Firm tofu

[maslinpan]

I bought some yesterday as it was in the yellow sticker section. What is the nicest thing I can do with it? I like spice and I know I need to inject it with maximum flavour!

I like it griddled. The nicest is from my local Chinese - fried and covered in a spicy sauce

Press, then marinate, then bake or pan fry.

Or simply press until super dry and fry with salt on high heat in non stick pan until crispy. Then add to stir-fry.

Or freeze. Defrosted and squeezed tofu has a completely different texture to fresh. Much more chewy. My kids love it that way.

Forkfun is onto something there. I buy extra firm tofu. I press and freeze it before use. I love it coated in tandoori and beatroot powder then baked.

Beetroot powder? That's a new one, what else do you do with it?

I press it in a clean tea towel then cut it into cubes and toss it in a mixture of cornflour, salt, garlic powder and Chinese five spice, then fry it to add to stir fries.

Slice and press it first to get rid of some excess liquid!

I use tofu a lot in stir fries and chinese-type dishes - I either coat in cornflour and fry in a small amount of oil to get it crispy and then toss with sauce right at the end, or fry in a dry pan while pressing down to squeeze moisture out. That makes it "meatier" (chewier).

Tofu goes well with salty/spicey flavours. Look up recipes for sea spice aubergine- tofu goes really well in this dish or with the sauce. I would dice it, fry until golden, then make a sauce of stirfried garlic, chilli, spring onion, soy sauce, veg stock, sugar, maybe miso, bit of cornflour to thicken. Then toss fried tofu in this and heat through

Yes yes yes - that sounds like the one in my favourite Chinese restaurant and it is lovely.

Part one

Part two

Part three ..... I can't post as I didn't realise there's a limit 😂

Google Bosh crispy chilli tofu. Amazing!

amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/25/vegetarian-recipes-black-pepper-tofu

This is amazing. But super spicy - be prepare to cut the spices in half.

Also I always freeze tofu first, allow to defrost at room temp, squeeze out really well before cooking for max firmness.

We accidentally discovered freezing,you can get it drier after defrosting and pressing so it goes crispier when cooked.

I'm late to this so I expect you've already chosen something but for anyone else who finds this thread may I recommend this Meera sodha recipe in the guardian: amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/05/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-broccoli-tofu-kimchi-stew?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCKAE%3D#aoh=15735734022033&amp_ct=1573573401000&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffood%2F2019%2Foct%2F05%2Fmeera-sodha-vegan-recipe-broccoli-tofu-kimchi-stew. You'll need to find vegan kimchi and gochujang but oh my word it's good, especially on a cold winter night.

I deviated from the recipe and prepared the tofu as I always do as I wanted to add flavour. I drain the tofu, wrap it in a tea-towel and put a plate with a tin on it on top, leave for an hour. Slice, coat in a marinade of sesame oil + soy sauce + sweet chilli sauce, put on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper, bake at 210 for 25 mins.

You can do tofu this way and add to all manner of things, it's yummy.