Hugo Reyes Approved!

(I wish.  But I do figure him for the open minded type - Jorge, the actor, has given love to Sweet & Sara marshmallows on his blog!)

Mr. Cluck’s Outback Roaster Tofu, served with grilled asparagus, since it’s in season in Australia*.

Up to date on LOST?  In case you freakishly haven’t seen this yet, check out the Mr. Cluck’s commercial from Comic Con 2009, featuring Mr. Cluck’s Outback Roaster Chicken, the inspiration for this meal.  As soon as I saw the commercial (just last week, what THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH ME?!?), I knew I wanted to make a vegan version, for fun.  To literally feed my obsession.

I assure you, fellow LOST fans reading this, that it pains me that I didn’t have more time to serve with a side of mashed potatoes, corn, and diced pineapple on top.  I’m leaving for vacation tonight! Alas!

Anyway, here’s what I made:

Mr. Cluck’s Outback Roaster Tofu or Seitan, a Veganized, Copycat, Obsessed Recipe

Ingredients:

• One pound block of drained, sliced tofu, or large slices of seitan.
• 1 cup of beer (preferably not pale; I used Session Black lager – yes, it’s vegan!)
• 1.5 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1.5 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• extremely generous pinch of freshly ground pepper
• pinch of sea salt or seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions:

• Whisk all ingredients together, being careful not to make a mess with beer foam, unless you want to.
• Marinate the tofu and/or seitan for a few hours, preferably overnight.  Now, I grilled mine on a cast iron grill pan because I don’t have fancy grilling instruments for that oven roasting effect the commercial alludes to.
• I misted my grill pan with oil, turned to medium heat, opened my window, and grilled on both sides 4-5 minutes for those dark lines.
• I splashed with more sauce 3 minutes in, on each side.
• Serve with vegetables, sprinkled with more pepper, a slice of lemon, and enjoy!
• Smile and think of winning the lottery with sheer luck.

Seitan variation:

I tried out a seitan and tofu variation, both marinated overnight in a sweet, seasoned beer-based sauce.  My friend Maeve, the girl who still swoons over Boone, voted tofu.  I originally figured seitan would hope up better against the sauce, since it’s more chicken-on-the-barbie type.  I think Boone would probably agree with Maeve.

Sauce

Mr. Cluck’s Likes Tofu!!

Image Credit: The Hatch on Zazzle

*not a fact