Tofu

[Mummyoftwo91]

I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years and I've never loved tofu, I've never cooked it myself at home anyone have any tips on how to cook it

Tofu is something that DH and I have struggled to get right. I found a couple of recipes over the weekend to try and crack this. The ones I found are this and this. Haven't tried them out yet but will do later this week.

Let me know how you get on! I've only ever had it in noodle soups in Asian restaurant and found it very sponge like, I'm thinking of marinading it and grilling it might be the way forward

Tofu satay is delicious. Use regular tofu,, not the silken one.

TOFU SATAY

500g tofu
1/2 tablespoons cornflour.

For the sauce:

3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter - try to use a good one, with no added sugar.
1 tbsp chilli bean paste - I use Lee Kum Kee Chilli Bean sauce - widely available. (I got mine in Waitrose, ).
1 or 2 cloves finely grated/minced garlic
2 tsp peanut oil
2tbsp cider vinegar
2tbsp soy sauce
freshly ground pepper
2tbsp sugar syrup - dissolve 2 tsp sugar in 2 tbsp hot water.

Mix all these up - and add extra of any according to taste. You may want to add more warm water to thin it out. Taste as you go - you may want to add less chilli, specially if it's a new jar!

For the tofu - you want firm tofu - freeze it. Get it out the night before you want to use it. Open the tofu over the sink - squeeze out as much liquid as possible with your hands. On a chopping board squeeze out more water using kitchen towel as a blotter.

Cut the tofu into bite sized pieces. Gently mix these with 1 or 2 tbsp corn flour till all the pieces are coated.

In a frying pan, heat some oil ( not olive, peanut or sunflower best as they are tasteless)- fry the tofu until most sides are golden and crisp, put into a bowl and cover with about a third of the sauce (reserve some of the sauce for serving). Let it sit for at least 1 hour.

Then put tofu and sauce into a frying pan - cook for 5-10 mins until crispy - serve!

The sauce quantities are for 500g of tofu.

I'd like to know as well OP!
I've learned to cook a lot of veggie food over the last year as DS2 is veggie. Tofu seemed like a promising addition to his diet but we have failed to make it edible.
First of all it's a wet soggy fragile lump of jelly. I followed instructions to drain it, coat in spiced flour and fried it then added to stir fry. It wasn't very nice.

Buy the cauldron one in liquid. Drain it then press it between two boards with clean tea towels. Put some tins on top to press it. Then marinade and cook, stir fry etc.

This is the one I bought. Ooh that satay recipe sounds delicious

That satay sounds gorgeous! I haven't ever cooked tofu but have eaten it when I've been out for a meal and really liked it.

The only tofu I remotely like is Cauldron marinated tofu pieces, any recipes I make are nowhere near as good. I can eat it in a restaurant but just can't manage to do anything nice with it at home... I fail a tofu :(

Try the Jamie Oliver tofu stir fry it's delish

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/simple-veggie-tofu-stir-fry/

I love tofu. I like it cut into cubes and dredged with seasoned flour, then fried until really crispy and served with sriracha for dipping. I think a lot of people struggle with the texture and as a pp said it gets firmer after it has been frozen. I also press it in a colander with a heavy stone mortar to weigh it down, for several hours. It also soaks up marinades really well, I slice it very finely and marinate with soy, liquid smoke, tomato purée and nooch, then bake until really crispy for vegan bacon, this is really delicious with avocado in sandwiches.

i made a curry with mine - just fried onions and some other veg, then added curry powder and after few mins a tin of coconut milk and then left to simmer for about 30 mins. i quite liked it. husband ate it too and he's really fussy, though i did add a fish portion to his dinner as he is a carnivore.

Try the Tofoo smoked tofu - fry slices until crisp and use in stir fries. We just did an adaptation of a Rose Elliot recipe with hoisin sauce, which I can post if wanted.

Jaimie Oliver tofu burgers, from his superfoods book, are amazing.

Tofu, breadcrumbs and marmite!

Also tofu teriyaki. Fry the pieces till golden then tip in soy sauce, mirin and sake. Boil up. Yum!

I buy the one you've got OP. The quickest thing I do with it is cut it up into chunks or thick slices, spray with olive oil, and bake until browning and crispy. Then I use it in stir fries or salads, or add it to things like lentil and kidney bean chilli. I also use it in chilli's and curries without baking it first, just cut into chunks and stir it in.

I think pressing, marinating and baking is the easiest way to guarantee yummy tofu. This uses firm tofu- cauldron etc.:
Plenty of ideas for different flavours here,
A specific recipe,
And a straight forward one.
Pizza tofu- my friends' favourite. I don't bother breading it, just sprinkle some cornstarch on the pieces before they go in the oven.
If you have a favourite marinade already then you can just use that.

There are plenty of tofu stir-fry recipes on the internet. This hot and sweet glazed tofu was interesting though.

For something different this tofu, leek and tarragon pie was lovely.

Silken tofu is good for quiche/omelette type recipes. This, for example.
I prefer it in cheesecakes though- this chestnut, maple and chocolate torte is my favourite dessert.

Lobe this thread. Thank you OP!

I struggle with it too, OP. I bought that brand and it was the best one I've had so far - aside from the cauldron pre-marinated one which I just whack in with noodles.

With that brand, I shoved it in with loads of garlic, ginger and a mix of teriyaki and soy sauce, rice and lots of chopped up veggies. It was something I'd do it again.

DH is not tofu fan though, so i have to sneak it in.

Has anyone got any recipes for the silken tofu
I sauté grated courgette, then in kitchen mixer (or by hand) I put in silken tofu, little bit of soy sauce, tablespoon of gochujang, the courgette, mix till it’s a batter, then start mixing in plain flour until it’s thick and won’t fall off a spoon easily, then I use the batter to make savoury pancake type things.

www.mobkitchen.co.uk/crispy-sesame-tofu-with-sticky-sauce-2/

This is yum

Great thread OP (and yes, I am marking my place as I’m getting ready for work)

I love tofu!

The flavoured Taifun tofu is the most accessible as it needs no prep.

The smoked one is good crispy fried in coconut oil and have with stir fry, or ramen noodles or something.

The olive one is great sliced in half and used as a burger filling or in a tomato pasta salad type thing. Or just fried and eaten as is!

Normal ‘extra firm’ tofu needs to be pressed and marinaded and preferably deep fried, but I can’t stand deep frying so usually do crispy baked oven tofu.

This is a surprisingly nice tofu thing:

cookieandkate.com/2014/roasted-brussels-sprouts-and-crispy-baked-tofu-with-honey-sesame-glaze/

If you’re ever in a decent Vietnamese restaurant order salt and pepper fried tofu.... so freaking nice. Melts in the mouth. Amazing!

Oh, tofu’s structure changes if you freeze it. It firms up more.

I often press a couple of blocks at a time then cut into cubes and freeze.

Then if I want to do something like Tofu Tika Kebabs or Tofu Satay Skewers I get the bag of tofu out of the freezer in the morning, then when I get in from work get it in the marinade, then cook it.

The colour goes a bit funny but if you are marinading (which you are, because non marinaded tofu is pointless) it’s fine.