Sesame Tofu Kebabs are marinated in a delicious tahini dressing & served with a Tahini Asian Slaw. Serve in a lettuce wrap for a great vegan appetiser!
Regular readers will have noticed we love al fresco meals here at the Kitchen Shed and I’m always looking for new and exciting recipes to add to our summer menu. Preparing for a BBQ a couple of weeks ago (in the rain under the gazebo – so pleased the hot sunny weather has arrived and fingers crossed it stays!) I realised my offering of vegan options was extremely limited. In fact I only had one vegan menu item and as tasty as my Easy Bean Burger is, I wanted to offer my guests a choice. Looking to keep away from more beans and not being able to include cheese, I decided to go with tofu.
I acknowledge tofu has had a bad press over the years but these days there are so many good brands to choose from it really can be delicious – personally I love the soft creamy texture. Bearing in mind the al fresco BBQ “theme”, using tofu as a vegan kebab seemed an ideal route to follow. I’ve gone with Chinese flavours (I seem to be obsessed with sesame, ginger and soy sauce this year) and used a firm sesame seed smoked tofu – a firm tofu saves all that pressing malarkey needed with a soft tofu.
The crunchy coated tofu and mushrooms with a hint of spicy heat made for a perfect contrast against the creaminess of the soft tofu centre and proved a huge hit at the Kitchen Shed. I served the kebabs on a bed of crispy Asian Slaw in lettuce leaf wraps, with the leftover tahini marinade as a dressing. I made small kebabs to serve as an appetiser but you could make six larger portions and use Romaine lettuce leaves if you were serving the kebabs as a main dish.The kebabs can be cooked on the BBQ or griddle and I’ve already got Sesame Tofu Kebabs in mind for an appetiser during Christmas or New Year.
Sesame Tofu Kebabs are so easy to make. Simply mix the marinade/dressing together and add the tofu and mushrooms, leave for about 15 minutes.
Assemble your kebabs and cook on a hot griddle before serving in a lettuce wrap – mouth wateringly delicious!
I hope you enjoy Sesame Tofu Kebabs as much as we do. Here’s the recipe in quick printable format so you can have it to hand while you try it out.
Sesame Tofu Kebabs
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Sesame Tofu Kebabs are marinated in a delicious tahini dressing & served with a Tahini Asian Slaw. Serve in a lettuce wrap for a great vegan appetiser!
Author: Tales From The Kitchen Shed
Recipe type: Vegan
Cuisine: BBQ
Serves: 6 standard or 12 small
Ingredients
Tahini Dressing (for marinade & Asian Slaw)
- 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) tahini paste
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) rice wine (I used Shaoxing)
- 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) water
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Optional: ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
Kebabs
- 400 g (14 oz) firm tofu (I used a smoked tofu) cut into 2 cm chunks
- 12 small chestnut mushrooms sliced in half
Slaw vegetables:
- ½ small white cabbage shredded
- 1 red onion, halved and finely sliced
- 2 carrots julienned or grated
Instructions
- You will need 6 or 12 skewers.
Dressing & marinade:
- Whisk the Tahini dressing ingredients until incorporated.
- Place tofu chunks and mushroom halves into a bowl and carefully toss with 4 tablespoons of tahini dressing. Set aside for 15 minutes or so to marinate.
Make your Tahini Asian Slaw:
- Pour 6 tablespoons of the tahini dressing over your slaw vegetables.
- Mix well and refrigerate until required.
Assemble your skewers:
- Thread 4 to 6 pieces of tofu and mushroom on to a skewer, don't thread the chunks too closely together.
Cook your tofu kebabs:
- Spray with a cooking spray before cooking on a preheated griddle or BBQ for about 6 to 8 minutes, browning on all sides until golden brown.
- Remove from the BBQ or griddle and leave to cool down a little for about 5 minutes (otherwise the kebabs will wilt the lettuce)
- Serve in a lettuce wrap on a bed of Tahini Asian Slaw and sprinkle with extra sesame seeds.
Notes
Use a firm tofu.
Use lettuce leaves (such as Little Gem or Romaine) which can hold the kebab & slaw.
Total time doesn't include marinating time.
Don't forget to soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before use.
Use lettuce leaves (such as Little Gem or Romaine) which can hold the kebab & slaw.
Total time doesn't include marinating time.
Don't forget to soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before use.
Pin Sesame Tofu Kebabs for later.
I’m linking Sesame Tofu Kebabs to: Fiesta Fridays co hosted this week by Jhuls at The Not So Creative Cook and Colleen at Health, Hope, Love & Luck.
Oooh Sarah these look and sound so tasty! These are a must try! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thanks Kirsty, always a pleasure to link up with #CookBlogShare and thank you for featuring them in this week’s linky. x
Definitely looks like an awesome al fresco meal. Thanks for sharing – I am always looking for something new to try.
Thanks Janet, they did make a great alfresco meal and I reckon I’ll be making them in the winter months too. Thanks for popping by 🙂
These look yummy & so easy to make 🙂 Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Thanks Hayley, always a pleasure to link up with #CookBlogShare 🙂
This sounds so good. I make sesame tofu quite a lot but never on the BBQ or with a slaw – I am definitely going to be making this soon!
Thanks Mandy, hope you enjoy sesame tofu kebabs as much as we do. Let me know how you get on x
Delicious! I may make these when I go camping in a few weeks – hopefully the weather will be on my side! Thanks…
Thanks, hope you enjoy Sesame Tofu Kebabs as much as we do. Have a fab holiday & fingers crossed the summer is here to stay.
Yum! These look lovely. Such fab flavours. I love tofu but haven’t had it for ages – must rectify that soon!! Eb x
Thanks Eb. We hadn’t had tofu for a while & I love the new smoked tofu we tried, it really is delicious & perfect for the BBQ x
These look delish! I can never get tofu to go crispy like you have (and I’m a lifelong vegetarian…)
Thanks Zoe, I think the tahini marinade that helps the tofu get crispy.
It’s years since OH and I had tofu Sarah, I think I’ll pop it onto the shopping list! I love how you’ve presented them in the lettuce ‘boats’ as well – look delicious 🙂
Angela x
Thanks Angela, the lettuce wraps do look pretty don’t they? I tend to serve a lot of bread at our BBQs so I thought it was about time I offered a healthier option. x
These look absolutely delightful and I’m all for the no pressing malarky! Happy Fiesta Friday!
Thanks Colleen, a pleasure to link up with Fiesta Friday, thanks for hosting 🙂
I’ve never had tofu but know I would love it. John, on the other hand, would revolt. LOL. I love the tahini too!
Thanks Julie, I was surprised to find that the tofu was as popular with the meat eaters as the vegetarians, luckily all our veggie guests managed to get one before we ran out.
I love tofu! This recipe sounds so delicious. I can’t wait to try it 🙂
Thanks Sarah, let me know how you get on 🙂
I happen to love tofu! And so does my daughter, the almost-vegetarian in the family. I need to up my game though when it comes to cooking with it. I can’t just offer my daughter fried tofu all the time, lol! Thanks for this, it sounds delicious! ?
Thanks Angie, I think I come into the category of almost vegetarian, we’ve been eating less and less meat over the past year. I hope you get to try them. 🙂
Yay! I love anything with tahini and all kebabs! These look incredibly good! Thanks for sharing! Happy FF!
Thanks Jhuls, a pleasure to share with the Fiesta party and thanks for co hosting this week. x