Hoisin Tofu Skewers

"Can I have another piece of tofu, mom?" My almost-5 year old son uttered these words last night. (After having already devoured a real meat cheeseburger, so it's not like I had to starve him to get him to try it.) So I think it goes without saying that this is a good recipe. It's adapted from a hoisin salmon skewer recipe that was part of the "50 Kebabs" insert in the July/August 2010 Food Network magazine. Lately, when we're not in a hurry, my husband has been firing up the charcoal grill, which is what I used for these last night, and really, they were twice as good as they had been on the gas grill. Absolutely delicious.

The first time we made these, my son did the skewering. He decided that it was the second slimiest thing he had ever done, #1 being scooping the guts out of a pumpkin. He cracks me up. But I guess slimy doesn't equal bad to a kid, because he wanted to do the skewering again this time.

1 block tofu
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon each of:
- soy sauce
- rice vinegar
- honey
- olive oil

1. Put the tofu in between two plates and weigh it down with cans (or anything heavy) for a little while...say, 45 minutes...just to get it good and squeezed out.
2. Meanwhile, combine the other ingredients.
3. Slice the tofu: I sliced it 3 by 2 and then through the middle, for 12 pieces which fit nicely on 3 skewers.
4. Combine with the marinade. I don't know if you need to let it sit or not, but if you have some time, let it marinate for a while. (Note: I had some extra marinade, you might be able to use 2 blocks of tofu, or throw in a few veggies.)
5. Skewer it lengthwise (if using wooden skewers, soak them in water for like a half hour) and grill until it's golden and just a little bit crispy.

Serve with brown rice and a salad. You'll feel so nice and healthy after this meal. :) It would probably also go great with the grilled green beans that I posted last summer.