Hiii 👋 thanks for dropping in!
Today I'm sharing my first attempt at cooking tofu, how I prepared it, what it tasted like and ideas for next time! That's right - someone who enjoys a nice steak is saying tofu was actually not bad and worth.making.again. 😶
Last week I posted a little sneak peak at how I've been introducing less meat into my kitchen. This week was all about tasting those experiments!
Before I go into what I cooked and how I cooked it, let's talk about what the heck is tofu and the different types out there.
I found this site called Tofupedia and the link brings you to an incredibly detailed site with explanations of more tofu variations than I even knew existed. Take a look and learn about extra firm tofu all the way to silken, seasoned to smoked, and other interesting options! I personally used this link for my own learning!
Here's how I prepared a firm block of tofu.
PREPARATION
The very first thing to do is press it. This is to remove all the extra water so the tofu takes on whatever flavor you season it with.
The noob I am, I pressed my tofu with my hands and paper towel. Seems intuitive, but if you press too hard the tofu will split and break. I thought this meant that all the water that could be pressed out was done. Turns out there's a better way to remove those fluids after all! I didn't do this the first time but will be doing this for next time.
How to press tofu.
Place tofu block on a cutting board and wrap with a paper towel or two.
Place heavy pot or pan on top to add slow pressure (like a cast iron pan)
Let sit for 15 minutes then remove paper towel
The water should all be removed and tofu ready to prepare!
How to marinate tofu.
At this point, I decided to cube it all up and use 2 different marinades. One batch with general tao sauce, and the other with a homemade garden pesto. I left them marinating for 24 - 48 hours.
How to cook tofu.
I ended up cooking one batch and left the other marinate until I was out of the first batch, which happened to be about 2 days later. Since these were pretty juicy in the pan, I cooked them on the stove top with some onions for extra flavor and let them simmer until most of the juice was gone. After that, to make them have a bit more of a crunchy exterior (it still looked a bit wet and off putting, in my opinion) I put the pan of tofu directly in the oven at 350 until it crisped up, about 45 minutes if my memory serves me right.
The second batch of tofu was even more watery. I cooked it the same, however, it was in the oven for 2 hours. Not intentional - I blame it on meetings running overtime. The silver lining here is, I personally liked it better.
Trying tofu this week has also allowed me to fully understand the texture of this food, instantly giving me new ideas for food inspiration the next time I buy it.
I'm nowhere near the point where I'm ready to eat a mouthful of seasoned tofu without anything else. Right now I'm finding ways to mix and incorporate it with other flavors as meat alternatives. I still enjoy a rack of ribs every now and again.
Here are the meals I made with tofu this week:
General tao tofu, jalapeno rice with cilantro lime sauce.
General tao tofu mixed with a bit of leftover ground beef, sautéed mushrooms and zucchini, salad, avocado, cheese, sour cream, humus, cilantro lime sauce stuffed in a wrap and grilled in the toaster oven
General tao tofu, jalapeno rice, leftover sautéed mushrooms and zucchini, a couple tomatoes and snap peas, avocado slices, salsa, humus and cilantro lime dressing
Garden pesto tofu with jalapeno rice, salad, avocado, cheese, humus and cilantro lime sauce stuffed in a wrap
I still have a container of at least 2 portions worth of garden pesto tofu left in the fridge
What other soybeans have I tried?
I've recently bought smoked tempeh, which is still soybeans but prepared differently. This is a trial of replacing bacon. Beloved bacon, which I'm not 100% sure I can live without. I've only cut this up a bit and placed over pizza. On a positive note, the taste and texture was hardly any different and my pizza was significantly less greasy!
Another meat that I'd love to replace is pepperoni slices and sausages. I feel like these are already heavily processed and seasoned meats that the taste and texture could be pretty easily replicated. I'll keep my eyes out and you know I'll be sharing whatever I pick and create!
Thank you so much for reading 💜💚 share the love if you feel inspired!
Bon Appétit!
Liv
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