Tofu???

smilesalot1969

:huh: i just decided to try tofu since i dont eat red meat and often dont each much chicken or fish either so i needed a protein alternative. But what do i do with it ( besides eat it of course) I hear its very bland so how do i make it taste good and is it high in calories?? If it is the cat is getting it :laugh:

Hkauf12208

Bump...I'm interested as well.

LilacDreamer

Tofu is an unfermented soy product and unfermented soy is toxic. please avoid it.

shanmackie

PRESS it then marinate it for a day then bake it.

here, this will help - http://happyherbivore.com/2012/04/what-are-types-tofu/

penguinlally

bumping for later...

CoachReddy

tofu is not toxic. you just have to cook it like every other protein.

you have to press it. set the block of tofu on a couple paper towels and put one on top too. then put something heavy-ish (but not too heavy) on top and let it sit there for an hour or too. Once it's dry it absorbs flavors better.

you can do this quickly with your hands too. and once it's pressed, marinades work wonders.

treehopper1987

This is an interesting topic and a lot of people hate it because they don't know how to cook it right. I am sorry, I don't have any experiece cooking it, but it is usually good in soups, and stir-frys. You want to cook it so that it "absorbs" the flavors of this dish you are cooking. I hope some others can help you more than me...

svgarcia

I use the cook-do sauce- stir fry the tofu in it. it's a lil spicy but really tasty. Simple and fast

sovannac

Make sure you get all the moisture out by pressing it with a paper towel.

Usually I pan fry it in olive oil, adding a tiny bit of corn starch to give it a nice crispy coat. Then I add in vegetables for a stir fry dish. YUM!

nekoface

Cut it in squares and bake it. Have it with other vegetables in peanut/satay sauce. That's pretty much an Indonesian dish called 'gado gado'.

crystalflame

Replace the meat in stir fry dishes with tofu. Otherwise, press it for a half hour to get the water out, get some teriyaki sauce (Soy Vay is a good brand) and some pineapple, marinate it for a bit, and bake it for 20 mins or so. It's tasty.

This is a great recipe too: http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/04/19/crispy-garlic-and-ginger-tofu/

Tofu's not particularly high-cal, but the sauces can be if you don't watch how much you use, so be sure you measure everything

Oh marinating it and grilling it with veggies (think kebabs) is good too. It can be tricky because the tofu's soft and can break off of the skewer, but it gives it a great flavor.

twoaugustgirls

I do not eat red meat or really anything besides the occassional white fish anymore. I enjoy the soy based morning star products which uise soy and have great flovor. Boca burgers are great too. Also beans and quiona are great proteins as well. Take a look at my diary and see that I usually meet or exceed my protein without even using meat.:)

ChapinaGrande

I use the soft kind in smoothies as a protein with fruit. It gives a thick, silky texture that feels naughty.

jfarnden

You can grill it, fry it, season it. You can add it to soup.
There's different kinds, some are harder than others, so if you can to fry it to go in salad or something get the firmer one.
If you want to do soup and stuff i think the one they put in laksa is silken tofu which is more jiggly and less stay together.
One of my friends is a vegan and he uses it to make fake cheese, its crazy but apparently tastes great.
Heres a common recipe for pan-fried:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/28805/pan+fried+tofu
and one for a vegan ricotta:
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/sidevegetabledishes/r/tofuricotta.htm
Just to give you ideas.
There a whole bunch of awesome youtube videos on tofu.
Here's one now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZikouwLEza4
Theres also a vegan woman making a fish burger out of tofu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7olnvHYp_U

kklemarow

Cut it in squares and bake it. Have it with other vegetables in peanut/satay sauce. That's pretty much an Indonesian dish called 'gado gado'.

YUM!

UB2011

Tofu in its natural state is pretty much tasteless. It's porous, so it absorbs the flavors of whatever sauce you are cooking with. One thing that I make is a pseudo red beans and rice (pseudo because I use quinoa instead of rice because it is a better complex carb) with extra firm organic tofu (really it is called super firm -- it almost looks like a block of white cheese). While I am cooking the quinoa, I throw in the Cajun spices and tofu. That way the quinoa and the tofu absorbs the Cajun-ness.

There are a lot of varieties of tofu: soft (a.k.a. silk), medium, firm, extra firm, super firm and baked (has a brown or tan skin on it -- usually marinated before it's baked so it actually has a flavor). Not sure if this is all of the varieties, but it's a pretty good list at list.

RawTriGal

other good sources of protein include quinoa, hemp, nuts, beans, lentils....
there is actually protein in everything we eat and there haven't been any cases in the developed countries of people becoming ill from too little protein (although there can be health concerns over too much)... so the worry that we aren't getting enough protein is really a myth. that being said, if you're still concerned about it and the above options don't sound appealing, you could also opt for a protein powder supplement such as sunwarrior .. it has 16 g per serving. (am not affiliated with them, just think their product is a great one.)

wishing you great success!
...scatter joy...
lindy

LilacDreamer

tofu is not toxic. you just have to cook it like every other protein.

you have to press it. set the block of tofu on a couple paper towels and put one on top too. then put something heavy-ish (but not too heavy) on top and let it sit there for an hour or too. Once it's dry it absorbs flavors better.

you can do this quickly with your hands too. and once it's pressed, marinades work wonders.

clearly you know NOTHING about soy. Tofu is unfermented, just like soymilk, soy meats, soy protein, etc. unfermented soy causes a ton of medical problems including breast cancer in men and women, endocrine disorders, fertility problems, etc.

don't talk about what you don't understand. do some research

smilesalot1969

tofu is not toxic. you just have to cook it like every other protein.

you have to press it. set the block of tofu on a couple paper towels and put one on top too. then put something heavy-ish (but not too heavy) on top and let it sit there for an hour or too. Once it's dry it absorbs flavors better.

you can do this quickly with your hands too. and once it's pressed, marinades work wonders.

that helps a lot thankyou!! i had no idea you had to press it i'd have just chopped it up :ohwell: i'll have to hunt out some decent marinade recipes now. :bigsmile:

smilesalot1969

other good sources of protein include quinoa, hemp, nuts, beans, lentils....
there is actually protein in everything we eat and there haven't been any cases in the developed countries of people becoming ill from too little protein (although there can be health concerns over too much)... so the worry that we aren't getting enough protein is really a myth. that being said, if you're still concerned about it and the above options don't sound appealing, you could also opt for a protein powder supplement such as sunwarrior .. it has 16 g per serving. (am not affiliated with them, just think their product is a great one.)

wishing you great success!
...scatter joy...
lindy

ooooh no thankyou Lindy. i do eat lentils, beans and nuts but ive never tried quinoa or hemp. Time to take a trip to the health food store i think!!

jfarnden

other good sources of protein include quinoa, hemp, nuts, beans, lentils....
there is actually protein in everything we eat and there haven't been any cases in the developed countries of people becoming ill from too little protein (although there can be health concerns over too much)... so the worry that we aren't getting enough protein is really a myth. that being said, if you're still concerned about it and the above options don't sound appealing, you could also opt for a protein powder supplement such as sunwarrior .. it has 16 g per serving. (am not affiliated with them, just think their product is a great one.)

wishing you great success!
...scatter joy...
lindy

ooooh no thankyou Lindy. i do eat lentils, beans and nuts but ive never tried quinoa or hemp. Time to take a trip to the health food store i think!!

I tried lentils but we're too impatient to soak them at our house, a friend of mine suggested picking up instant polenta from the markets as it takes heaps less time to cook and no soaking. I dont know what the difference is between it and normal soak it for days polenta but apparently it works heaps better for busy people.

Edit: You can also get semi instant seasoned quinoa at the supermarket too. Check your health food aisle.

Nighthawk4

I use Quorn instead of meat.

No bone, no gristle, no fat, etc.

I have tried tofu - it needs most of the water squeezed out first and then cook with some sort of flavouring, maybe Oxo cubes or gravy browning, or even Soy Sauce (although this is also high in calories I think - and also salt).

I also used to eat TVP (textured vegetable protein) - not sure if that is still available?

I did try quinoa, but wasn't all that keen on the taste.