(Stick an extra “s” on the end of kabbes in the third paragraph above)
Um, and how does the OP know they don’t know what vegan means, when no one ever asked them for a vegan meal?
And HOW is it the deli person’s fault? Did you say, ‘No eggs?’
If you didn’t, it’s YOUR fault, dumbass.
The pig in the Simpson’s “Garden of Eden” episode, delightedly ripping off a strip of bacon here, a sparerib there…
Are you using the tofu that comes in a juice box style of packaging? Don’t. Use the kind that comes in a tub of water with a sheet of plastic on top. Before use, wrap a clean towel around it, and place it on a cutting board. Lay a couple of books on top of the tofu - just enough weight to gently press down on it without squashing/breaking it. Let sit for a half hour to an hour. Then remove from the towel, and marinate/whatever as needed.
If you need more firmness, consider pre-cooking the tofu some before adding it to a stirfry - either fry lightly in oil, or bake in the oven.
Kabbes,
Put the tofu (buy extra firm) on a plate between two paper towels. Squish with something heavy (I use a big butcher block type cutting board) for an hour or so. It will still crumble, but not nearly so bad.
My sister in law can beat you. Vegan. Kosher. Wheat allergy. Citrius allergy (including tomatos). Oh, and she doesn’t like most vegetables. This means that some of my main standbys for vegetarian cooking are out. Eggs and cheese dishes - out, due to the dairy. Pasta dishes - out due to the wheat. I make a killer tofu and asparagus stirfry (usually a pasta dish, but I left the noodles out for her) - but she doesn’t like asparagus. Take the tomatos out of anything you are cooking (which adds a damper to a lot of stuff). But now that she is keeping strict kosher, she can’t eat out of my kitchen anyway.
Few people mind vegetarians who take care of themselves. They show up at BBQs with the Boca Burgers in a cooler “just in case you forgot.” (and if picky about putting them on the grill on top of your beef fat, pull out a piece of tinfoil to cover the grill.) They stand up for themselves when choosing a restaurant “oh, you know, I don’t think we’ll be able to find much to eat there, how about xxxx?” They question the waiter on the contents of the food, so they aren’t surprised by the beef base in the soup. There are two types I find very annoying. The first is the evangelical vegetarian - convinced he can convince me to find steak disgusting. This is as bad as me looking at my veggie friends and insisting they try “just one bite” of my burger, or inviting them over and sneaking meat into the dishes (wouldn’t do either btw). The second is the martyr - always hungry because “no one understands” and apparently incapable of fixing themselves a hummus and pepper sandwich (which sounds really good). Prisioner is a martyr.
The SDMB.
We get knowledge and damn good practical advice on tofu preparation.
Unique or what;)
I think there are vegan cheese-substitutes. There certainly are non-rennet cheeses.
I think the problem is that the OP’s definition of vegetarian is “no meat, no eggs, but cheese and milk are ok.” Mine is “no meat, eggs, cheese and milk are ok.” I thought mine was the common definiton (it seems that way in UK restaurants) but maybe his is. Do most people in the US agree with your definition?
Shade, I don’t think the big issue is what is the US or UK definition of vegetarian. The big issue (IMHO) is that prisoner6655321 didn’t tell the deli person what his/her requirements were and is now bitching about the results.
Simple solution:
Orderer: What comes on the “xyz” sandwich?
Deli Person: Some ‘x’, some ‘y’, some ‘a’, some ‘2’, some ‘g’, and some ‘z’.
Orderer: Il have that but hold the ‘g’ and the ‘2’.
Deli Person: Sure thing.
Everybody is happy, right?
Thanks for the tofu tips, Ferret H and Dangerosa
Also, kabbes, what kind of tofu are you buying? For stuff like stir-fry, I usually use the “Extra-firm” designation, and then follow the procedure outlined by Ferret Herder and Dangerosa. However, I alter it a bit buy cutting it into slices before pressing it. You can squeeze it without so much worry of damaging the structure, which helps keep it from disintegrating.
As for cooking, what ever I’m using it in, I usually fry it in just a bit of oil beforehand, which also seems to help with its structural integrity. I keep it in the slices, if I’m using it as, for example, a barbecue-type dish (or, my wife’s favorite, tofu piccata), or I cut it into cubes if it’s going in stir-fry.
He seemed to expect the Deli to understand his definition - I was trying to give the benefit of the doubt that maybe they should have done… I agree specifying what is/is not ok is best if there’s any doubt.
That said I bet in some places you get a lot of:
This is vege, yes?
Yes.
No meant, right?
Yes.
Including chicken?
Yes.
OK. One please.
OK.
Hey, it’s got chicken.
Yeah.
I do pretty much exactly what carrot does when i cook tofu. You don’t have to fry it dark brown; just enough to give the outside a slight toughness that will resist crumbling.
Often, however, in stews and curries, i find that the tofu i usually buy (Trader Joes extra firm organic) doesn’t fall apart if i’m careful when stirring the pot.
Yeah, I never show up at a bbq empty handed, I always bring Boca burgers, and enough to share (you’d be suprised how many people want to try them and upon trying them, would rather have them than the real burgers!) 'couse, I always bring beer or something as well, that’s just good manners.
kabbes, are you doing a cleanse? You mentioned detox. If you are, I’ve got a cleanse cookbook, email me if you want some recipies.
I agree with everyone’s suggestions on how to use tofu in stir fry, also you can try freezing it. It completely changes the texture, but when marinated right it can be DAMN tasty. I usually do that when I use it in enchaladas.
And MC Master of Ceremonies, you’re obviously in here for the sole purpose of “baiting” vegetarians. That’s generally considered rude and generally as obnoxious as those evangical vegetarians who go around preaching. Just an FYI.
Oh I know it. But I’ve met so many vegans with just the sort of militant attitude the OP engenders, that it’s just ingrained in me to be disdainful when someone tells me they’re a vegan.
I would eat a human egg, but there’s the problem of getting them out, and you would need an awful lot of them for a decent breakfast. Plus I like eggs scrambled, and imagine the teeny, tiny wisk I would need for that.
I do draw the line at human bacon.
I’m not on a cleanse right now, lezlers, but the kabbess and I do one at least a couple of times per year. (As it happens, the loss of meat I have no problem with since I don’t eat it much anyway. It’s the loss of dairy, because white and cheese sauces are out and, most of all, the loss of a nice cup of tea that most does for me). Anyway, as you know variety is really hard when detoxing so I would really appreciate any recipes that might liven things up. At least I’ve really learned how to use herbs and spices effectively – you have to when you’re not allowed to use any ingredients with taste!
I’m looking forward to getting some tofu to try some of these ideas out. I didn’t even know you could get it in different firmness ratings, so that was presumably my problem. And freezing it: interesting. Do you marinade it before or after freezing? Or leave it freezing in the marinade?
carrot and mhendo - I’ve found that flash pre-frying just meant that it went a bit firmer on the outside but then wouldn’t cook on the inside, so it was slimy in the middle instead of having that nice Chinese take-away feel all the way through. Any ideas of what may have been going wrong?
And do you think that it’s OK to make something useful out of this thread, or has the tofu hijack gone far enough?
pan
Judging from the braindead nature of the rant, I’d say the OP is actually a breatharian.
On a diet.
Hmm…the only thing I can think is maybe you’re cooking it on too high a heat, so that the outside gets done but the inside doesn’t have enough time.
lezlers, I’m a bit interested in hearing about the freezing technique myself, as I’ve only ever used it as a pre-crumbling step. It seems to me that the texture gets more grainy and more conducive to that sort of thing. Are you talking about something different?
As for the hijack,…Well, at least it’s about vegetarian food. I guess we could discuss pie, ir you’d rather.
I’d say the average American thinks of vegetarian as “no meat, dairy and fish usually OK”, and Vegan as “a whiny, immature no-it-all who feels that they have to push their agenda on others.”
Marinade it after you freeze it. You know the texture of shredded chicken? That’s the texture of frozen tofu. If that gives you a better idea.
You don’t have to give up tea in a cleanse! They have detox teas actually, that are damn good. Also, herbal teas are still okay (or at least according to when I did my cleanse, a few years ago). The dietary requirements are CRAZY strict, I’m a vegan and they were strict as hell for ME! I can copy and scan some recipies for you, or just give you the name of the cookbook, whichever you prefer.
I think the tofu hijack is just dandy, since we’ve all pretty much come to a concensus that the rant is lame.