Bill Granger recipe: Grilled tofu steak with ginger and edamame

Serves 4

Grilled tofu steak with ginger and edamame (Laura Edwards)

I defy anyone to say tofu is bland once they've tasted this. After a summer of indulging and entertaining, this is just the kind of meal I want to enjoy on a quiet family evening.

3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3cm fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp sesame oil
2 spring onions, sliced

For the edamame salad

150g edamame, shelled
6g dried wakame seaweed
150g cucumber, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

For the tofu

500g firm tofu, drained
Cornflour, to dust
3 tbsp light-flavoured oil

To serve

Black and lighly toasted white sesame seeds
Steamed rice

Whisk together the soy sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger and sesame oil in a bowl. Stir in the spring onions and set aside.

Bring a pan of boiling water to the boil, add the edamame and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain and refresh under ice-cold water. Put the seaweed into a bowl, pour 100ml water over and allow it to reconstitute for a few minutes, then drain. Toss together the edamame, seaweed and cucumber in a bowl.

Cut the tofu into eight 1.5cm-thick steaks. Place the cornflour in a bowl, season with sea salt and black pepper and coat each tofu steak on both sides. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and cook the tofu in batches for 2 to 3 minutes on each side till golden-brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

Arrange the tofu on plates with the edamame salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds, drizzle generously with the sauce and serve with the steamed rice.