Why do I still persist with Tofu?

[likelysuspect]

Every now and then I give it a bash, thinking its good for me, less meat as they say

Bought some again today, overpriced in some fancy grocers

As usual, its a nice texture but no matter how crispy I made it (I fried it), just nothing, no flavour

Ive served it with a really spicy stew I had in the freezer already so to some degree the blandness is ok

I know people say to flavour it up, but then Ive got to add a load of oil to it and when frying I find the spices or herbs burn. And then to be honest it just tastes of bland, with a coating, the blandness still endures.

I was vegetarian for 25 years.
I had Tofu once.
It was enough.

Completely agree. Halloumi is much nicer :-)

Try this: https://pickledplum.com/house-foods-honey-sriracha-tofu/#tasty-recipes-40942

Yes it doesn’t taste of much on its own but nor do loads of things right? Flour, chickpeas, lentils.

You're doing it wrong! I've made many tasty tofu dishes.

I’ve tried it loads over the years
only thing that I find palatable is buying super firm tofu, coat in salt and pepper seasoning and air fry with a blast of spray oil
Other than that it’s Bleurgh IMO

Stick to steak that’s very tasty

Oh my goodness that looks amazing - thanks for sharing!

Lidl smoked tofu and chilli tofu are both good value and tasty (IMO)

I do the same - every couple of years give it a go, but never finish the packet. I like it from the takeaway though.

Yes and no

Flour has a wheaty taste. Chickpeas taste of chickpeas and lentils, well you know where Im going with this

Tofu is like eating air, firm chewy, crispy air.

Tofu is bland, so it’s best in a really flavoured sauce. One of my favourite tofu ways is tofu puffs. They sell them in my Asian supermarket. My top three tofu recipes are if you aren't a huge fan of the taste or texture of tofu, then Felicity Cloake's vegan ragù is perfect.I chopped up the tofu and vegetables into a fine dice. The recipe is rich and delicious, and while tofu gives it body and texture, it's not dominant so perfect if you're more of a tofu sceptic.

Meera Sodha's vegan banh mi is more tofu forward than the ragu, it's an absolute banger, and as the tofu is finely chopped/minced, it might be a good intro dish. It's sharp, spicy, crunchy, fresh and comes together so quickly. It's probably my favourite tofu recipe.

My favourite tofu forward recipe is Ottolenghi‘s black pepper tofu. It's amazing. Totally packed with flavour and the firey sauce pairs so well with the relatively bland tofu.

But them no ingredient is for everyone, though I find the widespread revision and idea that it’s only good for the bin on Mumsnet bizarre given how widely and for long it’s been eaten in many parts of of the world.

Ive cooked that dish before with tofu which is why I know that you end up with a tasty sauce and bland chunks surrounded by a tasty sauce.

Nice sauce.

They had the smoked version and I declined it because Ive had smoked a lot before and like it a lot but then I wanted something to pick up flavours in other dishes which the smoked would have limited

I should have got the smoked.

I press it for a couple of hours (firm tofu), then marinade in whatever you fancy ginger/soy sauce/ lime/ chilli etc. then cut into thinish slices, coat in flour and bake in the oven. It goes crispy and slightly chewy.
I mean it's not a miracle solution, it's still tofu at the end of the day 😁but it is more edible IMO.

You can blitz silken tofu into smoothies if you want to add a bit of protein and you can't really tell it's in there.

Don;t buy it from overpriced grocers, you can get it cheaper in supermarkets. You can also freeze it if you don't want to use the whole pack all at once.

Don't you remove as much water as possible and crisp it up first so that you have nice little crispy cubes floating in the nice sauce as opposed to bland chunks? I like crispy cubes, but I totally agree that bland chunks are blergh.

Yes, I know how to cook the stuff!!!

Crispy bland cubes yes.

Crisping it doesnt actually add flavour, it just makes it crispy.

I’m with you there. But the silken tofu is great in some recipes if you need to cut down/out on dairy.

I wasn't patronising you, just asking a question, no need to go 'three exclamation marks' crazy on me. Crisping does add flavour, it's called the Maillard reaction.

Im interested in that and nearly bought that as well as I saw a recipe for chocolate mousse using that. Very clever so I'll try that at some point

Cut it into chunks mix with soy sauce and yeast flakes. Then bake in the oven. Then you can add to other dishes.

Ok no exclamation marks this time but again, yes I know what the Maillard reaction is. However Tofu is limited in this respect due to its make up, you get a bit, not much

My cubes this evening were very crispy and browned, no issue with the technique

And dinner was very good, just finished, because it was served with something very spicy.

I just disappoint myself keep buying it.

Ive got the rest of the pack to finish as well.

I love tofu but only the Tofoo brand firm tofu. I don’t like silken tofu. It’s so good made a little bit crispy and then in a nice sticky sauce.

I like it in homemade miso soup.

I am newly addicted to Taifun's smoked almond with sesame tofu. I could happily eat a block of it on its own. Delicious with a lovely texture.

I'm always surprised by how people seem to revile tofu. I absolutely love it.