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

The vegan version of Quorn is the mycoprotein (mushroom derived) without the egg white. Either or both may have wheat gluten. Quorn is a UPF but I wouldn't class tofu as a UPF. It's processed minimally- for example we process olives to make them palatable but no one is calling olives UPF'S.

Tofu and Quorn are vegan. Tofu's made of fermented soy beans, Quorn comes from a fermented fungus protein. The wheat protein product is called seitan. It's also vegan, and similar to tofu in appearance.

I think some people hate tofu, like they can dislike any other food. I've tried to cook with it and tried it in restaurant or people who know how to cook it, but I always end up leaving it aside after a couple of bites, even if I like the way it's flavoured.
I know people say tofu is bland but it's not to me, there is something slightly sickening in the flavour I can't shake with any amount of prep. I've got the same issue with other soy preparations like soy yogurt.

The main constituent of quorn is mycoprotein, the egg white is used as a binder, or potato protein in the vegan version I think.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycoprotein

Marinate tofu slices in soy sauce, lime juice, chilli oil and a drip of honey

Dust with cornflour

Bake/fry/air fry very hot for a few mins

Serve with noodles and stir fried veg, or in burritos.

So as I said, DP is vegetarian, I’m not and have no intention of becoming vegetarian.

That having been said, there is increasing evidence that plant based can be healthier (subject to what I’ve said about vegan alternatives being highly processed and therefore very unhealthy).

Generally speaking in this country I think people eat too much meat, more out of habit than anything else. And if we could get people to eat less meat we would probably be healthier as a country. And when we ate meat we could eat higher quality/higher welfare meat rather than intensively farmed supermarket meat.

Very difficult thing to do tho, lots of people just reject any dietary alternative and like to stick to what they know.

Having said all of that part of the problem is the smug, arrogant, superior tone of commenters like you. This “if you don’t see the world like I do it’s because I’m morally superior to you” attitude is going to put people off.

If you really care about improving animal welfare you need to convert people by showing them vegetarian/vegan food is just as nice as meat. Which is very doable, but not with tofu. It’s just unpleasant to eat. And not because people don’t know what to do with it, it’s just not nice. Lots of commenters on this thread have tried it and reached this conclusion. If you like it great, crack on, lots of us just don’t and never will.

I'm a meat eater but really like tempeh

Yes, fried tofu is delicious! It must also be thoroughly pressed to remove the excess water. So many places don’t prepare it properly which is why I think so many people don’t like it!

OP you might like to try paneer, which is a cheese used in Indian cooking, and is delicious in a veggie curry. Or I use halloumi cheese in the likes of a butter bean and cannellini bean stew. Tasty and filling and enjoyed by my meat eating DH and DCs too.

YANBU to keep trying to convince your DP to eat vegan and presumably you know any allergies etc. he has.

My workplace put tofu in what is typically and visibly a chicken dish (the dishes are unlabelled and chicken is served regularly) and I was very unwell as I am intolerant of soy.

I eat meat, but would happily eat vegetarian a lot of the time. I'm also a very unfussy eater - there are very few things I won't ear. I've tried tofu in various ways and think it's pretty horrible tbh. Quorn is worse and upsets my stomach.

There are sooop many lovely veggie/vegan dishes you can make without resorting to tofu, Quorn or fake meat. For protein, pick ones with pulses or nuts.

I think if he's not interested in trying then that's fair enough; you could perhaps offer him a taste of your food rather than presenting it as his evening meal. My DH only eats bland food which I soon get tired of. We've ended up eating out / getting takeaway a lot, but I want to go back to eating healthier meals. He'll basically get offered chicken breast cooked in the oven with some veg boiled on the side and I'll cook whatever I want to eat. If I get fed up of cooking two separate meals he can sort his own out. Life's too short to eat food you don't enjoy everyday.

You're aware that people have different tastes in food? Also, how tofu tastes has got nothing to do with your moral view of meat eating.

I'd recommend the Tofoo brand (extra firm) and putting the cubes in the air fryer with loads of seasoning unless it's going in a sauce. I like some of the tubs of seasonings - Tesco did some great ones at one point but not sure if they still do. They were all vegan but had ones with BBQ beef flavours, cheesy flavours, chicken flavours, garlic and herbs, etc. We often have a big plate of roast potatoes or sweet potatoes, roast broccoli and cauliflower, other veg like roast sprouts or courgette or carrot, a pile of crispy seasoned tofu, then drizzle various sauces on to change it up - sometimes we make a peanut sauce, sometimes something like kejap manis, sometimes just standard hot sauce or BBQ sauce, sometimes gravy!

I also use it in stir fries, sweet and sour, Chinese curry, but air fry it first and add it to the sauce quite late on so it doesn't go soggy.

Many vegetables, beans and pulses are good for protein - better than you might think. But another way to add some is adding a spoon or two of unflavoured protein powder to sauces and soups.

Hairy bikers sweet and sour tofu is fantastic and they tell you how to cook the tofu so it gets good texture

Then it just needs strong flavours - so we also sometimes have in a decent satay sauce for example

Done well it's a blow peoples mind dish but we struggled to make anything nice until we found the hairy bikers

Oh and freeze it first then defrost for a more meat-like texture.

Never. I'm vegan and I struggle with tofu. It's the worst choice imo to win someone over to our diet as it unfortunately confirms all their pre existing feelings about meat free meals - bland, oddly textured, beige and fake looking. If you want to convince someone a plant based diet can be good then I'd base the meal around foods they are familiar with but done up fancy and resist the temptation to offer something pretending to be meat. So get creative and flavourful with veg. I find Thai curries go down well using nuts as the protein. (If you're set on tofu though, I'd use bbq marinade and air fry for a nod to bbq pork, but its a long shot!)

Thank you - I've just checked the ingredients and there is indeed egg white in the veggie one and wheat and barley gluten in the vegan. And tofu is made from soy.

I agree with PPs that your mistake is trying to combine 'learning to love tofu' with 'keeping it healthy'.

We are a household of meat eaters and have tofu once a week generally, but none of us like it wobbly and/or plain, it needs to be fried and heavily seasoned IMO. We most often have the smoked Tofoo, cut into slices, pan fried and used in place of chicken in fajitas as a quick midweek meal, but often use it in cubes in a curry too (also pan fried first).
I can never be arsed to deep fry at home, but those deep-fried puffs of tofu you get in Thai restaurants are also amazing. Wobbly boiled cubes in soup make me feel sick however, and I can't see that changing any time soon!
I quite like scrambled tofu when there is plenty of other veg, butterbeans, and seasoning through it, but no one else in my family does, sadly.
A friend blends it to act as the egg in a vegan quiche filling, which is nice too.

The very best stuff is the Tai'fun smoked, which is pricey and only available in healthfood shops
I completely agree, it's the best. We will fight over the last (fried!) slice of this. It is available from Waitrose too, although the last time I bought it from there, I found it had been moved from the veggie/vegan chilled section to the chilled stirfry cabinet. I suspect their sales of it have fallen as for months before that I assumed it was discontinued, until I spotted its new home by chance. I rarely buy it now as DCs have got bigger meaning we need 2 blocks, and it's considerably cheaper to buy meat instead.

A carnivore will never eat tofu. Would you tempt a vegan with meat?

Oh, and apologies if already mentioned, but you could try 'egg fried rice' Crumple tofu up in the pan and fry in a little oil with turmeric for colour, salt, pepper and a little plant milk. That's your egg. Mix with rice and spring onion, mushroom and pepper and cashews. I think it makes good scrambled egg, but tbf I may have forgotten the real thing!

I also hate this way that so many vegans and vegetarians deliberately use an obviously wrong term 'hilariously' to define us solely as meat eaters - when they are the ones who have made the (perfectly reasonable) decision for themselves to omit major groups of foodstuffs from their own diet on principle; most of us do indeed happily eat all kinds of foodstuffs, with our choices within those made for reasons of nutrition, preference, time and budget (and also avoiding personal allergens, of course).

Calling omnivores 'carnivores' is as disrespectful as it would be referring to vegans and vegetarians as 'carrot-munchers' or boorishly banging on about 'rabbit food'.

Whereas, of course, if you ARE talking about the diets of e.g. a lion or a rabbit, then the terms 'carnivore' or 'rabbit food' are indeed appropriate; just not for humans.

Tofu is only as good as the sauce or spices it's sat in.

I love vegetarian and vegan food but you couldn't tempt me with tofu, it's vile.

My dogs liked tofu.

The reasons for being vegan are usually ethical, so that's an obviously disingenuous comparison.

Humans aren't pure, obligate carnivores.

I'm an omnivore... I enjoy meat but also enjoy some vegan foods including tofu.

I’m a meat eater but eat a lot of veggie meals also. I don’t like tofu at all. And whilst I do like “fake meats” they’re usually full of crap. But I do love beans, lentils, chickpeas (if done well).