Best-Ever Tofu BBQ

Author Notes

Do you like it on a bun?
or frisbee style? So much fun.
Are you vegan? That's so nice.
It's animal-friendly over rice.

Don't have to be a vegan,
vegetarian or hippie
One taste of Tofu BBQ
and you'll say yippee!

—Kelly, founder of City Soup

I’m going to claim this surprisingly delightful recipe for Fredericksburg, Virginia, where it’s surely more popular than anywhere else on earth.

In its first step toward immortality, it appeared on the menu of Laszlo’s Weenie World, a once-a-year restaurant set up for the Virginia State Frisbee Tournament. Between events, tournament participants eagerly spooned it onto burger buns and topped it with homemade coleslaw before scarfing it down. It always sold out quickly, and then wasn’t seen again until the following April. I always arrived too late to try it, but it didn’t seem to me like I was missing a whole lot.

Then, one mid-1990s winter, a friend made it for a dinner party. Sitting in a battered Crock-Pot on the counter, it didn’t look like much, but its reputation sparked my curiosity. So, I grabbed a spoon and served myself my first tofu BBQ sandwich. I made my way to the couch and, while balancing my plate on my lap, took a bite.

It was fantastic! The slices of tofu were chewy and thick, with a hint of…was that caramelized peanut butter? The spicy, sweet sauce had a tingly hit of acid and salt. The coleslaw added a cool, crunchy counterpoint. It was perfect.

So when my buddy Jen and I opened our [former] restaurant in 1998, we thought it was an obvious choice for the menu. Our friends were skeptical. “It’s too labor-intensive!” they said, or, “I know it’s delicious, but no one’s going to order it. It sounds awful.” Onto the menu it went anyway, and we became tofu BBQ evangelists. During our first few weeks of operation, we handed out samples to dozens of customers, regardless of their eating preferences, and omnivores and vegetarians alike gobbled it up. Soon we were ordering five-gallon buckets of tofu from a commune near Charlottesville, freezing it in borrowed space in the walk-in of a rotisserie chicken place, before bringing it back to our kitchen to make dozens of servings every week.

Now, in addition to its annual appearance at Laszlo’s, my friend Kelly makes it for her soup delivery business, but only once a year. Locals have to order early—100 quarts isn’t enough to meet demand.

This easy recipe feeds a crowd and keeps like a dream. Serve it over rice, on a bun, or in a tortilla with cheese. Store the sauce and tofu separately for maximum flexibility—the baked tofu is great on salads or on its own, and the sauce is great on chicken, or anywhere you need a BBQ kick. Say yippee!

Lightly adapted from Wendy Louise Hagler’s Tofu Cookery. —kim place-gateau