apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Good Question: How Can I Use Soft Tofu?

2009_03_17-SoftTofu.jpgKatherine loves soft tofu, but she needs more ways to cook with it. Can you help her?

I love soft, silken tofu — but pretty much every tofu recipe I can find calls for extra firm. Do you know of any great recipes for soft tofu?

 
 

2009_03_17-SoftTofu01.jpgKatherine, we love the custard-like texture of soft tofu, too.

If you eat meat, try it in the classic Sichuan dish Ma Po Tofu, a spicy homestyle meal of pork, fermented beans, and silken tofu. This is the dish that first taught me to love tofu, in fact.
Ma Po Tofu

Another spicy dish that calls for soft tofu is this Korean stew:
Cooking Korean: Soondubu jjigae

Many people also use silken or soft tofu in baking and in smoothies as a substitute for dairy. This chocolate pudding recipe can be adapted for soft tofu:
DIY Chocolate Pudding
• Also try this: Raspberry Chocolate Pie at Tofu for Two

And then, finally, there is the luscious dish pictured above (the same recipe, in two separate places)...
Aromatic Silken Tofu, with ginger and rice wine.
Tofu with mushrooms and ginger

Delicious! Those are just a few ideas, though. We're counting on the readers to offer many more suggestions! What are your favorite recipes with soft tofu?

Related: Try This! Baked Tofu

(Images: Marina Oliphant for The Age; Better Health Channel; Amazon)

Tags

Good Questions, Tips & Techniques, Ingredients - Pantry, tofu, soft tofu

Related Links

Share

Comments (18)

I've made tofu ice cream with it before. It's yummy and healthy.

1 regular sized pkg silken tofu
1 - lb container strawberries (or other fruit)
3/4 c sugar

Blend all ingredients and then put it in your ice cream maker. Follow manufacturer instructions for ice cream. It's usually about 30 minutes of churning.

posted by goodLife{eats} on March 18th 2009 at 10:42am
view goodLife{eats}'s profile

I made warm tofu with spicy garlic sauce from Gourmet magazine: http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2009/03/warm-tofu-with-spicy-garlic-sauce.html.

posted by joyosity on March 18th 2009 at 10:51am
view joyosity's profile

Yudofu. It's basically blocks of silken tofu simmered in plain water (there's a Japanese pot for this that sits on the table like a fondue pot except that it's shallow and wide). When you're tofu is nice and hot, you perform the difficult feat of fishing it out in one piece and top it with a tinch of soy sauce, finely minced scallion, slivered ginger (pickled or not), sesame seeds, maybe bonito flakes (I'm a veg so not sure about that one). Rice on the side, finish w/miso soup. It's a very nice meal for a chilly night.

posted by cmcinnyc on March 18th 2009 at 10:54am
view cmcinnyc's profile

Amazing what nice photos can do for tofu - those look like cheese cake and I might have to try it again.

posted by Gallivant on March 18th 2009 at 11:07am
view Gallivant's profile

something very simple is just pan-fried silken tofu! but be very careful, since the pieces will break easily, and requires some patience flip carefully... but if you get it right, you'll be rewarded with delicious little silken tofu morsels that are slightly crunchy on the outside and will just melt in your mouth on the inside!

1. cut silken tofu into ~1/2in-3/4in cubes
2. heat 2 tbsp veg/canola oil in a wok on med hi
3. gently drop in tofu and pan fry until golden
4. flip tofu cubes by gently tossing 4 times
5. use chopsticks to flip to remaining raw sides as needed (this will take some practice so that you don't break the tofu!)

my favorite is to dip these in thai sweet chilli sauce (such as Mae Ploy brand), either as an appetizer, snack, or as another side dish with rice. when you get fried tofu at restaurants, they usually use a firmer tofu for this. you know its a really good restaurant if they use silken tofu, instead... yummm

another recipe: http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Tofu_in_Sweet_Ginger_Sauce.htm

posted by p-wan on March 18th 2009 at 11:19am
view p-wan's profile

I use it to make hot and sour egg flower soup. Here's the recipe: http://yogurtsoda.com/2006/04/477/

posted by yogurtsoda on March 18th 2009 at 11:21am
view yogurtsoda's profile

I've made this recipe and it's pretty good!!

http://thenextdayissomeday.blogspot.com/2009/02/vegan-raspberry-banana-muffins.html

posted by wabadee1 on March 18th 2009 at 11:22am
view wabadee1's profile

This "Heavenly Pie" recipe is delicious -- like a chocolate cheesecake. The tofu makes the texture amazing.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/heavenly-pie-recipe.html

posted by anninva on March 18th 2009 at 11:36am
view anninva's profile

In Chinese cooking (and probably Japanese and Korean cooking too), there is only soft tofu. None of this extra-firm stuff.

posted by Michelle of Montreal on March 18th 2009 at 11:55am
view Michelle of Montreal's profile

Bread it and fry it like goat cheese for a salad, or a snack! Or you can use it like mozzarella and make tofu "mozzarella sticks". Here's my recipe (where it's cornmeal crusted):

http://anolivetreegrows.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-make-salad-everyone-will-love.html

posted by Laura (hell's kitchen) on March 18th 2009 at 12:46pm
view Laura (hell's kitchen)'s profile

Alton Brown's moo-less chocolate pie. Yum!

posted by BetsyGinDC on March 18th 2009 at 1:09pm
view BetsyGinDC's profile

@Michelle, there is firmer tofu in Japanese cooking but most people there buy tofu fresh from their neighborhood shop, so it's not the same as the packaged stuff you'd pick up in the supermarket. It is firmer than silken, certainly, but compared to packaged, it's soft.

posted by cmcinnyc on March 18th 2009 at 1:17pm
view cmcinnyc's profile

If memory serves, silken tofu is the right kind of tofu to use if you plan on frying it.

I keep some in my pantry because it doesn't need to be refrigerated prior to opening and can be substituted for a lot of different dairy products in a pinch.

posted by The Blow Leprechaun on March 18th 2009 at 1:55pm
view The Blow Leprechaun's profile

This is one of my favorites:

Baked Tofu with Curry-Coconut Sauce

Sauce
In a small bowl combine:
1 ¼ cups canned light coconut milk
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt

In a pan over medium heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic
1 ½ tablespoons curry powder

1. Sauté second list of ingredients until fragrant (30 seconds).
2. Add the coconut-milk mixture and bring to a boil.
3. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly, 1 ½ minutes. Add ½ cup chopped fresh basil. Pour into bowl.


Tofu
- use extra-firm tofu found in the refrigerated section
- after removing tofu from package, wrap in paper towel and remove excess water
- cut in long rectangle or small triangles
- place cut tofu in baking pan and cover in Curry-Coconut Sauce - save some sauce for grains if you like (the longer you marinate, the more the tofu will absorb the marinade)
- when ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 350 and cook for 20-25 minutes

Enjoy!

posted by RebeccaSB on March 18th 2009 at 2:22pm
view RebeccaSB's profile

I never have liked the texture much except for in Korean stews. But I love it in peanut sauce on noodles! Throw a box of soft tofu in the blender with natural peanut butter, a handful of cilantro, chili garlic sauce, lime juice, soy, and whatever else you'd like and whir it up. Toss with rice noodles or another type of Asian noodles with steamed veggies and fresh cucumber.

posted by lotusmoss on March 19th 2009 at 7:27am
view lotusmoss's profile

Make a ginger-infused simple syrup (just add grated ginger into equal parts water and sugar; boil until golden and desired consistency) and pour over the silken tofu. It's like soft-set custard.

posted by Centelleo on March 19th 2009 at 3:19pm
view Centelleo's profile

Make a Tofu spread.
Sautee some garlic in olive oil, and mix into some mayo with spices (cumin, coriander, garam masala, salt, pepper, etc.), minced celery, onion, and the tofu. Also add some powdered seaweed (dulce) and yeast. Works with medium tofu, too.
This spread is great on a toasted bagel with a slice of tomato.

posted by Aman on March 20th 2009 at 2:20am
view Aman's profile

Have it with century eggs! Pretty much chop it up, top it with chopped up century eggs and some scallion. Make a sauce by combining some soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, sugar (adjust each to your liking) pour it over and eat. This dish is usually served chilled or room temp. Oh and you buy the century eggs from an asian market. Most of them should have it.

posted by princexy on March 22nd 2009 at 8:05am
view princexy's profile