Tofu -What to do?

Cafe Society
21

That’s like asking “why are you eating fish/chicken when you could have beef?” Tofu is not imitation meat. It’s a completely separate food item with its own unique flavor and texture. It just happens to be healthier than beef in many ways, and a good source of protein, so many people choose to reduce beef consumption and incrase tofu to get enough proteins.

Actually the best way to enjoy tofu is the hiyayakko: just plain tofu on a dish, with soy sauce and shaved bonito flakes on it. Grated ginger and chopped scallions can be added as well. Silken tofu is best for this. I usually boil the tofu for a couple of minutes and then run it under cold water, but I don’t know if this is strictly necessary.

Also I forgot to add on the nabe recipe: if using ponzu as dipping sauce, put some chopped scallions and grated ginger in the sauce too.

22

D’oh! Just beat me to the hiyayakko. Made that 2 days ago. I used firm tofu for it, though, and chilled it, tossed on soy sauce, bonito and green onions. Great with rice.

23

Tofu. Toe jam. It’s all toe bad.

Off to Cafe Society with you!

24

I was a vegetarian for 17 years. I eat meat now but I still eat tofu almost every day. One of my favorite meals to make is tofu chili. You can do it with or without meat. Just make sure you by EXTRA FIRM tofu and cube it, then throw it into your chili about 20 minutes before you plan to serve it. It’s yummy. The tofu absorbs the flavor and provides a potentially low fat meal (depending on whether or not you add meat) that sticks to your ribs. I would make a huge batch and gnosh on it for days.

The only recommendation I have regarding using tofu instead of meat is to use diced tomatoes in your chili rather than just some tomato-y juice. It’s more hearty that way.

It’s also good with rice and vegetables in any kind of sauce. Just get creative and throw in the stuff you like. For me it’s garlic, onions, crushed red pepper and a peanut sauce. A little peanut sauce goes a long way so you don’t have to worry about it being too fattening.

You can also try steaming your tofu, steam up your choice of veggies, steam the rice and add a dash of soy sauce, and/or miso for a tasty and incredibly healthy dish.

Here’s another idea:

Pick a handful of vegetables (your choice) any kind of sauce you may like, your tofu, cubed, toss into the wok with veggie, peanut, sesame, (pick one or more) and throw into the wok. Throw it onto some rice or udon noodles. Again, with the low fat yet filling meal.

Don’t be afraid to mix ingredients and spices that you may have once thought would not go good together. You may just stumble upon a combination that could turn out to be your next favorite food.

Check out websites that have asian recipes for tofu. They are a-aplenty.

25

Olive Oil not particularly good for frying in, plus it’s kind of a waste since it’s more expensive than other better suited oils. Also the subtle flavors of olive oil are lost when over-heated, plus it has too low a smoke point, so you can’t get it all that hot, which is essential it you want a good crunchy exterior. Stick to Peanut oil or other high smoke-point oils for frying at higher temps.

26

I try to press as much water out of mine as possible, spray it with Pam and then bake it. You could lightly coat it with your oil of choice and then bake it, which would probably be healthier than frying it. Then I toss it into my stir-fry at the last minute.

27

Update.

So, I went home, and applied information gleaned from this thread.

I pressed my tofu pieces (I cut them into little slabs, .10" x 1" x 2") with my new homemade “tofu press” (two plates, tofu in-between, with paper towel. Pressed together with a large spice rack and a 2-liter bottle of Diet 7-up).

I bought peanut oil, and got it good and hot. I then fried those little slabs for 2 minutes on one side, 2 on the other.

I bought some Chun’s Teriyaki (wow…friggin’ delicious!***), and dabbed it lightly on the slabs while they were finishing up in the skillet. Once the tofu slabs were done, I threw in an Uncle Ben’s Brown Rice (from one of those microwave bags) bag, a bag of frozen peas, and dribbled some more peanut oil (very little) on top. I tossed it around for a while…

And had a GREAT meal with it.

Next, the chocolte pudding, and maybe some other Doper suggestions. :slight_smile:

***: seriously…buy this stuff.

28

If you want to be even healthier try roasting/baking the tofu instead of frying it. I have a few recipes from a book, but probably shouldn’t post them (copyrite and all that). The book is titled The Roasted Vegetable written by Andrea Chesman (tons of great veggie recipies). I am sure if you google ‘roast tofu’ online you will get plenty of good recipes.

29

I post this recipe once every few months; it’s far and away my favorite way to eat tofu. Note that:
-Although it doesn’t taste at all oily, it’s pretty high-fat (oil, peanut butter, and tofu itself are all high-fat foods).
-The tofu isn’t tough–it’s pretty tender, actually-but the texture works really well.
-It’s not at all bland.
-Other than the high fat and high sodium, it’s a very healthful dish, full of vitamins, vegetables, and fiber.

Garlic and Pepper-encrusted Pan-Seared Bean Curd in a Ginger Peanut Aioli over Wilted Greens
Or
Tofu Kale Stuff

Use the first name if you’re trying to impress people, the second if you’re hungry. It’s not the world’s most attractive dish, but it’s pretty tasty.
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 lb tofu, cubed into bite-sized pieces
About ½ cup tamari
Water
A knob of ginger about the size of two grapes, grated
3 or 4 cloves garlic
A tablespoon, more or less, of chile pepper flakes
3 tablespoons oil (mostly olive, but a little bit of peanut and/or sesame wouldn’t go amiss)
½ cup natural peanut butter
¼ cup sesame seeds (optional)
½ cup chopped peanuts (optional)
1 bunch kale, torn into pieces

Put the 2 cups water on the stove. Once it’s boiling, add the rice, turn the heat to low, and let it cook for at least 40 minutes before you lift the lid to check on it.

Put the tofu in a microwave-safe bowl, add the tamari, and then add enough water to barely cover the tofu. Swirl it around a bit. Add the ginger, garlic, and chile flakes. Microwave the bowl for about seven minutes—this is like a quick marinade for the tofu.

Drain the tofu well and save the marinade. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium-high, then add the tofu and stir-fry it until the tofu is just starting to to turn golden. Add the sesame seeds and/or peanuts if you’re so inclined. Meanwhile, whisk the peanut butter into the marinade.

Once the tofu is starting to brown—or once the pan is getting so crusty that you’re worried it’s about to start burning—add the marinade and turn the heat down to medium. Stir it a bunch to get the crusty stuff off the bottom of the pan. Let it simmer until the sauce gets thick and lavalike.

Add the kale and stir it in well. It’ll look like the entire dish is going to be kale, but that’s because the kale’s not cooked down. Put a lid on it and let it steam for about three or four minutes. Check to see if it’s done.

Once the kale is starting to look tender, take the lid off and let it cook down again—the sauce will have become runny by virtue of having had all that kale moisture added. Once it’s looking thick and toothsome again, take it off the heat, and serve it over the rice.

Daniel

30

Lemme second this. The resulting tofu is much more porous and chewy, and is slightly better at picking up flavor.

31

Also, pressed tofu is much more able to absorb marinades. You can actually do some decent grilling with the stuff. Try orange juice.

32

How about Szechuan mapo tofu? You can get the sauce mix from an Asian food place, it can be made with or without meat, and, atop rice, it’s REALLY good.

33

Mapo tofu is really good. You might have to adjust spiciness level to taste, though.