Been vegan for about 6 months but just got my first block of tofu the other day. So what do I do with this thing? I've only ever ate tofu in miso soup. I'm looking some super-simple suggestions, the fewer ingredients the better.
I usually pan fry tofu; I cut it into rectangles that are thin enough so that I only have to fry them on 2 sides. If you really want them to taste amazing, mix cornstarch and nutritional yeast in a bowl and cover the tofu cubes in the mixture before your fry them. Then you can put them in a stir fry
JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY PERSON HERE MENTIONING CORN STARCH OP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LISTEN TO THIS IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO MAKE TASTY TOFU
DRENCH IT: PRESS IT WITH SOMETHING HEAVY TO REMOVE MOISTURE, LEAVE HEAVY OBJECT ON IT FOR LIKE FIFTEEN MINUTES, PREFERABLY AT AN ANGLE
MIX IN CORN OR POTATO STARCH
VEGETABLE OR GRAPESEED OIL TO FRY IT.
THE REST OF THE STIRFRY IS UP TO YOU
Not the simplest way but the key to good tofu is the marinating.
Press it to get the water out first. Put it between two plates, and then put Das Kapital on top. Any volume will do. Alternatively try putting all the leaflets troskyists have given you on top. Let that sit for a while.
Cut up the tofu whichever way you like. More square for less crispy, more flat for more crispy.
Put the tofu back in the plastic rectangle it came in. Fill that with soy sauce, a pinch of sesame oil, bit of salt, garlic powder, the point is whatever seasonings you like really. Fill the remainder of the rectangle with water so that it soaks all the tofu. Let it soak overnight.
Next morning just stick them right on a nonstick pan, no oil needed, but oil will make them taste better and be worse for you.
My favorite super easy way to cook tofu is to dry fry. Cut into cubes, or fairly flat pieces. Drop into a ripping hot non-stick pan. Use very high heat, like 7 or 8 on my electric stove works for me. Important not to overcrowd. Depending on the size of your pan you may need to split into batches, but you want to drive off the moisture and get it slightly brown on all sides. Stir and check the browning frequently, should only need like five minutes or so to get all sides browned. Then add a tablespoon or so of your oil of choice, and cook for another minute or so and the sauce with whatever you like. Just soy sauce is perfectly good here, terryaki, storebought stir fry sauce. I really like a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha, sesame oil, and maple syrup. Can adjust those proportions to taste, but be light on the sesame oil because it's very strong.
A lot of dry frying recipes call for pressing it or drying it with a towel, but I find that unnecessary with most firm or extra firm tofu.
This is now my normal way of making tofu to accompany a stir fry veg blend or just some steamed broccoli over rice, but it also works for sandwiches, wraps, etc. A lot of people like to marinate tofu and I used to, but I really like doing this because the texture you get by letting it cook and driving off the moisture before the sauce absorbs is really nice and you don't have to mess with prep beforehand.
I make tacos with it. The basics are:
- firm tofu pressed to remove excess moisture
- sauté a diced onion and some minced garlic in large skillet with oil
- crumble the pressed tofu and dump it into the skillet
- sauté in oil for a while (variable time but I like to get some browning). It may need more oil because it absorbs quickly into the tofu
- I use the taco seasoning packets from the grocery, mixing the contents into the listed amount of water and dump that into the tofu mixture
- let it simmer until you get the right thickness then it’s done
It basically tastes just like any meat tacos but less “heavy.” You can also use some as a salad topping since it’s fine cold as well
My wife loves them but it makes her fart a lot
I've been pressing it then making tofu scramble with soy chorizo and a can of mixed veggies. Add some spices and it so good and easy.
Try cutting them into 3 by 2 by 1/2 rectangles so they're easy to handle and dry them off. Put some cooking oil, like a tablespoon or some shit in a 12 inch frying pan, heat it to the point water will crackle on it, lay it on the frying pan and fry them on medium high heat. At this point how much you want them to be crunchy or chewy or just lightly cooked will depend on how long you leave them frying. When you get your desired texture, flip and repeat for the other.
Optional: when you're done frying it you can add a splash of sesame oil to give it added aromatic flavor
When you're done frying the tofu you can call it done and eat it with whatever or you can add a sauce to it in the frying pan and get it glazed.
For my sauce I prefer doing a mix of low sodium soy sauce, pureed ginger root, diced green onions, smashed garlic cloves, korean red pepper flakes. You mix it up then toss enough of it on the done tofu to turn the pan surface from a frying element to a sautee element. Sautee the tofu for a hot minute or few to cook the plant matter and let the sauce properly soak into the fried tofu and get the overall sauce reduced into a concentrated sauce.
Cut it into long rectangular shapes (1/2” thick x the length and width it came as) and pour some bbq sayce on it and broil it until it gets crispy/firmer/harder and it’s pretty good. Can throw it on a sandwich with veggies and shit.
If you can afford it, I would highly recommend buying pre-pressed tofu (I like this stuff: https://www.hodofoods.com/product-details/organic-firm-tofu). Working with it is just so much easier - it's "super firm" and is much more forgiving (in terms of not crumbling) when used in stir fry.
