TOFU

Eggplant Tofu Bake.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361132463845704546/
This was the final winner after three failures. If this hadn't worked, I would never have been able to bring tofu in to the house again.

Lesson learned, pick the appropriate firmness for the recipe. I prefer extra firm.

Mapo tofu (minus the meat) or chicken less /eggless tofu salad. I also like a good tofu stir fry

I add tofu to most of my stir frys. It just absorbs the flavors of teriyaki or soy sauce or anything really. I also add it to some of my soups.

Some quick and easy ideas:

Add firm, extra firm or super firm tofu cubed to a salad.

Top pasta or your favorite "grain" side-dish (e.g., rice, bulgur, quinoa) with firm, extra firm or super tofu; top with tomato sauce or salsa.

Cube any style tofu and add to chicken, veggie, or miso broth. Beat an egg (or multiple eggs -- I would go with one egg for every one to two servings) and add to broth while stirring (so it forms threads, like egg drop soup). If desired, add hot sesame oil (la you) and red rice vinegar (red wine vinegar is a reasonable substitute) and green onion or scallion, either cut in rings or cut into shreds on the diagonal. Other good additions to the broth include carrots (small dice), oyster and other mushrooms, dried lotus blossoms, dried bean curd skin, dried shitaake, dried tree fungus (the dried ingredients can be found in Asian grocery stores or the Asian section of some large U.S. grocery stores, and should be rehydrated by soaking in hot water before adding to soup).

And of course, stir fries. Chop veggies (carrots, onions, mushrooms, cabbage, bell peppers, broccoli, etc.). Stir fry in heated oil with grated ginger root (add the "harder" veggies that take a little more cooking time first. Add chopped garlic (I find garlic burns very easily, especially at high temps used for stir-frying so I prefer to add it after there's already some other food in the pan), and stir fry briefly (30 seconds is plenty). Add sliced or cubed tofu (the firmer, the better). If using a sauce (that is, a combination of liquid ingredients and cornstarch), add and cook until thickened. If not, turn off heat, add soy sauce or Bragg's amino acids, a little toasted sesame oil if you have it, stir to combine, and serve. (You can also include meat if you like; I just tend to assume people who ask about using tofu are trying to avoid meat. Cut meat in small pieces, marinate if desired in mixture of water, corn starch, soy sauce, and rice wine or sherry. Drain and stir fry before cooking the veggies. Remove from pan, and proceed as above. Return meat to pan when you add the tofu.)

I just make a tofu veggie stir-fry with firm tofu. I don't usually marinate it, I just squeeze the water out and dust a little cornstarch on it, and pan-fry it in a tiny bit of oil until it gets nice and brown and crispy. Then I add whatever veggies I have on hand, a bit of sesame oil and some teriyaki sauce, and cook it all up in a wok and serve it over whole wheat noodles. Yummy.