the high setting. You may be tempted to grill this and I’m here to tell you that it won’t work quite as well. The heat needs to be applied from overhead, which broilers are great for. Don’t worry if they get slightly charred – that’s okay. But you definitely don’t want to burn the heck out of the tofu, so keep an eye on them after about 5 minutes under the broiler. I took mine out at 8 minutes. Flip the tofu slices over and brush the naked sides with more maple miso sauce. Back under the broiler they go.
flip
coat with sauce
baked until just starting to char
When the slices are ready, they will be quite hot off the baking sheet and they retain their heat fairly well. I like serving them with some green vegetables like sautéed spinach. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds if you desire – they add a nice texture and nutty flavor. And that’s pretty much it: 10 minutes to prep and 16 minutes to broil. I had enough sauce left over to make another 14 ounces of tofu, so if you’re interested in doubling the recipe, just double the tofu. The end result is a lovely crisp outside full of sweet and savory goodness and a smooth, mild tofu interior.
it works as a meal, an appetizer, a side dish, or a snack
light, but satisfying
Maple Miso Tofu
[print recipe]
based on this video (the original website is a trainwreck and I can’t find the recipe)
vegetable oil for brushing the parchment paper
1/4 cup (3 1/2 oz. or 100 g) maple syrup
1/4 cup (2 3/4 oz. or 75 g) white miso paste
2 tbsps soy sauce
1 tsp chile sauce (sambal oelek)
2 tbsps unseasoned rice vinegar
14 oz. firm tofu
Set a rack in your oven about 3 inches below the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper with vegetable oil. Place the maple syrup, white miso paste, soy sauce, chile sauce, and rice vinegar in a medium bowl. Whisk the ingredients together until smooth. Slice the block of tofu into 1/2-inch thick pieces and arrange them on the baking sheet at least an inch apart. Spoon or brush the maple-miso glaze over each piece of tofu. Turn the broiler on. Broil the tofu for about 8 minutes or until the glaze just starts to blister or burn. Remove the tofu from the oven. Flip each piece over and spoon or brush the glaze over the tofu. Return the tofu to the broiler and broil for another 5-8 minutes until the glaze begins to blister or burn. Serves 2-4.
more goodness from the use real butter archives
|
black cod with miso |
|
miso salad dressing |
|
miso butter roast chicken |
|
sesame tofu |
March 25th, 2013 at 4:44 am
Thank you for posting this. I’m into my first month of not eating meat anymore and this is a great substitute. In fact I made a tofu dish last night for the first time ever. It was not a success. It was just so so. I’m going to give this a try. The step by step pictures I’m sure will be so helpful to me!!! I usually have to try several times when I make something new for it to be successful!!! lol…..
March 25th, 2013 at 5:27 am
I’ve been warming up to tofu (I guess it was realizing that it was all about the sauce!) and I have all of the sauce ingredients, so I guess I’ve already warmed up to them. Will give it a go. Thanks!
7
March 25th, 2013 at 8:58 am
This looks really good. I usually do a honey/soy flavor palette, but I have a giant container of miso paste that is begging to be used up, so I’ll definitely give this a go. Do you drain/press the tofu before doing anything with it?
March 25th, 2013 at 9:22 am
I have a love-hate relationship with tofu, but this preparation seems too good not to try
(I confess that my mind drifted to doing the same with a nice piece of salmon… :-)
March 25th, 2013 at 10:07 am
I’d like to make baked tofu tonight and these look really good! My partner can’t have soy sauce, vinegar, chilis or miso; what do you think I could replace those ingredients with?
March 25th, 2013 at 10:42 am
Whoa, you must’ve been reading my mind because I just purchased a big block of tofu yesterday with the intention of cooking something similar!
The char you have there is beautiful! I bet it’d go perfectly in a lettuce wrap with pickled cucumbers, carrots, and daikon as well. :)
March 25th, 2013 at 11:15 am
debbie – I was just telling a friend that the key to making great tofu is having enough seasonings or sauce or other ingredients to accentuate the delicate flavor. If you are near an Asian grocery store, you may want to look for baked or pressed tofu that has been simmered in soy sauce and spices. They’re quite good!
Kristin – :)
Tiffany – I didn’t press this tofu (I did drain off as much liquid as I could though). It does pretty well as long as it isn’t sitting in a puddle of liquid on the baking sheet. I put the tofu on and dress it right before I broil to reduce the build up of liquid.
sallybr – yes!! You can totally do this with salmon and I’m sure it would be lovely.
Caroline – well, you just listed four of the six ingredients in the recipe that your partner can’t eat, but you don’t say what it is that your partner has trouble with. Is it allergies or preference? If your partner can’t eat soy sauce because of gluten, use tamari. If your partner can’t have soy sauce because of soy, then your partner can’t eat tofu either in which case – make something else. You can sub lemon juice for the vinegar, omit the chili paste, and perhaps?!? use peanut butter in place of miso. But honestly, I think you can make this for yourself and just let your partner eat something else.
Stephus – absolutely! That sounds great.
March 25th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
This looks lovely! So much goodness on that simple plate!
March 25th, 2013 at 12:51 pm
I was just looking for something to make with tofu, and *bam* you came through right on cue!
Thanks for posting more pics of my absolute favorite dog in the Whole Damn Universe…
March 25th, 2013 at 3:17 pm
Good dog.
March 25th, 2013 at 7:55 pm
Your recipes and pictures are flawless, as usual, but what I really love are the tender stories about kaweah. They reflect my own feelings and love for my dog. My dog is getting older now too, and I want him to be as happy and healthy as possible. Do you feed kaweah anything special? My vet mentioned glucosamine tablets the other day in addition to senior dog food. Thank you.
March 26th, 2013 at 2:39 am
What an interesting flavor mix – white miso, maple syrup and chili paste with my favorite ingredient tofu! I’ll put this under must-try recipe folder. Reading your blog is like watching FoodNetwork + Lifestyle show on screen, both inspiring and therapeutic without going into the kitchen. :)
March 26th, 2013 at 4:57 am
my dinner tonight. for sure. x
March 26th, 2013 at 7:48 am
This would be excellent on salmon imo. But can I use a silpat? Or stick to the parchment. Love this recipe
March 26th, 2013 at 9:05 am
This looks delicious! You answered the question I had in the comments (re: pressing the tofu), but I did want to let you know that I’m glad I found your blog! Take care of that precious Kaweah, and give her a snuggle for me!
March 26th, 2013 at 6:29 pm
This is a perfect recipe for the maple syrup we bought last weekend! The season is underway in western NY!
March 27th, 2013 at 1:24 pm
[…] Maple Miso Tofu by Use Real Butter […]
March 27th, 2013 at 6:01 pm
Love the idea of miso maple tofu. And I hope we get to see a lot more maple recipes!
March 28th, 2013 at 9:51 am
She can’t have anything fermented or acidic, or gluten or peanuts. I guess this is going to be too difficult.
March 28th, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Okay, this was AWESOME and my 9 yr. old son just requested to have this again tonight. Total score!
April 2nd, 2013 at 11:22 pm
marissa – yes, I agree! I don’t know how silpat will work. I like the parchment because it crisps the tofu. Not sure if silpat will give the same texture. I’m sure you can do it, I just don’t know what the final texture will be.
Abbe – yes, I have a handful that I will be blogging! :)
Susanne – woohoo!!
April 12th, 2013 at 9:52 pm
I JUST saw the note about parchment paper. I made the tofu dish tonight and since I didn’t have parchment, I just used cooking spray on foil and was confused about why my tofu wasn’t crispy! The flavor was delicious but I was really hoping for crispiness. Will have to try the parchment paper next time.
July 4th, 2013 at 7:24 pm
I used the rest of the sauce to coat a mix of cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, & onion slices and put it on the pan for the 2nd roasting cycle!
August 4th, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Wish I’d seen Elisa’s note — great idea. I absolutely loved this. Used sriracha in lieu of sambal oelek.
November 9th, 2015 at 4:47 pm
Just made this and it looked like my parchment paper was coming very close to igniting…I checked the package and it said not to put it under the broiler (or in the oven if the temp is over 420 degrees). Do I have weird parchment paper or are we just living on the edge with this recipe?
November 10th, 2015 at 8:44 am
Kenyon – ha ha! I think my paper burned too. You could conceivably use foil instead, though I do wonder if the sugars would stick to the foil when caramelized…