On its own, tofu is fairly bland and unexciting. But, oh, the wonders that quivering block of soy contains! A quick marinade, some time in the oven, or fried until golden, and tofu becomes something delicious and dinner-worthy. Here are some of our favorite ways to cook with it. What are yours?
For most of our weeknight dinners, we're cooking with extra-firm tofu. This is thick enough to slice and firm enough to stand up through cooking.
1. Marinated Tofu - Tofu will soak up flavorful marinades like a sponge, particularly if you cut it into bite-sized pieces first. Try a simple marinade of soy sauce and rice wine to begin with, and then start playing around with things like hot sauce, yuzu, minced ginger, garlic, and brown sugar. Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes, though he longer you can let the tofu marinate, the more flavorful it will be.
2. Pressed Tofu - Even extra-firm tofu can still contain a fair amount of water and end up soft. When we're making something like tofu-loaf or pad thai, we like to press the tofu between two plates to squeeze out the water. A few cans of beans on the top plate helps weight it down. The resulting tofu is nicely compact.
3. Baked Tofu - Diced into small pieces and baked in a low oven, tofu slowly dries out and becomes chewy. These bites are perfect for snacking, adding to salads, or rolling up in a veggie burrito.
4. Crispy Seared Tofu - You can sear tofu just as you would sear meat. Place it in a single layer in a hot pan and let it cook without stirring. The bottoms becomes golden and crispy, a wonderful contrast to the custardy middles. Shake the pan every few minutes until all sides are golden.
5. Diced or Crumbled Tofu - The way you cut your tofu also changes the experience of eating it. For soups, we like to dice the tofu into teeny-tiny cubes, but we leave them larger for stir-fries and noodle dishes. Crumbled tofu does well in things like casseroles and dumplings where a more uniform texture is desired.
What are your tips for cooking with tofu?
Related: Tofu Steak with Miso and Ginger
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I let my tofu freeze solid when I first get it, then let it thaw in the fridge before cooking, marinating, etc.. It gives it a nice, dare I say, meaty texture.
yum love tofu! is there a link for a recipe for the dish on the right?
I haven't done it, but I hear freezing changes the texture, makes it more meaty or something?
While I used to do a lot of pressed, marinated and grilled tofu (cast iron grill pan is the best), seitan is my new favorite protein.
Best all purpose marinade: soy sauce, sake, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper.
The same marinade is delish with mushrooms - soak the mushrooms, then grill, drizzling more marinade into the caps as it cooks away. Very tasty.
To get that super-crispy outside and soft middle like from a Chinese restaurant, roll cubes of tofu in cornstarch before pan frying. They'll turn out golden brown and perfect!
I agree with the other commenter who suggested freezing. After I freeze it, I press it for 20 minutes to make sure I get all the water pressed out of it, then I marinate and fry it.
The majority of the time I dry-fry it in a pan with no oil until it browns. Then I marinate it.
@jrossi - excellent tip!
@ KarmaLily - what kind of pan do you dry-fry in? I have issues with sticking when I try to sear.
A couple years ago I was in Japan and fresh tofu was having a vogue. Every single article about tofu starts with "On it's own, tofu is bland" blah blah blah. Well, you ain't had the real thing. WOW. A little dish of fresh, plain tofu served with a tiny dish of flaky sea salt. It was great!
And not available in the US on a regular basis, I get it, but it's not accurate to say plain tofu is bad. Highest quality packaged Japanese silken tofu can also be eaten plain in the summer time with a few condiments on the side (finely minced scallion, soy sauce, finely grated fresh ginger, sesame seeds). Also excellent.
It's that rubbery stuff in the tub that needs working on. Yes, that's mostly what I buy, too, because that's the most readily available and cheapest. But it's a far cry from top quality tofu.
Just had to stick up for plain tofu this morning.
ALWAYS press your tofu. It's packed in water, and it can't "soak up flavor like a sponge" if it's already saturated with water.
as people have commented, when you freeze then thaw tofu it changes texture! here's a recipe where i did that:
http://theactorsdiet.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/cream-colored-ponies/
Small cubes of fresh, soft tofu steamed with julienned ginger, then topped with finely chopped scallions and drizzled with soy and sesame oil. This would also work well with the addition of some sliced, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms before steaming.
Crumbled tofu is an awesome substitute for ricotta in lasagna. You can add feta or moz, or a little olive oil and spices if you want to give it a richer texture, but I like it on its own. So much better for you than all that cheese, and I can't really tell the difference. Delicious!
@nancysohn - the recipe pictured above is fried rice: http://bit.ly/bPKpoI
Excellent suggestion for freezing tofu. I had no idea!
I've been making my own tofu lately. It's awesome.
We've made this recipe (from the Farm to Table Cookbook) a number of times at our house. Vegan comfort food. It's a real crowd-pleaser.
my favorite is cubing (or slicing for sandwiches) then sauteing in a covered pan on the lowest setting with minimal oil. once the liquid has evaporated and the exterior has started to brown, season (sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.), then use in everything from spaghetti sauces to sandwiches.
my preference is previously frozen, firm, non-silken tofu.
Silken tofu is great in certain things, too, like this incredible artichoke dip:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baked-artichoke-dip-recipe.html
Like jrossi1217, I like to roll cubed, marinated tofu in cornstarch before I pan-fry it, but usually I jazz it up by tossing the cornstarch with plenty of sesame seeds. The seeds get toasted and crunchy and the cornstarch makes a nice crispy golden crust as the tofu cooks up in just a bit of oil. Fantastic!
How about a delectably rich chocolate pudding made with tofu?
http://kateinthekitchen.com/2007/09/28/mmmmmpudding/
Tofu cheesecake, tofu cubes in a steamboat or soup, egg tofu grilled in some butter, agedashi tofu, deep fried battered silken tofu... list goes on!
I actually prefer tofu with it's own flavour instead of flavouring it with sauces and such
Scrambled tofu! Crumbled tofu is good as the base of this dish. The first way I learned to do scrambled tofu (http://www.theppk.com/2009/10/tof-u-and-tof-me-scrambled-tofu-revisited/) is flavored with nutritional yeast flakes. I also enjoy it with lots of vegetables instead (my favorite: cook the crumbled tofu in oil with onions and garlic until parts are slightly crispy, then mix in spinach with chopped olives and walnuts)
This is a great way to incorporate tofu for breakfast.
My husband is a vegetarian, and is so great at cooking tofu that I often eat his tofu with just some hoisin sauce or barbeque sauce to dip it in, like little tofu nuggets.
The only tofu recipe in my lexicon right now is a home version of the tofu lettuce wraps from PF Changs. So it's sliced, pressed, marinated, baked, fried, diced, then cooked in a brown sugar/soy sauce/rwv mixture that (I guess 'cuz the sugar) gives it all a nice crispy texture. So apparently doing EVERYTHING to it makes it good. I tried to make the Ma Po tofu, too, but it didn't turn out too well (was trying for 3/4 inch cubes that are crispy on outside but spongy on inside...).
Oh, I also have a good Cooking Light recipe for tofu/green onion/carrot cakes that you fry up like crab cakes and serve with a mango/cucumber salsa that is all really good.
I haven't gone full hardcore with tofu, I mainly use it in rice dishes.
The classic soy sauce/sugar/rwv marinate for 15mins (tofu was already pressed). Then put on a hot skillet with a little bit of oil. Brown to a golden crisp and served.
I would really like to incorporate tofu into more of my cooking. However, I've noticed that most recipes are for tofu that tends to be firmer than I prefer. I tend to like the really soft kind (think Chinese restaurants) over the super dense stuff. Does anyone have any good tips or recipes to use softer tofu?
Mash up extra-firm tofu with a fork, add chopped scallions, sesame oil, and salt to taste.
One of my favorite recipes. It makes for a great quick and light snack!
There's a spicy tofu sambal recipe which is AMAZING, which is marinaded tofu in tomato sauce with rice. Something about the combination of the sweet tomatoes and onions with the salty soy-marinaded tofu with chili and garlic. If anyone is interested, I made it a few weeks ago and put it up on my blog.. It's awesomely delicious!
I smash mine with a fork and mix with spaghetti sauce for a ricotta cheese alternative in my lasagna.
Curried Tofu Salad: Tiny cubes of tofu (uncooked) mixed with Greek Yogurt (I also like plain coconut yogurt), curry powder, lime juice, salt & pepper, scallions, slivered almonds, chopped Granny Smith apple, raisins, and cilantro.
Eat in a pita, on bread, over greens, etc. One of the best recipes I have ever made!!! I think it's amazingly better than egg salad.
I press my tofu between shamwow cloths-- they really do absorb a lot of water, they're washable and reusable, and they're not very linty.