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 make a couple of dishes with tofu. The silken tofu I use to make pasta sauce with roasted peppers and it is delicious. Really creamy and full of flavour (I add all sorts). I’ve also made teriyaki tofu where I let it marinade overnight then cooked it. Just used spray oil and again with the teriyaki sauce was actually really nice.
Have actually just need a lovely dessert made with silken tofu that I’m going to try next.

No other food seems to attract such evangelists determined that everyone would like it if only they cooked it correctly.

@KeepOffTheQuinoa Oh I have to correct you there. My mum, in the 70s would bang on about how I would love liver if I just ate hers, 'its not like they do it at school dinner'

No mum, its horrible.

I use paneer in pretty much any recipe that calls for tofu.

I know you weren't asking for recipes but it's against the law to talk about tofu and not mention this champion of dishes:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jan/22/how-to-cook-the-perfect-mapo-tofu-recipe-felicity-cloake

I recommend a medium tofu for this (Dragonfly do a lovely one) or go with silken if you prefer. Not sure it would work with firm but of course try it of you wish. You can get the more unusual ingredients online or in a decent Asian supermarket (get a proper Sichuan bean paste, not the Lee Kum Kee one - it's just not very nice). Finally go easy on the peppercorns and chilli oil if you're not used to it!

I love tofu but there is an art to cooking it which I still don't always get right. It's traditionally used in Chinese cooking to provide texture rather than flavour, because there's so many other strong flavours going on in most dishes - one of the reasons I think we struggle with it in the west as we tend to see it as a straight swap for meat, which isn't how it was intended. There's some fantastic tofu recipes in Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice cookbook if you like Chinese flavours.

I've waffled a bit so I'll rein myself in, best of luck with your continuing tofu adventures!

If your quinoa comes out slimy, you are cooking it wrong. It needs a slight massage/rinse. Cook it in exactly the right amount of liquid and it's beautiful. Same for millet. Just takes a bit of practice. Both do not want too much liquid. If you can cook rice well, you shouldn't have a problem with these grains.

Marinade it, it takes on flavour well. I use Maggie sauce.

Yum!!! 🙏X

I love silken tofu blended with some miso paste (white miso) then I mix it with noodles and beef bulgogi. It is very good. I also do firm tofu sliced and coated with cornflour then fried - once fried cover it in teriyaki sauce. It is very nice. Its a carrier so you need to add flavour but that can be sauces not just herbs and spices.

I agree, but I dont like the texture. At a food festival a stall holder convinced i would like it once it was smoked. It was like chewing on rubber. Specifically the pink and grey lozenge shaped ones we had in school

I'm not a fan but DD loves it! @AmyDudley can you post more detailed cooking instructions please as DD would probably love that.

The only bearable meals I've come across so far is this one:
https://www.recipetineats.com/chilli-lime-fish/
with tofu instead of fish.

and instead of mince in bolognaise.

It’s vile. Stick with good quality meat.

Try making Tofu scramble

I've been vegetarian for nearly 6 years and it's only been the last two that I've completely forgotten the better texture and flavour of meat and stopped missing it. Now tofu is great and versatile.
I find soy chunks are better in dishes that used to have chicken in, but I flavour them with nutritional yeast and vegan worcester sauce. That really upped the game.
The other thing is to have meals/recipes designed for tofu and not as a substitute. Then your brain isn't comparing to meat. I find firm tofu needs tearing rather than cutting so the sauce can get in all the nooks and crannies. Personally, I find it's needs to be deep fried or air fried to stop the spices etc burning.

Im not comparing it to meat, I like the texture, its the best part of it and I have torn it in the past as this was a tip I picked up some years ago, I didnt find it made a lot of difference to how it absorbs any flavour.

I dont have problems getting it crispy.