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

There is nothing delicious about tofu.

Tofu and fake meat is very hit and miss. I’m trying to drastically cut down my meat intake and have tried a few variations, Most if the time I eat pescatarian as a compromise.

I do love mushrooms so will eat a good mushroom burger as my beef burger substitute (where they use the big, flavourful mushroom
instead of a patty). Have tried impossible and other similar products and they have an unpleasant and bitter taste to me.

Also veggie pizza and pasta options are great. I know it’s not vegan but once again it’s my compromise.

We thought tofu was rank... until we learned how to cook with it. And it is so versatile!!!

We tried to go it alone every so often for a couple of years. Then we got a bosh recipe book, and the butter tofu curry opened our eyes to the possibility. I would suggest using recipes prepared by vegans on instagram, books and websites to get the best out of it. And we found that if we buy the brand tofoo for firm we much prefer it. Everyone has preferences but we bought like cauldron and some supermarket own brands and did not like.

Our next stop is to branch out after eating vegan at home for a year, to buy tofu from asian supermarkets. We shamelessly have not tried tempeh yet.

Beef burgers, I am sure it is beyond fresh burgers that my other half said are the best, it was one that made me feel sick and not believe it was pretend anyway

For pps recommending the tofu puffs, how do you use them?

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/black-pepper-tofu
This is the recipe that converted my househod to tofu.

We love it floured, fried and crispy, or in the chilli tofu linked up thread (although that particular dish is even better with paneer).

I also like it in Chinese tofu and sweetcorn soup.

As others have said, it's not a meat substitute, it is its own thing. We can't get on at all with seitan though.

Try this chilli recipe - it's delicious!

https://www.wearesovegan.com/ultimate-vegan-chilli/

Yes it has both marmite and chocolate in but don't let that put you off, they are the magic ingredients. It's honestly one of the nicest chillies I've ever had

tofu depends how you cook it
there are nice dishes

Love the sound of this!

Tofu literally makes me 🤮 and gives me a pounding allergy headache. Awful stuff.

Make a lentil moussaka or something, or one of the burgers on the meat free Monday website.

Tofu is the most repellent and repulsive thing. The trouble with a lot of the fake meats is that they are UPF.

Lots of curries/Middle Eastern dishes are accidentally vegan. Maybe start there?

drivemehungry.com/15-minute-thai-basil-tofu-stir-fry-pad-krapow/

Tofu pad kaprow is my go to tofu dish. Using Thai basil if you can get hold of it with a fried egg on top

I love tofu but wouldn't impose it (or any other food) onto my partner. His choice what he wants to eat. By the same token, you choice to eat what you want. He can cook for himself.

Tofu is rank.

Make your own veggie/vegan food. If your partner won't eat a meal without meat then he should cook his own. Bollocks to making two different meals every night.

I kind of prefer using my tofu as an egg replacement, so in tofu scramble or quiche, but tofu from a Chinese restaurant is delicious, I’m not sure how to replicate that at home.

Feel free to come over to the vegan board to ask for any suggestions, you don’t have to be vegan to post there (just need to be respectful of veganism). I have a thread on Veganuary 2025 at the moment where some recipes have been shared.

I didn't get on with Quorn at all. It was the texture really. In fairness it was a while ago so maybe it's improved.

OP, there are some really nice recipes on Good Food online for Mushroom pilaff if, as you say, he likes mushrooms.

So many saying Tofu is rank
You just don’t know how to cook it.

When you think about it, eating dead animal is quite rank.

Dd is veggie, we are not, but I find it easy enough to cook for us all. Sometimes veggie... enchiladas, tacos are easy with tomatoes, peppers, mixed beans being the main focus. Or Italian, pasta with tomato and basil sauce, garlic bread.
Sometimes 2 "meals" - like a roast dinner with everything but the meat veggie, plus either a veggie option or just extra Yorkshire pud. Or pie... meat pie + veggie pie. Make a few and freeze.
We don't find it hard, been doing for 12 years.

So many saying Tofu is rank. You just don’t know how to cook it.

I agree with this. I didn't like it the first few times I tried it. Then when DD left home and became really interested in cooking fabulous vegetarian meals I tried it again, and changed my mind.

Asian crispy tofu in sweet and sour sauce, the recipe I posted upthread and various other more interesting ways of creating delicious dishes with this alternative form of protein were a game changer. The flabby, odd tasting squares of tofu were no more. I also think that Tofoo is much better than Cauldron tofu.

For those uneducated posters who persist in believing that tofu is fake meat - no it isn't. It has been around since the 10th century and was eaten mainly in Buddhist countries to start with.

http://www.tofupedia.com/en/feiten-over-tofu/tofu-oorsprong-en-authentiek-keukens/index.html

I didn't get on with Quorn at all. It was the texture really. In fairness it was a while ago so maybe it's improved.

I've not had quorn for a while, but IME the products were quite variable. The frozen 'fillets' with eg cheese filling were quite nice; mince seemed ok in a 'bolognaise' or whatever but gave me stomach cramps (nothing else does) , and quorn 'ham' type of things were possibly the nastiest alleged foodstuff we've ever tried - the dog wouldn't eat it!

I agree with frying or shredding -something like this: https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-bbq-shredded-tofu-shredded-chicken/

Anna Jones has an amazing chili, dhal and also this recipe for black bean tacos that my and 14 year old want every other week pretty much. Lots of other recipes in her first cookbook also) https://annajones.co.uk/recipes/lime-and-chipotle-black-bean-tacos

🙄Eating meat is natural and healthy. Tried being a vegetarian and eating dead vegetation but the smell of a delicious meat pie made me come undone. I'd rather eat dirt than the inedible bland and depressing garbage that I see listed here as vegan food. I just can't understand how anyone can eat any of that stuff. People saying tofu is good doused in spices and goodness knows what just proves if you have to completely change the taste then you know its inedible on its own. It shouldn't need that much altering so that should tell you something.

Yeah, I use silken tofu as a mozzarella substitute in things like pizza. It doesn't taste of anything, but has a similar texture and melts the way mozzarella does.

The only other tofu I use is super-firm, which goes a bit like camembert if you bake or grill it - toasted on the outside, squishy in the middle. I have it with oven chips sometimes, and in baked potatoes.

I don't like the texture of 'normal' tofu: it manages to be both crumbly and slimy, and I don't think frying it helps at all. You could try stir-frying the super-firm stuff for DP, but remember to douse the stuff in miso, soy sauce and whatever else you have - the worst thing about it is the blandness!

Tofu is soy protein isn't it? And quorn has egg white, and the vegan version has wheat gluten?

I'd rather eat dirt than the inedible bland and depressing garbage that I see listed here as vegan food.

You really can't cook can you?

Yes, tofu doesn't have much taste, neither does plain boiled rice, plain boiled potatoes, plain couscous, plain boiled pasta etc. These all need the addition of seasoning, sauces, spices or other flavourings to make them taste good. I bet you don't eat unseasoned plain boiled chicken or fish do you?

Vegan, vegetarian and meat based foods can all be plain and tasteless or they can be full of flavour. You just need a good recipe, some imagination and an open mind.

I am an omnivore and enjoy a slow roast shoulder of lamb as much as the tofu taco recipe I posted earlier.