Asian Chopped Salad With Grilled Teriyaki Kebabs

Our Asian Chopped Salad Kit comes packed with fresh savoy cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, celery, green onion, crispy wontons, toasted almonds, and a light sesame dressing to top things off. But in this recipe, we’re going to elevate this salad to the next level and turn it into the main course. So fire up the grill!

No, the grilling part is not for the salad—we’re not that edgy. It’s time to throw together some quick kebabs with tofu, pineapple, and a few choice vegetables slathered in a delicious teriyaki sauce that will go perfectly on top of (or alongside) our Asian Chopped Salad. You can also make this recipe using chicken breast or shrimp on the skewer, or allow guests to construct their own skewers for you to place on the grill for them. Plus, these look fantastic, which is always a nice added bonus if you’re trying to impress company!

Total TIME:
10 Min.

SERVINGS:
4

Ingredients

1 Taylor Farms Asian Chopped Salad Kit
½ Extra Firm Tofu
1 cup Zucchini
½ cup Red Onion
½ cup Red Bell Pepper
1 cup Fresh Pineapple
1 cup Teriyaki Glaze (use bottled, or find a recipe for this below*)
Wooden Skewers

Directions

Drain and pat dry the tofu in 1-inch cubes, then marinate in Teriyaki Glaze for at least 30 minutes to overnight.
Cut the zucchini, red onion, bell pepper, and pineapple into 1-inch chunks.
Skewer the veggies, pineapple, and tofu, alternating however you like. Cook the skewers on the grill for a few minutes on each side.
Once finished grilling, brush the skewers with about a 1/2 cup of teriyaki glaze and let them rest.
Assemble the salad. Add the dressing, then almonds and crispy wontons. Serve the skewers on top of the assembled salad or on the side.
To make your own *Teriyaki Glaze: Mix together ½ cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari, 2–4 tablespoons honey or coconut sugar (to taste), ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic. Take out ⅓ cup marinade and reserve for glaze. Pour the remaining marinade into a baggie/container with tofu or chicken. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes to overnight. Flip halfway through for even marinating.
To make a teriyaki dipping sauce: Combine the reserved ⅓ cup marinade with 1 teaspoon cornstarch and heat in the microwave or in a small saucepan until thickened (will take a few minutes; must come to a boil in order to thicken using cornstarch).

Teriyaki: Behind the Sauce

Despite being invented by Japanese chefs over 400 years ago, teriyaki seems to be one of those types of foods that most know about but aren’t really sure how it even became a thing, so let’s fix that. For the most part, anything made with a teriyaki glaze is officially dubbed teriyaki, whether that’s chicken, salmon, beef, or, in this recipe’s case, tofu and vegetables.

The teriyaki glaze itself is typically made with a mixture of soy sauce, mirin (a sweet rice wine), and either sugar or honey, but you may also make it with other types of sweeteners and sake in place of the mirin if you’d like—it’s not like there’s some sort of teriyaki regulatory committee out there judging you. Adding aromatics like ginger and garlic is also a fairly common teriyaki practice.

Okay, but where does the name come from? The word teriyaki is derived from the noun teri (照り), which refers to the shine or luster created by the sugar content (タレ), and yaki (焼き), which refers to the cooking method of grilling or broiling. Traditional teriyaki cooking involves brushing or dipping the ingredients in the sauce several times while it’s cooking. So, whether you’re glazing some salmon with a simple sauce of soy, mirin, and sugar or grilling tofu and vegetables with a more complex sauce like the one in this recipe, you’re still teriyaki-ing. Enjoy!