tofu - advice please

[Art]

ds - allergic to dairy is just progressing to soya products, but what do I do with tofu. It looks a bit like feta cheese, but can you eat it raw like cheese or does it need to be cooked? If so how do I cook it?
Any ideas for recipes would be gratefully received - thanks.

Art We use loads of tofu (dh is Chinese and it is a normal staple food, not a health type product there)Will try to look up some proper recipies, but off the top of my head, here are some things we do with it.(You do need to cook it, and imo itgeenerally needs to be with stuff that has a strongish flavour as it can be too bland otherwise. I love it (why am i called soyabean?!)Are you veggie?
We stir fry it with veg and sometimes a little bit of mince or chopped bacon. If you chop the tofu into cubes abt 1 cm it takes no time to cook. You can fry it slowly in a bit more oil and it goes a bit crispy and golden which is nice. If you do that first, then take it out of the pan, cook the other stuff then add it back in it stays crunchy.
Have just thought, maybe you have a small baby, rather thna looking for 'adult' recipes? We used it lots when ours were babies too. If you were making a stew to puree, or boiling veg to puree, you can just add it. As far as i know it doesnt lose anything by cooking for 10 mins or so rather than stir frying. We aldo make chinese type clear soups. Best if you boil the tofu first, just for a minute or 2, on its own. Drain it, then boil some veg (spinach or watercress nice but we chuck in whatever is to hand) for a minute in some stock and put the tofu back in. Hope this helps. Its great stuff.

Dear Art,

Have a recipe for a vegan chocolate mousse which is a revelation using tofu but too rich and alchohic for your ds

6oz plain chocolate (eg'Green&Black)
2floz orange juice
8oz silken tofu
2oz muscovado sugar
4oz vegan margarine
1oz dates/apricots
1floz whiskey - optional
1 shot of cointreau -optional

Melt chocotate in orange juice, either in microwave or for 2 minutes in saucepan on medium heat. Mix all other ingredients together in blender, then add chocolate whilst blending. Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

I'm not really answering your question but its a lovely recipe - its called 'Orgasmic Chocotate Mousse'.

Thanks - request was actually for ds (17mo), but I'll definitely be trying some of these ideas myself! I'm just looking for some variety as ds has been allergic to soya protein too up til now and his diet is a bit boring. Now he can eat soya its opened up lots of possibilities, but none that I'm used to cooking!

Art, I have a book which is just tofu recipies that I got at a health food store. I'm off on a trip early in the morning, but I'll look up the name of the book when I get back.
Tofu on its own is pretty yucky and bland. It really needs to be cooked into things. A bit like pasta...you'd never eat it plain.
Are you in London? If so, there are many Chinese cash and carry's that sell a whole slew of different types of tofu.

Hello
I have heard many time that soya products were really not recommended for baby boys in particular... you guys seem to think otherwise... can I ask (without starting a debate - maybe?) if you either disagree with these anti-soy claims or just do not know them ?
Thank you

Thewiseone - no I've never heard that soya isnt good for children. Why not?

The name of the book would be great - thanks SofiaAmes.

Hi wise one. I was told by a nutritionist & my hv that large amounts of soya products (dunno how large is large) were a really bad idea for baby boys , as they contained such high levels of oestrogens, or oestrogen-mimicking chemicals. This was a really big factor in me deciding to move away from veganism & introduce dairy for my son. As he was a baby I didn't ask up to what age was considered safe vs. unwise.

Might be worth checking, as you could try rice-milinstead of soya, and quorn intead of tofu perhaps.

btw I love tofu. Try freezing it - the texture changes & it's really yummy

Monkey, I'm not disputing what you say about soya products and oestrogen, but don't dairy products also contain harmful hormones? Cows are dosed with hormones to keep their milk production up so surely some of it must come back out through the milk. I might be wrong here and I don't know what hormones are used on cows but people from eastern cultures who use soya in preference to dairy products don't seem to suffer at all. Just food for thought!

I am no expert but I have heard many times that soya contains oestrogen like hormones, this is why some recommend soya based products for HRT.
Here is a website that I have found. I know this is also a hot issue in the US.

I know pamt, but clearly the crap they stuff the cows with (sorry all the farmers) isn't oestrogens, and fact is that soya, like it or not is jam packed with them, and as a vegan mother with baby son, I personally chose to not give him a high-oestrogen diet. I am no expert, just trying to help art consider all aspects, after all, how else can one make an informed choice? If art's ds is allergic to dairy then the crap in milk is irrelevant, being a ds the crap in soya is relevant, and there are alternatives to both dairy & soya, which may be useful for her to know. That's all

Sorry - didnt mean to start this dispute. Thanks to you all for replying. I was concerned about the soya and oestrogen and so have decided to just give it to ds occasionally. I've got an appointment with the paediatrician coming up so maybe i'll discuss it then.