Favorite recipes for tofu

[zoebartlett]

Reading Kenny's thread about what people eat got me thinking. For those who eat tofu, what are your favorite things to do with it? It's one of those things that I love but don't eat a lot. My husband won't touch it and I'm not the most imaginative cook, so I stick to the same few dishes. I usually fry it up with eggs, rice, and beans, or make tofu and veggie stir-fry with a bottled stir-fry sauce.

What's your favorite recipe and what type of tofu do you use?

 

[baby monster]

I usually blend organic lite silken tofu into soups to thicken them up. It gives pureed veggie soups nice body and mouthfeel.

 

[April20]

My mom used to make "tofu stroganoff" growing up. She bought the firm kind and sliced it into thin rectangles. She sliced from the narrow end, not the wide side. She dredged it in corn meal and then lightly fried it. Then she would sauté onions and make a milk gravy in the pan. She always tossed in a little nutritional yeast. All of us kids still talk about it and none of is have eaten it in years. It's delicious!

 

[dk168]

I am Chinese and grew up on the stuff.

When I was young and living at home, we would have them simply steamed with some dark soya sauce, chopped spring onions, dash of toasted sesame oil and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

I love deep fried ones braised with a sauce made with Chinese BBQ pork, garlic, ginger and spring onions.

Also love them deep fried and dusted with fried garlic, chilli, spring onion and salt.

Also deep fried ones stuffed with meat paste.

Love the fried tofu puffs in noodle soups.

Also very fresh young tofu as a dessert with syrup.

And fresh soya milk slightly sweetened is lovely.

And lastly, the deep fried stinking tofu from street vendors, dunk in Hoi Sin sauce, yum!

I love tofu.

DK

 

[zoebartlett]

My mom used to make "tofu stroganoff" growing up. She bought the firm kind and sliced it into thin rectangles. She sliced from the narrow end, not the wide side. She dredged it in corn meal and then lightly fried it. Then she would sauté onions and make a milk gravy in the pan. She always tossed in a little nutritional yeast. All of us kids still talk about it and none of is have eaten it in years. It's delicious!

That sounds really good, and much healthier than regular stroganoff.

 

[vc10um]

I'll repost over here for those who weren't reading the other thread...

This is far and away my favorite preparation for tofu: Love and Olive Oil's Sesame Crusted Tofu. The sauce really makes the dish, too, so don't skip it!

I've also always loved this preparation from 101 cookbooks: Orange Pan-glazed Tempeh...sub in extra firm tofu.

Looking forward to seeing some other suggestions! (Though I'm not sure we'll ever get bored of the sesame recipe...)

 

[Niel]

My favorite is to use it in a potpie . Yum!

 

[monarch64]

I only like it fried which makes it not as healthy, obviously. I prefer seitan as a protein instead. I have never made it at home, but when we go to certain grocers or local restaurants it's what I buy from the hot bar or order from the menu.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I love spicy mabo tofu, the sauce packs are readily available in most Asian markets. Just saute some ground beef, throw in cones tofu, add sauce and chopped green onions. Quick 5 minute stir fry. If you're vegetarian, just omit the ground beef, still delish, over rice.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Adding pictures of mabo tofu sauce and finished product pic

 

[Kelinas]

http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/11/korean-fried-tofu-%eb%91%90%eb%b6%80-%eb%b6%80%ec%b9%a8/#more-585

this.
I make it once a week.

One tip though.
After you slice the tofu into the squares, pat dry.
Sprinkle salt on it and let it sit for 10 minutes. It will pull SO much water out of the tofu (and since you are frying it, you want as little water to prevent spatter)
Pat dry again.
I usually put the tofu in between two paper towels and squeeze top to bottom.
Without mangling of course.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I also love agedashi tofu, lightly fried tofu with a japanese dashi broth. Like the sauce that you dip fried tempura in.

I get this as an appetizer in most Japanese restaurants. Never made it myself, so cannot share any recipe.

 

[Lulie]

On meat free days, I make 'orange' chicken with completely drained firm tofu. I use it in Chocolate pie and also like to add 3 oz in a smoothie to keep me full until lunch time. A friend of mine uses Tofu as a soup thickener instead of dairy
Dh is not a tofu lover [he's a legume freak] but he loves this one:

8 oz extra firm tofu, drained and wiped dry, cut into thin strips
1/4 ts salt
1 ts olive or peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
3 Tb cane sugar, brown sugar or 2 ts agave nectar [to taste]
3 Tb cilantro, chopped
1/2 lb brussels sprouts [or cabbage] rinsed, drained and shredded

Cook the tofu strips in large hot skillet with a bit of salt and a splash of oil. Sauté until tofu is slightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and pecans, cook for another minute. Stir in sugar [or agave]. Cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Transfer tofu out onto a plate and set aside while you cook the brussels sprouts.

In the same dirty pan, add a touch oil, another pinch of salt, heat up to medium-high. When the pan is hot, add the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring a couple times until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright. Stir with reserved tofu and serve immediately.

 

[stracci2000]

On meat free days, I make 'orange' chicken with completely drained firm tofu. I use it in Chocolate pie and also like to add 3 oz in a smoothie to keep me full until lunch time. A friend of mine uses Tofu as a soup thickener instead of dairy
Dh is not a tofu lover [he's a legume freak] but he loves this one:

8 oz extra firm tofu, drained and wiped dry, cut into thin strips
1/4 ts salt
1 ts olive or peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
3 Tb cane sugar, brown sugar or 2 ts agave nectar [to taste]
3 Tb cilantro, chopped
1/2 lb brussels sprouts [or cabbage] rinsed, drained and shredded

Cook the tofu strips in large hot skillet with a bit of salt and a splash of oil. Sauté until tofu is slightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and pecans, cook for another minute. Stir in sugar [or agave]. Cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Transfer tofu out onto a plate and set aside while you cook the brussels sprouts.

In the same dirty pan, add a touch oil, another pinch of salt, heat up to medium-high. When the pan is hot, add the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring a couple times until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright. Stir with reserved tofu and serve immediately.

Wow, Lulie -this sounds great--I will definately try it-thanks!

 

[Sky56]

We love tofu and cook with it a lot. I make tofu and veggie stir-fries. We like the firm and extra firm varieties the best. I like to brown it in a wok, I use grapeseed oil, add spices such as curry and garlic powder, Braggs Aminos soy sauce, nutritional yeast, paprika, or different spices for other effects such as basil, Mexican spice mix, Tabasco sauce or Italian spice. The goal is to get it nicely browned - it looks attractive and tastes good. Then I add my veggies. Serve over basmati rice or noodles. The key to buying good tofu is to buy a package with a far-away pull date. Trader Joes has great fresh tofu at good price.

 

[zoebartlett]

Oops, sorry, I was gone for a few days and I'm just now seeing more replies. I can't wait to try the recipes everyone's mentioned.

Babymonster, I haven't tried using tofu in soups as a thickener (I do add a few cubes to it though). Good idea!

Monnie, I don't know if I've had seitan. Maybe at a restaurant, but I've never bought it. When I make tofu, I fry it in a little Pam cooking spray, so yeah, not super healthy, but I don't think it's so bad.

Kelinas, I usually take it out of the package, cover it with plastic wrap, and then lay something heavy over it so help drain the water out. I've never thought to add salt though. Thanks for the tip!

Jaysonsmom, I've never heard of agedashi tofu but I'll have to look for it when we go out for Japanese again. The dish looks really good!

 

[zoebartlett]

Lulie, that recipe looks really good. Have you ever substituted cilantro for something else? I make a lot of smoothies in the summer, but I've never thought to add tofu. I'll have to give it a try.