One of my projects this week was learning how to use the propane grill. I had used a charcoal grill once before, with the instruction of my husband's parents who are avid grillers and barbecuers. This time I had to ask my mom for help, and she didn't know how to work it either. We ended up having to call one of her friends who is accustomed to grilling to have him explain how to hook up the propane tank properly. I had the tofu skewers ready and marinating while we were all messing with it trying to figure it out. Eventually I got the propane screwed on the right way and the grill got started up!
I wasn't sure if I was going to like these skewers from Simple Veganista at first because I'd never had grilled pineapple or grilled tofu, and I didn't know if the vegetables would cook all the way or soak up the flavors. Maybe the confusion around the grill giving them extra time to soak helped, because they turned out absolutely bursting with flavor!
I brushed on some of the sauce after assembling the skewers both before and after grilling, and even my tofu averse mother said she really liked tofu this way and that the skewers were delicious!
I love smokey flavors so much so I let some char develop on the skewers. I found out this way that I LOVE some charring on the pineapple. The only issues I had were with a bit of sticking to the grill that pulled small chunks of nice charred tofu off. That's likely just a grill skill issue on my end, and could likely have been mitigated by a more generous brushing of oil onto the grill.
The skewers were really easy to make, and just absolutely PACKED with flavor. These would be fantastic to make for a crowd since they're easy to pick up and doubling the recipe would be very easy. I used a bit more than half of the sauce, so if it were doubled I'd probably only make 1.5x the amount of sauce rather than straight doubling it, unless I were planning to drizzle the sauce over a grain. The skewers by themselves were filling enough to not feel the need for making a grain to go with it. I think quinoa or brown rice would compliment it well.
The recipe is quite healthy in my books too - it has more protein than fat and is mostly whole foods. I've been trying to eat healthier by reducing the amount of oil and ultra-processed foods, and focusing on including more whole fruits, vegetables, and proteins. I really love oil in food (you know this if you saw my
Instagram post about how much I love making the tadka for dal tadka). Oil is not high in flavor on it's own, but it carries and enhances other flavors so well... But drowning everything in coconut milk and olive oil isn't sustainable for my health, so I really appreciate finding flavorful recipes like these skewers that fit into my plans for bettering myself and my health. My husband's only complaint was that they were healthy tasting and not deep fried, LOL!
This recipe opened up grilling as an intensely enjoyable way of cooking for me. I ended up opening the grill back up the next day to attempt to cook some Treehouse Tempeh maple smoked vacon on it. The tempeh was a bit crumbly but putting aluminum foil on the grill helped prevent a disaster. I didn't really like the tempeh on its own, but it worked well in a VLT. I'm also planning on trying a recipe for grilled seitan kabobs... it's marinating in the fridge in a sweet and salty curry sauce as I type this.
The grilled tofu and pineapple skewers absolutely go in The Vault. They're healthy, intensely flavorful, can make a tofu hater compliment tofu, and they got me interested in grilling more stuff! What a success of a recipe, hats off to Julie from Simple Veganista for making this gem. I also enjoy a lot of her other lower oil recipes - and her website makes it easy to search and find these lower oil options! Tangy, sweet, salty, and smokey all on a stick!
Verdict: 10/10
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