Why do I still persist with Tofu?

I've been vegetarian for nearly 6 years and it's only been the last two that I've completely forgotten the better texture and flavour of meat and stopped missing it. Now tofu is great and versatile.
I find soy chunks are better in dishes that used to have chicken in, but I flavour them with nutritional yeast and vegan worcester sauce. That really upped the game.
The other thing is to have meals/recipes designed for tofu and not as a substitute. Then your brain isn't comparing to meat. I find firm tofu needs tearing rather than cutting so the sauce can get in all the nooks and crannies. Personally, I find it's needs to be deep fried or air fried to stop the spices etc burning.

Try making Tofu scramble

It’s vile. Stick with good quality meat.

I'm not a fan but DD loves it! @AmyDudley can you post more detailed cooking instructions please as DD would probably love that.

The only bearable meals I've come across so far is this one:
https://www.recipetineats.com/chilli-lime-fish/
with tofu instead of fish.

and instead of mince in bolognaise.

I agree, but I dont like the texture. At a food festival a stall holder convinced i would like it once it was smoked. It was like chewing on rubber. Specifically the pink and grey lozenge shaped ones we had in school

I love silken tofu blended with some miso paste (white miso) then I mix it with noodles and beef bulgogi. It is very good. I also do firm tofu sliced and coated with cornflour then fried - once fried cover it in teriyaki sauce. It is very nice. Its a carrier so you need to add flavour but that can be sauces not just herbs and spices.

Yum!!! 🙏X

Marinade it, it takes on flavour well. I use Maggie sauce.

If your quinoa comes out slimy, you are cooking it wrong. It needs a slight massage/rinse. Cook it in exactly the right amount of liquid and it's beautiful. Same for millet. Just takes a bit of practice. Both do not want too much liquid. If you can cook rice well, you shouldn't have a problem with these grains.

I know you weren't asking for recipes but it's against the law to talk about tofu and not mention this champion of dishes:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jan/22/how-to-cook-the-perfect-mapo-tofu-recipe-felicity-cloake

I recommend a medium tofu for this (Dragonfly do a lovely one) or go with silken if you prefer. Not sure it would work with firm but of course try it of you wish. You can get the more unusual ingredients online or in a decent Asian supermarket (get a proper Sichuan bean paste, not the Lee Kum Kee one - it's just not very nice). Finally go easy on the peppercorns and chilli oil if you're not used to it!

I love tofu but there is an art to cooking it which I still don't always get right. It's traditionally used in Chinese cooking to provide texture rather than flavour, because there's so many other strong flavours going on in most dishes - one of the reasons I think we struggle with it in the west as we tend to see it as a straight swap for meat, which isn't how it was intended. There's some fantastic tofu recipes in Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice cookbook if you like Chinese flavours.

I've waffled a bit so I'll rein myself in, best of luck with your continuing tofu adventures!

I use paneer in pretty much any recipe that calls for tofu.

I make a couple of dishes with tofu. The silken tofu I use to make pasta sauce with roasted peppers and it is delicious. Really creamy and full of flavour (I add all sorts). I’ve also made teriyaki tofu where I let it marinade overnight then cooked it. Just used spray oil and again with the teriyaki sauce was actually really nice.
Have actually just need a lovely dessert made with silken tofu that I’m going to try next.

Ive been vegan for thirty years so I’ve eaten a lot of tofu. Honestly, if I wasn’t vegan, I’d never touch it again. It’s just a tasteless blob of nothingness. Unless it’s coated with sweet sticky sauce and fried which makes it very unhealthy.

I can’t tell if @likelysuspect and @Isthisfunyet are having a pass agg argument or actually flirting. Are you guys married?

Anyway thanks for the recipe ideas. I also like the Ottalenghi black pepper recipe.

I made this recently which was very easy in my food mixer. Even fussy children enjoyed.

I marinate it (in soy, miso paste, ginger, honey, crispy chillies, like) first then dust in cornflour and fry. Lovely and crispy!
Eat with stirfry veg.

It's worth persevering. Think of it as a sponge, you need to drown it in flavour. Our favourites are tofu kebabs - peel it into slices and add a packet of Schwartz kebab flavouring and air fry it - then have in flatbread with salad and chilli sauce. Then tofu tacos were amazing the other night. You grate it up and once soaked in some flavours you air fry it and add to a chipotle sauce - you couldn't tell it wasn't beef.

There’s a takeaway near me that does fantastic tofu and I’ve tried many times to get it the same at home. It’s crispy and extremely spongey so it soaks up masses of the sauce it’s in. I just wish I knew how they do it!

Tofu and halloumi shouldn't exist imo!

I grate it, cover it in spices used in Mexican food ie fajitas, fry it and use in burritos or quesadillas. Gorge crispy!

People have prob already said this, but tofu itself is flavorless. What it does is absorb the flavors of the sauce it is in. Fry it up and then add it to a sauce and continue to cook it in that. It’ll be delicious.

I thought we were buying bad batches of tofu for a while or the recipe had been changed by the manufacturer. Then I realised H had been cooking and frying the tofu. Putting it aside and only adding it to the meal right before serving. That’s why it was rank.

It needs to cook in the sauce to get flavor.

Oh it’s vile. The silken tofu makes a passable cheesecake but otherwise it just tastes of disappointment.

had it once in a restaurant and it was like scrambled egg in a leather coating. 🤢🤢🤢

If you don't like tofu you don't need to eat it. There are lots of other things you can eat which aren't meat.

However I'd recommend rolling it in cornflour and frying (if that's not what you are already doing) and adding into a delicious sauce.

This is a wonderful recipe:

https://thefirstmess.com/2022/08/17/blackberry-glazed-tofu-black-pepper-chili/