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

Tofu is a terrible meat substitute for western recipes, it's far better enjoyed as tofu in a recipe designed for tofu, from a culture that knows what to do with it (try 'monks vegetables', it's delicious).
Many of the recently-developed meat substitutes on the market are ultra-processed junk, so really no healthier than meat, and not much better for the planet either in a lot of cases. They have the advantage of being kinder to animals than eating meat though. Quorn make a lot of products, some of which are vegan, but some contain egg.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittinstall did a book called "Veg Everyday" which is full of recipes that just taste really nice, and happen to not have meat in, rather than trying to make veggie versions of recipes designed for meat. I think you might have more joy with that approach.

Chips?

Tofu is like wet plasterboard unless you heavily (and I mean heavily) douse it in sauces or flavours and by that point you might as well not bother.

There are so many nice vegan and vegetarian foods around nowadays. Tofu fir the bin!

How does he feel about it?

Surely the best person to be looking up foods would be him?

He'll have more of an idea whether he'll like certain things or not.

I don’t mind a bit of tofu if it’s fried. In fact I quite like that. I don’t like it if it’s all floppy though.

Overall I prefer bean, lentil, vegetable based dishes than anything fake meat or quorn etc

Have you tried cooking with paneer at all? Veggie but not vegan obviously.

I agree tofu is good in tofu recipes but isn’t a substitute (at least firm isn’t). It also needs handling correctly in terms of seasoning/marinating and cooking. I do a very good tofu noodles.

Soup (and I know the argument with this being a meal) is very easy to make vegan with coconut or oat cream if it needs cream without any loss of flavour - it is also very healthy!

pasta is also a good one - lots of very good roasted veg blended up either with silken tofu or cashew nuts. Needs seasoning and herbs as well. I just then add bacon or pre cooked chicken to DHs

Tofu is horrid.

Agree with all of this.

This is my fave tofu dish. My Omni DP and friends love it.

Top tip. Make up way more marinade than the video shows.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/c7qsN5q9reCYxUXq/

If he eats mushrooms he isn’t a carnivore, he is an omnivore.

Home made tofu is nothing like those rubbery blocks sold in supermarkets.
No need for all that coating in cornflour to make it crispy either. It crisps naturally.
I make three blocks a week which is a chore,
The only time I buy it is to make fake halloumi with coriander dressing because bought stuff has the right texture for it.

Why would you want to 'tempt' anyone with that foul-tasting toxin? I'd rather eat dirt.

I stir fry well dried tofu with garlic, cumin, coriander, chilli and soy sauce.
Stir fried with veg till al dente it is one of my fav meals.
I love my red meat.

I don’t get the tofu hate, we’re not veggie but try to have a couple of veggie dinners every week for health reasons. We quite like tofu in our house! It doesn’t taste of anything really, it takes on flavours so we always marinate it then use in curry’s or stir fry mainly. We also prefer it cut into smaller pieces.

I'll eat almost anything. But tofu is a big ask. Could not believe how something so apparently good for you lies so heavily on the stomach either. OH was vegan and even he didn't like it. Loads of other good vegan stuff out there.

Just make a tofu meal. If he does not like it he can make himself something else.

There is nothing tempting about tofu.
I would give up on that idea. I've also seen people mentioning lentils, but I hate lentils too, it's the texture, so it doesn't matter what they taste like, I'll still hate them (same as tofu really). So if he's the same, I just wouldn't bother continuing to try.

Mushrooms are a great idea if he likes those. I would happily eat a mushroom meal. But to be honest I'd probably still be hungry afterwards.

The problem is clear from your first post.

You're not just trying to get him to eat tofu - you're trying to get him to eat something healthy.

Vegetarian food is like carnivore food is that the junk version tastes much nicer.

I would be tempting him with fried tofu before trying to move him onto the healthier stuff.

When dh and I moved in together he said we wouldn’t have meat in the house as I’m veggie
Nice….I know……

Tofu, however, isn’t the way to go with a carnivore imo
Bite the bullet and buy something that’s more chewy and more like meat like
quorn
or make some seitan

Ps we’re still a no meat house after nearly 30 years

Just a tip for lentils if you want to give them another go.
Boil with sweat potato and some stock. Blend and use as a sauce for a stew, curry or pasta.
My kids aren’t great on the texture but this makes a great sauce with all the added health benefits
you can switch the sweat potato for tinned tomatoes, carrots, whatever veg you like

I made a really nice take on bulgogi with grated firm tofu - you can do all sorts with grated tofu though. I like it for texture.

Ottolenghi’s black pepper tofu (with a fraction of the black pepper he says to use!) is always delicious.

Have you used tofu skins before?

There are so many recipes online, I like LittleRiceNoodle and TheFoodieTakesFlight on instagram for ideas!

Sorry, but narrow mindedness about veganism is like a red rag to a bull to me.

It's usually people who lack imagination or who can't think outside of the meat and two veg box or who only like a bland diet who come up with fatuous and ignorant comments like this.

And I say this as an omnivore.

It's like eating a rubber.

Crispy tofu from Asian supermarkets is delicious.

I didn't used to like tofu until I had some that was properly cooked in a delicious sauce.

On its own there is nothing to recommend it but cooked properly with lots of flavourings it is delicious and had lots of texture.

Anna jones a modern way to eat is a great vegetarian cookbook