Grilled (broiled) Tofu and Vegetable Dengaku

This is a great way to use miso in grilling and to experiment with tofu. Feel free to use this on other protein sources, I've used it on fish, chicken, and pork. I wouldn't suggest it with beef. There are two variations to the white miso sauce that are quite nice. When we make this, we make four miso sauces: White, White with Citrus, White with Spinach, and Red. You should feel free to try all or just one of the sauces. I prefer to cook this under the broiler, simply because I'm not a proficient grill operator. Cooking times will depend upon the vegetables you choose and the method used to cook them.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 (1 lb) packages extra firm tofu, not silky type
• 1  cup white miso
• 1  cup red miso
• 1⁄2 cup sake, divided
• 1⁄2 cup mirin, divided
• 4  tablespoons sugar
• 1  teaspoon  of very finely grated oranges or 1  teaspoon lemon, rind of (or any other citrus peel you prefer)
• 1⁄3 cup  of lightly steamed  spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
•  any variety grillable  vegetables, or other foods (mushrooms, leeks, daikon, mochi, green peppers, sweet potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, etc.)

Directions

1. Remove the excess moisture from the tofu by wrapping it in a clean towel and placing it between 2 cutting boards, let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Cut the tofu into slabs about a 1/2 inch thick and two inches long.
3. Sweet Simmered Miso: White and Red.
4. Now you will make two types of sweet simmered miso, each one using one color of miso, a bit of sake, mirin, and sugar as described below.
5. Taste the miso sauce as you prepare it, miso flavors will differ from company to company so you may need to add additional ingredients to account for differences in product or your own preferences.
6. Put white miso, 1/4 cup sake, 1/4 cup mirin, and 2 Tbs sugar in a small saucepan and stir over a medium flame until well blended.
7. When the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat and continue stirring until smooth and thick (around 20 minutes).
8. Let cool.
9. Repeat with the red miso and the remaining sake, mirin, and sugar.
10. If you have any extra sauce, the plain sweet simmered miso can be refrigerated for up to a month.
11. Citrus White Miso Sauce.
12. The white miso sauce can be varied by taking 3/4 cup of the sweet simmered white miso and adding the finely grated citrus peel.
13. Spinach White Miso Sauce.
14. A variation of the white miso sauce is to take 1/3 cup of the sweet simmered red miso and adding 1/3 cup of lightly steamed and coarsely chopped spinach leaves and mix until well incorporated.
15. Grilling (Broiling) the tofu and vegetables.
16. Grill or broil the tofu and vegetables until they are lightly browned and cooked through to your liking.
17. For the tofu, it's very convenient to broil this in the oven until it is slightly browned.
18. For the grill, just before taking the tofu and vegetables off to serve, brush with the simmered miso sauce of your choosing and continue grilling until the miso is just browned and bubbling.
19. For the broiler method, just before taking the tofu and vegetables out from the broiler, brush on the miso sauce of your choice and continue broiling until the top is bubbly and just browned.