To tempt a carnivore with tofu?

[Tofunoo]

My DP is a committed carnivore but I’d like to eat more vegan/veggie food without us having to make 2 dinners when I do that. Is there any chance I can tempt him over with something deliciously tofu? I have found 2 nice recipes for tofu chilli and bolognaise but he wasn’t keen. Lots of the tofu recipes I’ve found either are deep fried or full of sugar, so not super healthy. Any ideas?!

YABU-DP will never eat vegan

YANBU- there’s hope

Delicious and Tofu are not words that I associate with each other. Find something else, Tofu can't be the only source of veggie protein.

Yeah I do something similar, but try tearing the tofu into bite size chunks for more interesting texture.

I like it in a stir fry and often make a cheats satay sauce with soy sauce, peanut butter and sweet chilli sauce plus a squeeze of lime. Served with sticky rice.

Also you can make a nice chocolate mousse with silken tofu.

Tacos with refried beans, tomatoes, salad, guacamole and cheese/vegan cheese. Vegan/veggie moussaka https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/vegan_moussaka_52413. Pasta with pesto and cheese/vegan cheese or a tomato sauce. Quorn breaded ‘schnitzel’ fillets with fried potatoes, green beans/spinach and caper ‘butter’ (real butter or vegan butter). Lentil dhal with flatbreads and crispy fried onions, onion and tomato and coriander salsa/ salad, spiced coconut yoghurt & rice.

Did you say chocolate?! 😛

Found it

https://www.lazycatkitchen.com/shredded-tofu-tacos/

I've not done it for a while but the cauldron marinated tofu makes a good stir fry. Fry the tofu separately so it gets a bit crispy, ideally add cashews as well.

Ooh sounds yummy. DP loves a schnitzel so I could try that

Perfect thank you 😊

Entirely vegan family here. Love tofu (scrambled, gochujang, mapo) but if you can’t get on with it, apart from all the great bean and mushroom dishes (stroganoffs, wellington etc) if you want a protein that’s not a meat substitute, try something with tempeh or seitan.

If you like something like a carbonara, try a carbonara with the “This isn’t” range lardons. Some of the more processed substitutions work very well as they are basically just replacing highly processed meats; or perhaps try a vegetable paella.

We have lots of meat-eating friends and family, and they really enjoy these alternatives.

You could try tempeh too, but it's a real marmite food. Personally I'm a fan if it's cooked nicely.

A couple of my fave tempeh dishes:

https://www.feastingathome.com/tempeh-reuben-with-smoked-mozzarella-and-turmeric-sauerkraut/

https://roundhousedesign.com/news/recipes/pomegranate-glazed-tempeh-with-aubergine-and-feta/

https://thefirstmess.com/2020/05/27/sticky-ginger-tempeh-recipe-coconut-rice/

I'm an omnivore married to a vegetarian amd we mostly eat veggie dinners because life is busy enough without cooking 2 dinners every night.

Tofu is not your friend here. It is not going to tempt him. There are many delicious meat free foods and tofu is not one of them.

Deliciously tempting, plant based and low fat/healthy - most foods I can think of can only tick two of these boxes. Most veggie meals we enjoy are either rather high in fat or are in the "perfectly ok but would be nicer with bacon" category. And we aren't even trying to be vegan but have eggs and cheese. Actually vegan - yes there are some really great curries, and no meat eater actually needs meat every day, but you're better off doing good things with good vegetables rather than trying to convince a meat eater that any kind of rubbery blocky substance is just as good as meat.

I am trying to minimise my meat intake so am looking at vegan/veggie recipes. May I ask why the lentils need rinsing well?

The Bold Beans recipe book has lots of good recipes - my DH always thought he hated beans but he really likes some of these, much nicer than fake meat.

I like tofu. It just needs good spices. Getting soem nice sauces from the asian market is a good idea. And easy way to incorporate it it through stir-fry with good sauces. Also I don't like quorn at all.

As for your husband. If he is very much a carnivore then he won't eat it out of principle. What is he against in eating more vegetarian food? Like when it is your turn to cook he will refuse to eat it if it doesn't have meat? Or he just doesn't like tofu specifically?

Ooh thanks I’ll check that out

I used to hate tofu but my daughter bought a tofu press and it was game changer.
Pressed tofu diced or sliced, lightly coated in seasoned flour as part of most recipes is very edible.
I think a lot of the tofu hate is to do with the texture and blandness, using the press then frying fixes the texture, adding the tofu to something heavily seasoned as suggested by pp above fixes the flavour.

Anyone who thinks tofu is bland hasn't tried fermented tofu 😂 not for the faint hearted!!! Comes in cubes in jars, looks similar to feta cheese cubes. Very very very strong salty flavour. Definitely a marmite food!!!!! I've only ever found it in the Asian markets.

Another vote for the cauldron marinated tofu (not me personally as even the sight of tofu makes me gag) from my son who has tried a few. I also have made him seitan a few times from vital wheat protein and marigold organic bouillon powder which is high in protein.

I'm vegan. There are some great recipes without tofu. Some people will just never like the texture. You can create a full/meaty taste with diced mushrooms.

He just loves meat and doesn’t like to eat things he doesn’t like I guess. So it’s got to be really yummy to get him to eat it. I guess lots of cheese would work but I was hoping to do some vegan food.

I think it's worth frying it. The crispiness, and maybe extra satiety, from the oil have made all the difference for my lot, and even if you're generous with the oil it'll still probably be lower fat than a lot of meat. Half my family say they prefer tofu stir fry to chicken. Hopefully over time we will get to lower fat cooking methods, just like they used to need mayo with salad but will now eat it without.

There are loads of reels on social media of ideas with tofu. I like Maya of Fitgreenmind.

Ooh I might have to try some. Not for DP though!

Tofu 🤢 And I'm a veggie!

Would you add anything for protein?