I know how to press firm and extra-firm tofu, how to marinate it and lots of ways to cook it, but I’m wondering if softer tofu can be blended with seasonings and then firmed up by pressing?
I prefer the texture of the firm tofu for cooking, and I recently bought some with herbs in it, but it’s a little heavy on the thyme for my taste. I like marinated tofu, but would like to get the flavors more INTO the tofu.
Has anyone firmed their own tofu?
I have not, but I know that it can be done, because a restaurant near here makes “fried stuffed tofu”. It’s not really stuffed - it’s a patty of crumbled or blended tofu into which slivered vegies have been mixed, and then the patty is formed and fried and served with tempura dipping sauce, grated daikon and scallions (yum). It’s one of the most popular dishes at this place, and rightly so.
I theorize that soft tofu is broken up or sieved, mixed with vegies and seasonings, and then formed into patties and pressed until they’ve firmed up and dried out a bit. Then they probably coat them with cornstarch before giving them a quick fry in the fryer.
Let me know how you work this out. I’d like to try something like this, too.
That sounds really yummy. I did a search on tofu patties, and also on stuffed tofu, and what you’re describing sounds more like the patty recipes - the stuffed ones either rely on premade deep-fried tofu pockets, or simply putting a filling into a “pocket” in a slice of firm tofu. I can totally see doing the patties along the lines of egg foo young… mmmmm…
I think I would like to somehow internally season the tofu itself though, rather than make it into patties - something I could then slice up and use in stir-fries or some sauteed dish like a chicken-less chicken marsala.
Hey, I found this recipe. Apparently what the restaurant serves is called “ganmo”. It looks like cotton tofu is pressed and drained thoroughly, then ground or blended into a paste, and then seasonings or fillings are mixed in. The ones I’m thinking of had shredded carrot, shiitake, gobo, and onion in them. A little salt and sugar were the only seasonings, but one could season them in any way at all, for any kind of recipe, using this method.
From your link: "At just the right temperature, the bit will sink a little,
then rise and make cheerful frying noises. " 
Now I have to go look up “cotton” tofu… Aha: "Cotton tofu is softer than the soft tofu sold in America, whereas silken tofu is very close to American silken tofu in texture. " Well, that’s sort of helpful, anyway. I may just wing it here.
This is just a wild guess, but maybe you could get some really soft, creamy tofu, blend your herbs into it, then hang it in a cheesecloth overnight.
From what I can gather via assorted web searches, no one firms up soft tofu - possibly because you can buy already firm tofu. The only firming info I have found is geared to making firm tofu MORE firm.
Nevertheless, I am going to try to mix some seasoning into tofu, and re-form and re-firm it. If, in the meantime, anyone has better information, please let me know!