tofu inspiration

[herbidacious Profile]

I realize that to some, the thread topic might sound like a contradiction in terms! But I have grown to like the stuff (as long as it's not the spongy version you find in Chinese supermarkets) albeit stuck in a bit of a rut with it - I usually end up pressing, marinating and adding it to a Thai style curry, but was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions. There's the rather revoltingly named pock-marked old woman's tofu, of course, but no fermented black beans (well there might be some in a bag, lurking in the back of the cupboard, but at lest two years out of date.)

I am pressing some now. It's use by date was two days ago and you can't stretch it with tofu for too long. (Will marinating it, using say, soy sauce and a little oil, amongst other things, make it last longer if I don't cook with it tonight? Or just disguise the fact that it's a bit off?)

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I'm trying to find a recipe for tofu roasted garlic aioli.
The one I've used is from the Voluptuous Vegan - if you have the book?



And Eric Tucker has his own tofu aioli, that I served with tempeh



Here's how to make it: http://gillthepainter.blogspot.com/2009 ... aioli.html

[Amyw Profile]

I attempted Veganuary , failed about halfway through , but there were some good tofu recipes posted . I’m not an expert but I do like tofu a lot . I think the key is to press well and cook over quite a high heat so you get crispy bits . I think crispiness is missing from a lot of meat substitutes. Pack it full of flavour viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4286&hilit=Veganuary

[ChinchillaLady Profile]

I have tried hard with Tofu, mine always has the texture of marinated bath sponge, bath sponge has more flavour though, must be doing something wrong, somewhere.

[smitch Profile]

I love a tofu scramble. Usually based on this recipe but sometimes I just add whatever is lying around:https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/tofu-rancheros-0. I don't bother with the avocado and sometimes use passata or tinned tomatoes in place of the salsa, just add additional seasonings.

Vegan Richa has some nice ideas on her website as does Meera Sodha in the Guardian.

I also really like this from Ottolenghi, I just make it with whatever greens I have in the fridge https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/mee-goreng.

I've also had my eye on this for a while https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/black-pepper-tofu-a

Fuchsia Dunlop has a nice ma po tofu recipe too.

Tofu is also nice in a veggie pad Thai.

[MagicMarmite Profile]

I press, press, then press more, once as dry as I can get it, I fry until crispy and add to stir fry, or actually just eat with whatever dipping sauce.
I love it, as does my tofu hating daughter.

[MagicMarmite Profile]

How funny Chinchilla.
Bath/cleaning sponges were my craving when I was pregnant 19 years ago, I ate loads of them, I also loved the smell of dry sherry!

[lfoxr deactivated]

there are many good japanese recipes
for the many types tofu.
fried tofu works pretty well if you don't like
swishy tofu.

[herbidacious Profile]

I think some of these recipes require silken tofu?

I have a tofu press. It's a game changer. Also some brands are better than others. Tofoo is nicer than Cauldron, for example.

I have a Meera Sodha book. Can't remember which one. Will look.

I had a memorable experience in a tofu restaurant in Tokyo, which combined embarassment and seriosuly overdoing the tofu. Alas it put me off tofu for the second part of our holiday - Kyoto, which is tofu captial. It was essentially a 4 course tofu meal with soy based wine and soy coffee. Soy dessert was on offer. We demured.
I have long since recovered though.
I actually crave firm, non crispy slithers of tofu, that have been marinated in something very tasty. Veggie pret do a delicious salad with slices of it.

That said, one of the nicer courses at the tofu restuarant was skewers of bright green and bright blue tofu presented in a little wooden crate. They were crispy on the outside.


Am very hungry and very tired so just ended up doing a Thai Penang curry, again, this time (using kit that provides just the paste, dry spices and cocunut milk.) I am adding various vegetables, and for extra protein, cashew nuts (and because I like them!)

I'd like to try the mee goreng next, I think.

A vegan friend bakes tofu strips.

[Lokelani Profile]

I had enjoyed the spongey flavoursome squares in a Pad Thai from a Thai restaurant, so wanted to try recreating it at home.

A friend recommended Tofoo Smoked, which I think I got from Waitrose or Ocado. However much flavour I tried to add to it, we just didn't like the taste or texture. It seemed to suck all the flavour out of everything I added.

If I wasn't a meat eater no doubt there would be more incentive to try all the varieties & recipes until I got it right. For those of you that do like it, I'd say try the smoked one, if you can source it at the moment.

[spangle Profile]

I love tofu when it's cooked in certain ways. My default is to fry it first before any kind of marinating - this seems to give it a crispy/chewy surface which is more porous and absorbs flavour better than raw. I slice it about half to one cm thick (so you only have 2 sides to fry rather than 6 for cubes!), and shallow fry in a plain oil e.g. sunflower, then add whatever marinade I'm using, most commonly soy sauce and sesame oil, which soaks in after a few seconds. Once it's at this stage I use it in stir fries or just eat it as it is (it's kind of addictive), or keep in the fridge for a day or two.

Also love salt and pepper/salt and chilli tofu from Chinese restaurants. Never got round to attempting to make it.

[Renee Profile]

I hadn't realised that fried tofu absorbed flavours better, so thanks for that information Spangle. I did buy some recently. One is smoked and the other is plain, but firm.

[lfoxr deactivated]

ankake yudofo Yudofu (Yu Tofu) is Tofu cooked in hot water (Yu) in a pot. It is a very simple Nabe hot pot dish. Usually the hot water is not actually just water but Kombu (dried kelp) broth to give the dish more flavor. It is typically served with tangy Ponzu sauce for dipping.

[sunflower Profile]

There are many varieties of tofu out there.
Soft tofu or silken tofu is best in soups, soupy stew or steam with other ingredients to give it flavour like prawn, meat or shitake mushroom. If you like to make a tofu sauce, soft variety is better as it is more velvety after mashing. I have seen somewhere tofu cheesecake recipe but not tried it.
For frying best select the firm type. Best way to fry tofu is to absorb any moisture with paper towel then lightly coat the tofu pieces with cornflour and fry only in small batches. If you really like it super crispy and you have an airfryer, put the fried tofu to finish the frying after frying with oil. This will keep the crispiness much longer. Another way to fry tofu is to coat it with beaten egg blend with some cornflour premix with a little water, do not add dry cornflour to beaten egg it get lumpy. Coating with egg it's tasty but not as crispy as coating with dry cornflour.
If you cannot find firm tofu, you can wrap the tofu with muslin cloth or couple of layers of clean paper towel and weight down with a flat plate with heavy object on top like a couple of tins.
Another method to draw the moisture is to simmer the tofu gently with salted water for 15 - 20 minutes before cutting.
Best avoid frying soft tofu it will fall apart and spit badly as it contains a lot of moisture.
All tofu after frying (pan fried or deep fried) will abosrd flavour better if use in stir fry.
If you are using tofu for stir fry and stew better use firm tofu or frozen tofu. Frozen tofu when defrosted will have a lot of tiny holes which is best for absorbing flavours.
Have you tried fried tofu puff from the chinese supermarket? It has a chewy texture and will absorb any flavours easily. Perfect for freezing if you have any leftover. If you pop these puff in the airfryer they will become super crispy, great as a snack toss in salt and pepper spice. Here is a picture of the puff if you have never seen it. Available in all Chinese supermarket in the chilled section.

[Renee Profile]

Before I moved to my present area, I used to see the tofu puffs, but didn't know what they were like, so didn't buy them. After your description Sunflower, I regret not doing so now and sadly I'm not near any Chinese supermarkets where I live now.

[herbidacious Profile]

Sorry but I really can't stand the spongy stuff! I think having this sort put me off tofu for years Each to their own.

I was more after recipes to use it in than ways to cook it, but should have specified that and the type I have. I will be buying some more firm tofu shortly if I can get it. But I suppose it could be substituted in any dish that uses chunks of meat? Obviously the result/effect won't be the same, but it should work? I am limited to whatever Tesco can provide at the moment though, by way of ingredients. We are not going to shops. However, I might treat myself to a trip to Wing Yip in Croydon when we are out the other side, for other ingredients. Or indeed Soho.


lfoxr I think that way of doing tofu constituted the third course of our tofu meal in Tokyo. We were brought a little metal pot that was shaped like a large deep shell and which had it's own burner. It was filled with bubbling broth to which we added slabs of semi firm tofu to cook it.


re the smoked sort, I find it a bit too delicately flavoured, and if you marinate it you loose the smokiness, which is a waste, given that it's more expensive. Would be interesting to try smoking it myself, though.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I've just spotted this in my faceblob newsfeed. Looks rather fetching.

https://www.cauldronfoods.co.uk/recipes ... M0tMja6SAk

The tofu is pressed, and you don't need to use the Cauldron stuff

[herbidacious Profile]

Looks nice! I do have cacao pwder surprisingly (bought to make my own 'Naked' bars a while back, but didn't get round to it.) Not sure about cocount oil.

Might be one for post Covid. Tesco orders are limited to 80 items, which sounds a lot but when I've not supermarket shopped for 2 months and are not sure when the next shop will be, I feel a bit obliged to order two or more each of certain basics and it adds up..

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Not sure about cocount oil.

Can you get hold of a (fresh) coconut, Herbi? Fresh as in one of those brown things they sell in the supermarkets.
If you can, remove all the coconut meat from inside, grate it (or blitz it in a blender) and put it into a pan. Cover with water and boil for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the fridge.
The following day you will have a) a layer of coconut oil on the top and b) coconut milk to use for cooking.
You can even re-use the coconut meat, although most of the flavour is lost. Toast it with some rice.

[KeenCook2 Profile]

Not sure about cocount oil.

Can you get hold of a (fresh) coconut, Herbi? Fresh as in one of those brown things they sell in the supermarkets.
If you can, remove all the coconut meat from inside, grate it (or blitz it in a blender) and put it into a pan. Cover with water and boil for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the fridge.
The following day you will have a) a layer of coconut oil on the top and b) coconut milk to use for cooking.
You can even re-use the coconut meat, although most of the flavour is lost. Toast it with some rice.

Could you do that with desiccated coconut, KK?