Vegan Huli Huli Tofu with Mango Dressing

 "Huli Huli" is a Hawaiian marinade which is sweet and savoury, made from pineapple, soy sauce, and ginger. "Huli" is Hawaiian for "turn," referring to the method the dish is usually cooked: over a grill, turned halfway through cooking. To create a vegan version, I marinated tofu in huli huli sauce, grilled it until crispy, and served it with mango dressing over sushi rice and a salad, to imitate another Hawaiian dish, poke bowls! 

Serves: 2 

Ingredients:

For the tofu:

• 140g extra firm tofu (drained/ pressed)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp pineapple juice (from a can)
• 1 inch ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp ketchup 
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine 
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil

For the mango dressing:

• 1/4 of a mango (40-50g)
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp agave
• 1 small clove of garlic
• a couple tbsp of the leftover marinade (above)
• pinch chili flakes
• pinch salt and freshly ground pepper
• small handful coriander

To serve:

• sushi rice, cooked and seasoned (with mirin/sugar, salt, and rice vinegar to taste) 
• salad greens
• a couple radishes, grated
• avocado, chopped
• sprinkle of sesame seeds
• a few spring onions, chopped
• edamame
• coriander
• crispy onion

Method:

1. Marinate the tofu: chop the tofu into small pieces. In a small bowl, mix all the remaining tofu ingredients together to create the marinade (brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, ginger, ketchup, shaoxing wine, chili flakes, rice vinegar, sesame oil.) Add the tofu and stir together, then leave in the fridge for a couple hours to marinate. 
2.  Preheat the grill to 200C. 
3. Remove the tofu from the marinade, but don't throw away the marinade! It will be used in the mango dressing. 
4. Place the tofu onto 2 kebab skewers, and place them on a lined baking tray. Once the grill is heated, grill them for about 15 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden and crispy.
5. Whilst the tofu grills, prepare the mango dressing by blending all of the ingredients together until smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients/ seasoning. 
6. To serve: Serve the grilled tofu over the sushi rice next to a salad with radishes/ avocado/ sesame seeds/ spring onion/ edamame/ coriander/ crispy onion (all optional- mix and match or add your own!) 

Close-up of the crispy huli huli tofu

Enjoy!