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

I don't mind tofu in soups, but the nicest tofu is inari-age cut into strips and made crispy with loads of extra soy, chilli and barbecue/yakitori sauce.

(just wish I could find GF inari)

You won't convert anybody to vegan food by going for the poor attempts at Western substitutes, but you might have a chance of some things being accepted if you layer savoury, rich, salty, sweet and heat together with some more savoury on top.

Don't bother with Quorn mince, though. It'll take hours of trying to get some flavour into it to make it a vaguely tolerable cotton wool substitute.

Salt and pepper Chinese-style tofu? You could try it from the takeaway first, see what he thinks. Then if he doesn’t like it, more for you! 🫑

I'm amazed you cook for him - my husband and I like very different food. He does 99% of the cooking - I eat it or make myself something else. Would never think someone would do two separate meals regularly.

However my parents and brother are pescatarian and my husband eats a lot of meat so he thinks in terms of add ons when he cooks for them. Pasta... with meatballs for whoever. Poke bowls or taco night or bbq with stuff for everyone. Stir fry with tofu or chicken on the side.

We try to eat 50% vegetarian and have found a lot of Indian recipes with lentils and chickpeas and coconut milk that are great for anyone. No one here likes the fake meats (though we keep trying!)

If you class yourself as adventurous it's definitely worth a go! As is Natto which is divisive even in it's native Japan.
I think I've worked my way through every soybean food stuff I possibly can 😂

DP is vegetarian, I’m very much not but happy to eat vegetarian. Done properly it’s delicious but the stereotype about lack of protein is often true and it often lacks in texture, just a pile of mush.

I’ll eat pretty much anything vegetarian apart from tofu - it’s awful. Quorn mince is a really nice substitute for beef mince for bolognese, chilli etc. It doesn’t taste like “normal” mince and I’d be reluctant to tell a meat eater that it tastes the same because it doesn’t and you don’t want the reaction to be it tastes different so I don’t like it iyswim.

Problem with quorn (and I believe lots of vegan substitutes) is that they tend to be UPF so not something you want to eat too often.

Ottolenghi has some great vegetarian recipes, thought through, plenty of protein and also some texture. I’d recommend a Google.

I adore tofu.

The very best stuff is the Tai'fun smoked, which is pricey and only available in healthfood shops, but is so delicious you don't need to do anything with it, and it's lovely cold in sandwiches.

Otherwise, the Toofoo stuff is really good. I cut mine up, dust with cornflower and a tiny bit of oil and then airfry it till crispy.

My favourite recipe is this one:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/21/chilli-tofu-recipe-vegan-meera-sodha

Ottolenghi has a recipe for vegan bolognaise (ultimate traybake ragu I believe?) which is delicious for both vegans and non alike. Not sure about protein content for you but it’s def worth a shot

Try vegetarian haggis. Honestly, even my kids happily eat it (they are 3 and 6 and very fussy). Macsween's vegetarian haggis is amazing and it's vegan.

This is good Yummy
I hate fake meat stuff like Richmond sausages , fake-on etc.
I don't eat meat my partner does and we both the pie

Some source suggestions:

• Bosh! (books and site)
• my new roots
• meera Sodha’s books
• little green kitchen
• Ottolenghi’s Plenty
• Crank’s Bible

from social media a few with recipes (mostly vegan but some more mixed):

• Nat’s Nourishments
• the Korean Vegan
• Soph’s Plant Kitchen
• foodie takes flight
• max lamanna
• chez Jorge
• issey Sedgewick
• Happy Pear
• Mrs Hollingsworth (for lots of good chocolate rich dessert options)

I am an enthusiastic omnivore very happy to eat veggie and vegan dishes as a normal part of my diet.

But I cannot stand tofu in any form. However it is prepped and cooked it has a horrible sickly over taste .

Fully in agreement with all those saying tofu is not a meat substitute. Tofu is tofu🤷‍♀️

I do a chilli with bulghar. Just pour boiling tomato juice over the bulghar and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Use instead of mince in chilli.

I also do lentil enchiladas using red lentils. Fry up on onions. Add spices (cumin, coriander and chilli). Add some tomato puree. Add lentils and stock. Simmer until cooked. Throw in chopped mushrooms and a jar of jalapeños. You can put peppers in too.if you like. Fill tortillas, top with salsa and grated cheese. Cook.

Both bulghar chilli and lentil enchiladas have had rave reviews from meat eaters.

My adult DD is vegan. When she visits we do some mixed vegan/non vegan option meals and some full vegan. A suprise favourite all-vegan meal is sprout nasi goreng.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jan/20/meera-sodhas-recipe-for-sprout-nasi-goreng
Even 12yo DD and 14yo DS love it. With sprouts! I usually airfry some tofu cubes marinated in soy, garlic and sesame to top it. Tofu can be great or awful imo. Fried or air fried with crispy edges is the best route to tofu appreciation I think.

Not all quorn products are vegan friendly. There's eggs in a lot of the products.

I'm not crazy about firm tofu, but love silken tofu.

The skeptics in my life all love these preparations. We do eat meat, but I sometimes sub chopped mushrooms or sautéed aubergine for the pork in the first recipe

https://thewoksoflife.com/ma-po-tofu-real-deal/

https://thewoksoflife.com/crispy-tofu/

Unless you hate him, why would you?

Not being unreasonable as long as you tell him what’s in the dish (eg don’t tell him it’s meat when it’s not). I’m vegan so when I cook for friends/family it’s obviously meat free. I do tell them they can have meat on the side but they have to bring and cook it themselves, and 99% of the time they’ll just have the dish as is and enjoy it. Ditto cheese/eggs. I don’t pressure that they can’t have meat/dairy, it’s more of a ‘this is what I’m cooking, you can have some if you want’. I’ve found with a lot of friends that they started off by insisting on adding cheese etc to their own meals, but after a while and without pressure from me they have meat/dairy less when they eat my food simply bc they like it on its own.

I personally love tofu, but it is a bit of an acquired taste! Maybe start of with something less ‘vegany’? Eg I personally really enjoy a homemade lentil soup with soda bread. Easy to make and naturally veggie. Ditto you could make a dhal with rice and roasted cauliflower on the side. Even if he does have a bit of meat on the side, it’s still mainly a veggie dish which in my opinion is the most important thing.

Good luck, hope all goes well for you!

My 14 yr old is a meat lover. He really likes my 3 bean chilli though. Lots of flavour a chilli flakes and paprika. Hed still rather it was mince!! But it's the one vegan dish he really enjoys.

Tempt him to what, though?

General Tsos Tofu with broccoli is delicious! You need to make sure the tofu is good and crispy to make it at its best. Served with whatever rice he likes.

I'm by and large vegetarian, happily eat tofu and so do my kids. However it's very much an acquired taste. Dh hates the stuff. Cooked properly it's really nice. Cooked badly and you might as well eat your washing up sponge. Don't think of it as a substitute for meat, think of it more as a flavour carrier for the rest of the meal. Pretty much the only one worth eating unless you're blending it as a cream substitute or mashing it as a substitute for eggs in a quiche is the tofoo one. Even then I would strongly suggest freezing it first. It's so much nicer marinaded, coated in cornflour and then fried.

Most fake meat substitutes aren't that nice either and you won't be able to fool a hard-core meat eater with them. They have their own taste and texture, including quorn. They can also have 'explosive' digestive effects as they're usually high fibre/low fat, especially for those unused to eating them. It's also possible to be allergic to quorn as well, moreso if youre already sensitive to moulds as quorn is fungus based (NOT derived from mushrooms like they used to say). Instead of trying to trick your partner with fake meat there are a lot of recipes that are inherently vegan (Indian food especially). Could you try these out on him?

We went to a friends house recently and had cowboy casserole with baked potatoes
veggie sausages cut into chunks and mixed with baked beans, butter beans, green lentils, sweetcorn and onions
Served with a baked potato
My meat loving husband and kids wolfed it down and they don’t usually like much vegetarian food unless it has a lot of cheese!
It was really filling and had the right texture

Quorn is disgusting it's a fungus based slurry turned into a ultra processed product.
I don't eat meat (&haven't in years) I would eat a bacon butty before I ate quorn . 🤢

In the list of edibles there are something like 30,000 edible plants. And even if it's a mere subset that tastes good, you can mix and match and still have so many more options to eat than meats, eggs and dairy. People suggest that being vegan is limiting - but it's limitless.

I have a meat and cheese loving sibling that due to ill health has moved over to a rich plant based diet. They have always liked Indian, Thai and Mexican veggie dishes. So it wasn't that hard to scale back on the meat and cheese and branch out more.

I love tofu and could eat a block as is, but you are reliant on rich sauces for flavour really. You could try something like a classic thai green or red curry with Tofu. If you do want to try more plant based dishes, try adding some vegan sides to your usual meals. Slowly build up a repertoire. And before you know it you won't miss the meat dishes. Just have some fun and try one simple thing at a time. I'd avoid all the commercial substitutes, they'll likely just disappoint through comparison, and you'll be missing out on trying some amazing alternatives.

Sorry but “deliciously vegan” is like an oxymoron to me. Good luck!