Name: Tea-Marinated Grilled Tofu Steaks
Yield: Serves 4 as an appetizer or small first course
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1 large garlic clove, crushed, plus 1 large garlic clove, finely minced for the mushrooms; 2 teaspoons/10 milliliters olive oil for tofu plus 1 teaspoon/5 milliliters for mushrooms; 1 tablespoon/14 grams brown sugar; 2 ounces/60 grams fresh chanterelles or other mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, or any combination you choose); 1 quart/1 liter water; 2 teaspoons/10 grams Yunnan tea leaves; 14 ounces/400 grams of firm tofu, well drained; 2-inch/5-centimeter piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced; 1 teaspoon/10 milliliters light soy sauce

Preparation info

Serves
4
as an appetizer or small first course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Cooking with Tea

By Robert Wemischner and Diana Rosen

Published 2000

About

In homage to new-wave Japanese fare and the public hunger for more meaningful exchanges with tofu on the plate, this dish uses delicate chanterelles instead of dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi) which top the original version. And instead of drinking green tea with the dish as one might in a Japanese restaurant, we use Yunnan, a black Chinese tea, as both marinade and base for the sauce.