Tofu Help
springlering62
Posts: 8,437 Member
I loooove tofu.
I cannot cook it well to save my life. There must be some step or technique I’m just missing.
How do you cook yours? Need help from the beginning: from unwrapping and pressing or draining all the way through cooking.
I tried cooking firm marinated tofu in an aircrisper yesterday and it just came out dry and tasteless.
But doggone it, if I can score that much protein for that few calories, I want to keep hacking at it til I figure it out.
I cannot cook it well to save my life. There must be some step or technique I’m just missing.
How do you cook yours? Need help from the beginning: from unwrapping and pressing or draining all the way through cooking.
I tried cooking firm marinated tofu in an aircrisper yesterday and it just came out dry and tasteless.
But doggone it, if I can score that much protein for that few calories, I want to keep hacking at it til I figure it out.
4
Replies
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Hmmm I love it in the air fryer but it seems you tried that already.
Marinate and bake. Marinate and air fry. I also like it air fried with out marinating (in cubes) then thrown into something like a curry.
I don’t have any special procedures. Open packet, pour off liquid, chop into pieces, marinate (or not) and cook.0 -
I press it (I have a gadget to make it easy and mess free) and then freeze it, which makes it firmer. I then defrost and cut into chunks.
I vary in how I cook it, sometime marinading, sometimes dusting in cornflour, but my favourite way is to fry in a little oil as it comes and at the end add soy sauce and garlic to the pan. The tofu takes it up but I continue to cook to restore the crispiness.
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I need help with it too. I've only made tofu scramble. I had no idea tofu had so much liquid in it; i usually squeeze with my hands...then i cook in a pan with veggies. Lots of seasoning, lots of seasoning or else it tastes like nothing. I love the air fryer so maybe I will try that. As the person mentioned above i think marinating would help a whole lot. I will need to try that too.0
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I just started eating tofu. First, I always buy extra firm tofu. When I’m ready to cook it, I press it between paper towels/cutting boards with books on top for about 20 minutes, changing the paper towels about halfway through. Then I cut into bite-sized squares, coat with a small bit of oil and soy sauce, put in a baggie to coat with cornstarch and then bake for 30 minutes, flipping all the pieces over once halfway through. Then I add it to my recipe. Lately, I discovered already-baked tofu at Safeway! Sesame-ginger or teriyaki flavored. All you need to do is slice and heat, so much easier. It’s only a bit more expensive than normal tofu, and doesn’t keep as long in the fridge, but is a great time and labor saver.1
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I’ve given up on Tofu, sick of buying it and pressing it, marinating it, cooking it and just feeling ‘meh’ when I eat it. Like you, though, I still wonder if it’s something I’m doing wrong or missing somehow!
At the end of the day, I’ve decided there are other things worth my time and effort that I vastly prefer to eat.
I tried Tofu once 35+ years ago, wrote it off because all it reminded me of was overcooked fried egg white (I do not like fried eggs).
Figured more recently that I should try again, so I did, several times, several methods. Still don’t like it! It’s still just rubbery and pointless! 😂
I’ll stick to Tempeh which is a million times easier and tastier!3 -
It's not a high taste thing. It's an inert thing, very neutral - almost too neutral.
I'm too lazy to go through all that pressing and draining stuff. I do one of 3(point-75) general things:
1. Buy extra firm tofu, cut it in small cubes (1/2"-1/4" maybe), put it under the broiler on a sprayed flat sheet pan until it's lightly brown, turning once (watch careful, because it goes from light brown to full carbon quickly). This makes little kind of dried-out cubes. Combine the dried-out cubes with something juicy and flavorful, like seasoned-up sauce-y stir fry. The little dried-out cubes will absorb sauce/flavor.
1.5. Same deal, but 1/4"-ish slices, for use as a neutral protein in a flavorful sandwich or the like.
1.75 Slices, egg coating, chickpea "panko" if you can get it, otherwise panko panko, and bake to browned, flipping once. Use in stuff, or just dip it in sauce.
2. Get silken tofu, blend it invisibly into things - soup, pudding, creamy salad dressings, hummus, scrambled eggs, lasagna layers, sauces, whatever. You can even blend a surprising amount of it with ripe avocados & seasoning, and have a result that still tastes like guac.
3. Buy smoked or baked tofu. I love smoked tofu, especially in sandwiches (with raw sauerkraut!
). The baked ones have a similar texture, but usually they're seasoned, and I don't like all the brands/variants, only some. It may take some experimenting. 3 -
I like firm, extra firm or sprouted tofu. I drain it, sometimes squeeze it in my hands a little, most of the time i don't even bother. My favorite way is to slice tofu into bite size pieces and pan fry it with whatever seasonings I'm in the mood for. Or whatever suits the meal. I use olive oil spray to lightly coat pan. Another easy and yummy way is to spoon some teriyaki sauce on top of sliced tofu and pan fry it as well. It's quick and tasty in the pan, comes out as crispy as i want and it absorbs teriyaki sauce without having to marinate it. My daughter makes scrambled tofu, often for breakfast, and it's so good!2
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If its the firm type, pressing is vital. Marinade helps impart it with flavour.
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I have been eating tofu almost daily for over ...15 years at least. I have bought the firm, sliced and pan fried witb cooking spray but usually my method is this-
I primarily get silken, drain and put into a bowl. Then I put cinnamon, stevia and sometimes cocoa powder or even sugar free syrup on top. Mix and eat. That's it!
I love the scrambles and teryaki tofu, blackened tofu made baking in oven and tofu curry. I have had" mock chicken" tofu that was so good! Usually that's from restaurant or health food store or Cafe.
I suggest googling " tofu recipies and do search engines.
I attached a picture of my method. Quite unorthodox but I love it!
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I have been eating tofu almost daily for over ...15 years at least. I have bought the firm, sliced and pan fried witb cooking spray but usually my method is this-
I primarily get silken, drain and put into a bowl. Then I put cinnamon, stevia and sometimes cocoa powder or even sugar free syrup on top. Mix and eat. That's it!
I love the scrambles and teryaki tofu, blackened tofu made baking in oven and tofu curry. I have had" mock chicken" tofu that was so good! Usually that's from restaurant or health food store or Cafe.
I suggest googling " tofu recipies and do search engines.
I attached a picture of my method. Quite unorthodox but I love it!
What a great idea! I eat tofu just about every single day but have never tried soft tofu, although I do sometimes eat firm tofu raw. Your photo has inspired me to try soft tofu with cinnamon and syrup. I already eat my air fried extra firm tofu dipped in syrup.
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I love tofu! I buy extra firm and eat it every day. I didn't read every reply here like I should have (oops), but one of the tricks with this stuff is to freeze it then thaw before cooking it. Freezing it changes the texture once it thaws and makes it a little more chewy. My method is to throw it into the freezer in the original packaging for at least 2 days, thaw in fridge, a quick squeeze by hand in a paper towel (elaborate pressing like most people do is completely necessary in my experience), then air fry for 8 minutes. I eat so much of the stuff that I always have multiple packages in the freezer and multiple thawing in the fridge. Gotta think ahead because a tofu free day is a bad day, lol.
I like it dipped in syrup, thrown into a salad, tossed into stir fry, etc. It's pretty much a blank canvas and takes on the flavor of what you cook it with. It's basically a texture thing. People either love it or hate it. It's very good for you!4 -
Lots of good ideas here.
I'll add one - blend silken tofu with a tin of coconut milk. I then like to fold Pomegranate seeds and chunks of Pistachios in but you could add whatever fruit you like. Freeze. Have it as ice cream.4 -
Yes I like tofu 😋 lol!
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chris89topher wrote: »I love tofu! I buy extra firm and eat it every day. I didn't read every reply here like I should have (oops), but one of the tricks with this stuff is to freeze it then thaw before cooking it. Freezing it changes the texture once it thaws and makes it a little more chewy. My method is to throw it into the freezer in the original packaging for at least 2 days, thaw in fridge, a quick squeeze by hand in a paper towel (elaborate pressing like most people do is completely necessary in my experience), then air fry for 8 minutes. I eat so much of the stuff that I always have multiple packages in the freezer and multiple thawing in the fridge. Gotta think ahead because a tofu free day is a bad day, lol.
I like it dipped in syrup, thrown into a salad, tossed into stir fry, etc. It's pretty much a blank canvas and takes on the flavor of what you cook it with. It's basically a texture thing. People either love it or hate it. It's very good for you!
Yes! I accidently froze it when fridge was to high and loved it!1 -
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Wow! Brings a whole new meaning to “Let’s go Krogering”!!!
Thanks for the tips!!!!
I’m going to pick up some silken this afternoon. I imagined it as something else but this is interesting!0 -
I have been eating tofu almost daily for over ...15 years at least. I have bought the firm, sliced and pan fried witb cooking spray but usually my method is this-
I primarily get silken, drain and put into a bowl. Then I put cinnamon, stevia and sometimes cocoa powder or even sugar free syrup on top. Mix and eat. That's it!
I love the scrambles and teryaki tofu, blackened tofu made baking in oven and tofu curry. I have had" mock chicken" tofu that was so good! Usually that's from restaurant or health food store or Cafe.
I suggest googling " tofu recipies and do search engines.
I attached a picture of my method. Quite unorthodox but I love it!
Because of you, I tried this tonight. It was so good!! Silken tofu with cinnamon and Lakanto sweetener (erythritol & munk fruit). I'm definitely making this a regular. I'm thinking it would be great with blueberries and strawberries. 👍
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chris89topher wrote: »
Where do you shop!? Thats awesome. I do share the refrigerator though. When I first went WFPB many years ago I bought it like that. My store was out for a ling time with COVID 192 -
chris89topher wrote: »I have been eating tofu almost daily for over ...15 years at least. I have bought the firm, sliced and pan fried witb cooking spray but usually my method is this-
I primarily get silken, drain and put into a bowl. Then I put cinnamon, stevia and sometimes cocoa powder or even sugar free syrup on top. Mix and eat. That's it!
I love the scrambles and teryaki tofu, blackened tofu made baking in oven and tofu curry. I have had" mock chicken" tofu that was so good! Usually that's from restaurant or health food store or Cafe.
I suggest googling " tofu recipies and do search engines.
I attached a picture of my method. Quite unorthodox but I love it!
Because of you, I tried this tonight. It was so good!! Silken tofu with cinnamon and Lakanto sweetener (erythritol & munk fruit). I'm definitely making this a regular. I'm thinking it would be great with blueberries and strawberries. 👍
Awesome, that makes me happy I was able to share!. I also use unsweetened ccacao powder/ stevia. Truvia and cinnamon. Ive used fennel powder, protein powder and strawbwrry sugar free syrup. Ive even treated myself with sugar free chocolate sauce but like it better without artificial and opt for cscao. You can melt dairy free dark chocolate instead. Powdered peanut butter is on my bucket list 😋2 -
Cut extra firm tofu into cubes, marinate in soy with minced ginger and garlic for about 10 mins. Bake on parchment at 425 until it's puffy and crispy. No oil needed. It's great on salad.3
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If all else fails, you can buy marinated baked tofu. I got some packs at Meijer's: Nasoya, Teriyaki is great right out of the pack but I cut it up into blocks of about 7 grams protein each, wrapped in plastic sandwich bags (ties to seal), and froze. They're even good still frozen, but waiting to thaw a bit or letting them thaw a little in an oven or microwave will let you slice them up into smaller pieces to add to veg etc. or just eat on the side.
I keep saying I'm going to learn how to do this myself, but I'm having enough trouble just feeding the cats (where's that can opener?) so this is not the year.4 -
However, even I was once able to blend tofu til smooth to use for dips. Just add some lemon juice to sub for dairy sour cream. If needed, can add some oil. One recipe for tofu-based mayo suggested adding mustard powder. There are loads of recipes on the web these days, though. Nowadays, there are so many good eggless mayos available that I haven't done this many years.
Blended tofu can also be used as the base to make instant pudding. Being kitchen-challenged, I just have used dairy-free junkie pudding mixes.
Chopped tofu (I use a fork) also works to sub for egg in any egg salad recipe.
Always with tofu, give it some time in the fridge to let the tofu absorb all the other flavors properly.2 -
I only use extra firm tofu. All of the excess water has already been pressed out of it.
Just cut it into cubes to add to broth or in stir fry w/other proteins and/or veggies.
Sometimes coat it w/cornstarch and fry it in oil but the the low cal benefits of tofu are lost.1 -
I don’t mean this to sound smart *kitten*. I am genuinely curious.
For what purpose would you want to use the silken tofu? It seems to have very little nutritional value, other than 4g protein per serving. (Firm tofu is far higher.)
I did get a pack and tried it with some Ghirardelli ground sweet cocoa, but I don’t get the benefit?
I do appreciate the suggestion. I’m always experimenting to find the next “big taste”, but this one just flummoxed me.
I’m going to try some of the firm tofu suggestions later this week.
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springlering62 wrote: »I don’t mean this to sound smart *kitten*. I am genuinely curious.
For what purpose would you want to use the silken tofu? It seems to have very little nutritional value, other than 4g protein per serving. (Firm tofu is far higher.)
I did get a pack and tried it with some Ghirardelli ground sweet cocoa, but I don’t get the benefit?
I do appreciate the suggestion. I’m always experimenting to find the next “big taste”, but this one just flummoxed me.
I’m going to try some of the firm tofu suggestions later this week.
As a vegetarian, I guess I think of this differently than you do.
I strive to get a little protein from most of the calories I eat. In that context, I often consider foods in terms of calories per gram of protein. I figure any food ingredient with 1g protein per 10 calories (or fewer) is a reasonable protein source to consider adding to things, if there are ways I enjoy it. Depending on brand, silken tofu can be close to that. It's usable in certain situations (like some of the creamy, blended things) where firm tofu isn't as good (IMO).
While extra firm tofu and smoked tofu (the more common purchases for me) are more protein dense per serving, it's also more calorie dense. The Nasoya extra firm in my recent list, for , was 215 calories for 21.5g protein, so in that same realm of 10 calories per protein gram. Some other brands have a little better ratio than that, but usually not dramatically.
I don't use a lot of silken tofu, but use it occasionally. Personally, I don't think I'd just eat silken tofu in the way people have described above (nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't appeal to me). Since I do eat dairy, I'd prefer something like plain nonfat Greek yogurt with chocolate PB2 and frozen berries (say), which would have a similar or better protein/calorie ratio, and be tastier to me.
So, I'd be blending silken tofu into a smoothie or soup or sauce or that sort of thing, to increase its protein contribution without negatively affecting taste/texture.2 -
springlering62 wrote: »I don’t mean this to sound smart *kitten*. I am genuinely curious.
For what purpose would you want to use the silken tofu? It seems to have very little nutritional value, other than 4g protein per serving. (Firm tofu is far higher.)
I did get a pack and tried it with some Ghirardelli ground sweet cocoa, but I don’t get the benefit?
I do appreciate the suggestion. I’m always experimenting to find the next “big taste”, but this one just flummoxed me.
I’m going to try some of the firm tofu suggestions later this week.
I use silken tofu to blitz into traditional creamy Japanaese salad dressings. They incorporate incorporate soy, sesame, miso.2 -
Thanks for the replies. I hadn’t looked at it that way. I guess protein comes “easier” to non-vegetarians, although it doesn’t feel like it, sometimes.1
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I do what @acpgee does.
I put it in my blender with salt, olive oil, bit of garlic and bunch of herbs and blend. It makes a creamy smooth dip for veggies.
All my friends couldn't believe it was dairy free.
I also make burgers. You add crumbled tofu into the meat. https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/asian/tofu-burgers-japanese-style.html
Keeps it juicy!
And I wrote this in another thread. This dessert was mind blowing! https://pinchofyum.com/vegan-chocolate-pie2 -
Generally I drain it, wrap it in a couple of clean tea towels and press it under my pestle, or a couple of recipe books while I prepare other stuff. Freezing and defrosting firm tofu can help get more water out I find although it's not a necessity.
Then I cut it into chunks and toss it in cornflour, sometimes seasoned with onion and garlic granules. I fry it in preheated oil. Enough to not be a shallow fry but not really deep frying either (probably closer to deep frying I suppose). I turn.it a couple of times until it's nice and crisp, and drain it on a plate with kitchen paper until I'm ready to add it into whatever I'm making - usually pad thai or sweet and sour or something else where the flavours will be lent to the tofu.0 -
springlering62 wrote: »I don’t mean this to sound smart *kitten*. I am genuinely curious.
For what purpose would you want to use the silken tofu? It seems to have very little nutritional value, other than 4g protein per serving. (Firm tofu is far higher.)
I did get a pack and tried it with some Ghirardelli ground sweet cocoa, but I don’t get the benefit?
I do appreciate the suggestion. I’m always experimenting to find the next “big taste”, but this one just flummoxed me.
I’m going to try some of the firm tofu suggestions later this week.
Silken tofu is what non-dairy desserts like tofu cheesecake call for. While I'm sure some people do, I don't look at desserts as a source of nutritional value. If they have it, like iron in chocolate, that's just a bonus as far as I'm concerned
https://www.thekitchn.com/tofu-varieties-whats-the-difference-201345
...Silken tofu works well in creamy and blended foods like smoothies, desserts, puddings, salad dressings, sauces, and dips. It can also be used as an egg substitute in baking.0
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