In keeping with our week of Asian-inspired recipes, here’s a quick and easy hors d’oeuvre (hors d’oeuvres – officially the hardest word to spell correctly that I know). This is a five-ingredient recipe that takes less than 15 minutes to make, but will satisfy the nibbles before an Asian-themed meal and whet appetites for what’s to come.
I found this recipe in Gourmet’s summer edition and thought it was terrific, though I used more sugar to offset the saltiness of the miso. The original recipe also calls for dry sherry or dry white wine as a substitute for sake, but I think it needs the sake. And you can use the sake for sipping or to make a killer sake-tini to go with the miso tofu.
Miso Tofu Hors D’oeuvres
Adapted from Gourmet’s summer edition
Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 16-ounce block of tofu, drained
- ½ cup dark Japanese miso
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds, toasted
Directions
- Drain tofu on paper towels and pat dry.
- Wrap block of tofu in paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds.
- Drain tofu again and microwave at least once more, and pour off liquid that is coming from the tofu until it is firm.
- Preheat broiler.
- Mix miso, sugar, and sake in a small pan.
- Mixture should be thick.
- Cook at medium heat for several minutes until miso is bubbling and shiny.
- Cut tofu into one-by-one inch squares and arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Broil need the heat for several minutes until tofu begins to brown.
- Remove from oven and spread miso on the browned side of the tofu cubes, and return to broiler for another few minutes to allow them to turn a nice, deep brown.
- Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, attached cocktail picks to the side of each piece of tofu and serve.
