New to Tofu

Oh yeah I'm going to bump this post like no tomorrow

If you are new to it, I'd start with extra firm. It has a texture just a little more solid than ricotta cheese. Tofu has very little taste of it own and will obsorb other flavors so try it in spicy dishes. One really simple recipe I like is to cut the tofu in cubes and soak in low sodium soy sauce for a few minutes. Then dust it with corn starch (very little will stick) and fry it (very little oil will be absorbed). It makes delicious little croutons that are awesome on a green salad, especially when they are still warm and the salad is cold.

It's also really good crumbled into marinara sauce and served over pasta, or spaghetti squash if you avoiding pasta.
Mix with spinach (frozen or raw) and low fat mozzerella and stuff pasta shells, then top with spaghetti sauce. (use collard green leaves instead of pasta).

I just started using tofu, myself. One thing that's rarely mentioned on the packages (as far as I can tell) and that always messed up my recipes in the past is that it helps if you dry out the tofu a bit. I drain it from the package, then slice the tofu "brick" in half or thirds long-wise so that I have some nice, flat sheets of tofu. Then I place them on paper towels on a cutting board, put more paper towels on top, then another cutting board then weigh the whole thing down with something heavy - cans from the pantry or whatnot. Let that sit while preparing my other ingredients.

This seems to help the tofu soak up other flavors and also keep its shape while cooking - especially stir-frying.

No one ever told me you had to do this until very recently so everytime I tried using tofu - even the extra-firm stuff, it would just fall apart in my dishes and taste watery & bland. It helps a TON!

A really easy dish to start your introduction to tofu is stir fry. Create your own sauce, sautee some veggies (your choice - use what you like), add tofu when veggies are almost cooked to heat through and serve over steamed brown rice.

I like firm or extra firm tofu for this. Get a block of tofu. Open it up. Lay it on some paper towels. Top with more paper towels. And put something heavy on top. I usually put on a cookie sheet and some heavy cans or a heavy pot from my kitchen. Let it sit to drain the excess liquid. Then dice it up into whatever size you want.

Oh yeah I'm going to bump this post like no tomorrow

ok.... what does that mean? lol i always see it.

It's used to make the thread show in your "My Topics" section so you can easily check it out later.

Hi Tofu lovers....
What a great thread.

Stir fry with tofu and veggies is definitely a great entry level recipe for new starters.

For those wanting to try a few more tofu recipes - Here are a few additional ideas;

MISO SOUP
Miso soup is a great snack to have between meals. While it is best fresh - the instant Miso soup packets are also tasty enough. Pick them up from a good Supermarket or an Asian supplies shop.
Add firm tofu into the Miso soup and warm through prior to eating.

DEEP FRIED TOFU
This is obviously not as healthy as the direct tofu stir fry option but is very very tasty.
When deep fried the tofu expands and forms into a lightweight sponge-like structure.
Deep fried tofu soaks up sauces or soups much better than fresh tofu.

I live in Hong Kong and can buy packets of deep fried tofu at my local supermarket.
However you can also prepare it at home using firm tofu. Just google for a recipe.

FRESH TOFU
Fresh tofu is REALLY yummy - it is so much more flavoursome than the tofu you buy in a supermarket. One benefit of living in Hong Kong is that one occasionally comes across a fresh tofu stall selling tofu curd that has just been made. It is eaten as a desert with a sweet syrup and just glides down the throat..... Mmmmmmmm.... Definately worth trying if you ever see a stall in a Chinatown or if you are travelling.
These stalls also sell fresh soy milk which again is just a world away from the packaged variety. Hard to describe - just really fresh tasting and so more-ish.

HUNT DOWN A TOFU EXPERIENCE
If you want to try some fantastic tofu recipes without having to cook - why not head out to an authentic Asian restaurant and try some of these dishes;

1. INDONESIAN TOFU DISHES
My wife is Indonesian and we often go to Indonesian Restaurants.
They often serve side snacks with meals and deep fried tofu is one of these.
The basic fried tofu version is served straight up with a fresh chili for flavour.
This snack is also sold in street stalls in Indonesia - 4-5 fried tofu pieces in a plastic bag with a couple of fresh chillis.

Another Indonesian version is "TAHU ISI" This snack uses the deep fried tofu to make a triangular pocket ( similar to how you would use half a piece of pita bread) Pre-cooked shredded vegetables (sprouts /carrot/cabbage) are then added to the tofu pocket - then the whole thing is dusted in flour and deep fried. The frying in this recipe probably cancels out the goodness of the ingredients - but they are definitely worth trying if you can find them.

A more common dish that you would find in most Indonesian Restaurants is "GADO GADO". This as a steamed vegetable salad with a peanut sauce. It is very common for deep fried tofu to be used in the gado-gado and it is a great addition to a very healthy and tasty dish.

2. MALAYSIAN RESTAURANTS
Deep fried tofu cubes are often added to a LAKSA soup. A Laksa is usually a chicken soup stock mixed with coconut milk and infused with lemongrass, galangal, chilli and lime leaves to produce a spicy and refreshing soup. Added to the soup are noodles, bean sprouts, and chicken/prawns/veggies (depending on the type) and last but not least deep fried tofu. The tofu is fantastic as it absorbs the spicy soup flavour. When you bite the tofu the soup gushes into your mouth in a flavour explosion. Mmmmm...... Im getting hungry writing this !!
This has got to be one of my favourite flavours for tofu.
Try to find a Malaysian restaurant in your town and check it out.

3. CHINESE RESTAURANTS
Chinese Restaurants will usually have some Tofu on the menu.Personally I find some of their dishes with Tofu a bit tasteless. However there is one famous dish worth tracking down. If you can find a really authentic Chinese restaurant (as opposed to a suburban take-away style restaurant) try to find a Cantonese style Chinese Restaurant which serves MA PO TOFU. This is a peasants dish from Southern China which is a mixture of tofu, sauteed minced pork and chilli and garlic.
Very tasty. Worth the effort.

Before I finish - I would just like to mention TEMPEH. This is also a soya bean based food. It is made by fermenting soya beans - and forming them into a block.
The basic tempeh recipe is to marinade the tempeh in water/salt/crushed corriander seeds/garlic and to shallow fry in a frypan. It is really crispy and flavoursome. You can probably also find it in an Indonesian Restaurant.
Tempeh is sometimes also found in vegetarian restaurants as a pattie for veggie burgers.
There are other tempeh recipes that are great - but that would be thread-jacking - so lets leave this as a tofu thread.

Hope these ideas help - would love to hear any other tofu versions from others.

Thanks for this post! I'm curious about tofu as well and am borderline vegetarian, so I'm really looking into new meat free recipes

So I'm really interested in this question too. I've also been wanting to try tofu, but haven't been brave enough yet.
I've never really done a stir fry, but I could see doing that.
Now, for the tofu coated in yeast, I've never used yeast, could one use bread crumbs also? Or is yeast recommended? If so, any specific type of yeast? And does this turn out more like a chicken-less nugget, or more of a big bread crumb?
Loving all of these recipes by the way!
Thanks for them & for asking the question! :-)

TRY TOFU SCRAMBLE!!! YUMMM!!!!!!!!! get the extra firm tofu. squeeze water out of it, crumble it up put in a pan add your fave veggies, add some turmeric and mustard, and whatever spices you want. vegan cheese too YUM

You can also throw it in the blender w other stuff to make your own creamy high protein salad dressing.

That sounds interesting. What sort of "stuff" do you use ? Mustard ? Fresh Herbs ?

I cut a block of extra firm tofu into 6 slices. I then "dry" it out. Wrap in a towel and place some weight on top for about 30 minutes.

Then cut into cubes and marinate for 30 minutes in

2 to 3 table spoons of dijon mustard
1/2 table spoon of honey
soy sauce
seasoning salt
garlic powder

Bake on cookie sheet at 350 for @30-40 minutes.

Then mix with veggies or noodles.