Tofu....how do you cook it?

I'm new to tofu (hey I ryhmed!) How do you cook this stuff? Whenever I do it comes out mushy. I bought the firm kind. Also how long does it last once you open the package?

Peace and Love
Twila Red

 

I always cut it into rectangles or cubes at least 1/2" thick and fry it straight on the pan at very low heat. It takes a while. You can use olive oil if you don't mind the fat.

As for how long it keeps... heh... I figure it's already fermented & curdled, so I let it go for weeks. But you might wanna freeze it, if you don't plan on touching it for a few days. I just had some that was 4 months past the expiration date on the package. No hallucinations yet

 

lol

some types of tofu need to be kept in water to stay fresh and happy. But freezing them means they last forever

the texture changes when you freeze it though. It goes sort of more spongey.

and yeah, grill, fry, it for a less mushy texture. I sometimes cook it on the sandwich press

aand you can bake it with a mariande, steam it..it's pretty versatile

 

Cut it up into little squares and you could fry it, I usually put it in stir-frys

 

first i saute some mushrooms in a big frying pan with some vegan butter (earth balance works great)
in a bowl i put extra firm tofu, cumin, tumeric and soy sauce (i like braggs liquid aminos)
then i mash the mixture with either a fork or a wisk until it's nice and crumbled and mixed well.
i cut up some bell peppers, spinach, green onions and mix it in with the tofu.
when the mushrooms are sauted i add the tofu mixture to the frying pan and cook until all the juices are gone. about 6 or 7 minutes on medium heat.
then i wrap it all up in a tortilla. sometimes i put hot sauce on it.

yummy yummy!

 

mmmm....that sounds really good

 

that sounds so good

another one to do is sweet and sour tofu - brown some cubed tofu, then set it aside.
cut an onion into quarters, then separate out the pieces. Fry them along with some chunks of green capsicum, when they are just going brown add about a tsp of cornflour and mix it in. then add about a tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of water, 1/4cup pineapple juice and some pineapple pieces, stir in the tofu and, if you like, some red food colouring for 'authenticity'.

and you can serve it on rice to bulk it out.

tofu also makes great kebabs

 

This is my breakfast at least once a week. Basically, marinate some cubed or crumbled tofu. I usually do this in a mix of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. I like to saute a little onion, garlic and some mushrooms in some olive oil or butter first. When those are soft, add the tofu and heat through. Grate a bunch of sharp cheese over the mess and continue heating just until the cheese is melted.

Vegan types can simply leave out the dairy stuff.

*edited because I somehow managed to miss a scramble recipe two posts up from mine.*

 

There are some GREAT nondairy cheese alternatives.....you vegheads should try them....especialy the ones who have wanted to go vegan but think they will miss the dairy tooo much.....
I was surprised how identical it is to the real thing...I use it in my pastas all the time....pasta's not the same with out it.......I use tofu in a few things....any rice dish I usualy have some tofu fried up in there with some garlic and soy sauce lil salt and pepper....or fry it up in some hot sauce.......pasta sauces....soups...stirfrys....ect

your food ideas all sound good.... im definatly going to try that sweet and sour tofu......and that scramble tofu wrap sounds good.....i always have some tortillas kickin around

 

try checking online-references for tofu recepies!

I once found this thoing called tofu 'chicken' nuggets.


Materials:
Tofu
Veg*n chicken broth
Mayonaise (or a vegan substitute)
salt

you cut the tofu up, dip it in mayonaise, and add salt and veg*n 'chicken' broth.
then bake it.

Simple, junky, but good...

 

Could you recommend a couple non-dairy cheeses? I've been really disappointed with the ones I've tried. They're pretty expensive, too, so I hesitate to take the plunge again.

My favorite cheeses are super-sharp aged cheddar, good asiago or parmesan and various bleus. Maybe I'm too picky about my cheese?

 

we cook our tofu by boiling it for five munutes when we take out of the container, this kills the bacteria(tofu is not a whole food). then you can do anything with it. try it in pasta, stir fries, sandwiches, etc.

 

drumminmama- ohh, that sounds good. I'll start some of that this afternoon.

 

Were you using mori nu, or other silken type tofu? Even if it is firm, this type does not fry well. It's best suited for desserts and drinks. You need to buy the stuff that's kept in water that has the consistency of cottage cheese- it will fry a lot better, and soak up flavors.

hope this helps!

 

I was using firm tofu and I fried it for a long time and it was still mushy. Is this just the normal texture? How long are you supposed to drain it? How do you drain it? How long should you fry/cook it? I wish this stuff came with directions.

 

I found the firm stuff quite soft->it seems to need a very high temperature and short cooking time, and a fair bit of oil. Extra firm tofu is alot easier to work with, IMO.

 

Most of those cheeses have casin in it which is a milk ingrediant. I tihnk they put it in so vegetarians can eat them and should you be lactose and tolerant you can eat it to I think. Moral of this story that shits not vegan . Besides most of them containt soy and protien isolates and last time I was looking over gmo info that stuffs not all that good for you. You c an create fact similly cheese type sauces with very little effort http://vegweb.com/recipes/misc/5165.shtml. There ya go its a pretty decent sauce.

On the topic of tofu I like to back mind now I cut the tofu down in thickness set the oven to 375 and put on whatever you like some tamari for the simple style or for spicy stuff some sort of hot pepper powder then a little oil on top of that about 35 minutes in the oven (flip halfway) and you set use the firm ones for this.