I have no idea how you cook tofu?

Question

i have only had tofu once and it was uncooked, yesterday i bought some firm tofu, can someone tell me how to cook it and an easy recipe for it, the easier the better. can i just stirfry it?

Answer 1

This site has tons of awesome, simple tofu recipes.

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetaria...

This is also amazing.

http://theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/inde...

Answer 2

For the tofu you should use firm or extra firm (not silken). Drain the water from the package and squeeze out excess liquid. Then wrap the tofu block in several paper towels or kitchen towels and rest on counter. Put several plates or a pot with a couple cans of beans inside to put weight on the tofu. Leave to press for around 30 minutes. This will get extra liquid out of the tofu, making it cook faster and making it more firm.  

A really easy thing to do would be to make tofu nuggets:

14 oz. pkg extra firm or firm tofu, drained and pressed (see above)

unbleached all-purpose flour

water

Shake and Bake or bread crumbs

Vegetable oil

Cut the pressed tofu into cubes.  Mix some flour and water in a bowl making sure the mix is watery, not thick. Dip tofu cubes in flour-water mix and put in bag with Shake and Bake or breadcrumbs.  Shake it up and get the tofu nice and coated.  Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Put in tofu nuggets and fry until browned, stirring occasionally. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

For a stirfry you can marinate the pressed tofu in a mix of vegetable broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger powder, and garlic powder for about 30 minutes.  Taste the marinade to make sure you like it, then add things as necessary.  Once you're ready for the tofu, add to the hot wok or pan and brown on all sides.

Answer 3

Yes you can stir fry it with any veggies you want.

Try some olive oil to brown it up a little.

You don't necessarily NEED to cook it.

I recommend just slicing some tofu and pouring a little soy sauce over it and just eating it raw, too.

Its basically gonna taste like whatever you accompany it with.

Another fast way to prepare it is to boil chunks of it long enough to just heat it up. Sometimes i do this when i don't want to fry my tofu.

Answer 4

You can either bake or fry tofu. Baking is of course healthier.  There is a baked Tofu Italiano recipe well explained on www.goeggless.com.

Answer 5

Yes, I just cube the tofu and put it in with stir fry.  You can also put tofu into smoothies, but I don't do that, I don't like how it tastes.  The other thing I really like is tofu scramble, you crumble up the tofu with a fork, and put it in with salsa, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes in a pan and warm it up.  Just put in however much you want of each thing.  It's pretty good!

Answer 6

Go to the local market , buy some meat , and eat it as god intended !!,, good grief , tofu ,, fru fru ,, go hug a tree

Answer 7

Make sure you use firm or extra firm and marinate it (usually overnight). Then, you can cook almost the same way you would meat. Tofu can be grilled, baked, sauteed or fried. Silken tofu is good for deserts like custards or it can be mashed with bananas as a treat for young children.

Answer 8

I freeze my tofu (store it in the freezer--it's okay).  That gives it a firmer, chewier texture.

Then after defrosting, I press between layers of paper towels with a tetra pack of soy milk on top.

www.vegweb.com also has some good recipes.

Answer 9

Welcome to the wonderful world of creative cookery! Tofu is so much fun to work with once you take courage and let yourself play. .Here are some of my favorite recipes. The site I reference is full of even more.

Vegan Maryland NOT Crab Cakes

Here is a Mid-Atlantic Classic with a Vegan Twist! In your vegetarian kitchen, cauliflower stars in our vegan Maryland NOT Crab Cakes. These golden patties are protein packed with tofu, brightly colorful with the confetti minced veggies and scrumptious beyond belief!

Boil 3 Lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes in Filtered or Spring Water. Pour off water. Place potatoes in a large basin or bowl.

Add:

3 Lbs Firm Tofu

2 Cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Dehydrated Potato Flakes

1/2 Cup Vegetarian Chicken Stock Powder

1/4 Cup Granulated Onion

1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

Wearing clean rubber gloves coarsely mash potatoes with your hands. Blanch* 1 head cauliflower flowerets. Add to mixture crumble into the potatoes and oatmeal being careful not to lose the "crablike" texture of the cauliflower. Add 1 cup minced carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, red and green peppers. Add up to 2 cups potato flour or flakes until mixture is firm but not stiff. Pour onto a pie plate 3/4 cup potato flour of flakes, 1 Tbs. granulated onion and 1/4 cup dried parsley flakes. Mix.

Using a spring action ice cream scoop, make balls of the potato mixture; flattening them while maintaining their circular shape. Dredge in the potato flour parsley and granulated onion mixture. Fry until golden in canola oil. Serve with tarter sauce made of Nasoya Nayonaise and sweet pickle relish, cayenne and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, or a well dilled Béchamel - add 1 Tbs. minced fresh dill and a dash of cayenne to the white sauce. Also a squeeze of lemon. For a great variant use Dill Pickle juice as half of the liquid in the Béchamel.

The "Not Crab Cakes" freeze well and can be made in advance. A delicious "non-fish" course, they are quite nice plated on a platter, garnished and served on a buffet also.

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Vegan Tofu Rancheros (V)

Great for Breakfast, Brunch or Sunday Night Supper our vegan tofu rancheros make a colorful, protein packed tex-mex scramble that sings in your vegetarian kitchen!

1 Package Firm Tofu

2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp. Chopped Fresh Garlic

1 Cup sliced Button Mushrooms

1 small Onion sliced stem to stern

1/4 Cup each Red, Green and Yellow Peppers cut into chunks

1 handful Grape Tomatoes

1 Tbs. Turmeric

1 tsp. Chili Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Splash Shoyu

Five grains Black Salt* (optional)

*Black Salt is available at Indian Grocery Stores. It has a high Sulfa content so you will need to use only as much as fits on the tip of a sharp knife. It is the Sulfa content that pulls the tofu into the familiar smell and taste of ‘egg’.

In a frying pan sauté 1 Cup sliced button mushrooms with freshly chopped garlic in Extra Virgin Olive Oil until golden. Remove from the pan and reserve. Next add to the pan 1 small onion sliced thinly from stem to stern, and half each of red, yellow and green peppers cut into small chunks. Sauté until the peppers are soft and the onion has becomes transparent. Add a handful of whole grape tomatoes. Stir.

Add 1 Tbs. Turmeric and 1 Tsp Chili Powder, and crumble in 1 package Firm Tofu. Mix through the spice and vegetables until the tofu is heated through and well colored, and the tomatoes begin to pop. Add the Mushrooms, a splash of Shoyu and salt and pepper to taste. Plate and serve with toast, or muffins.

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Vegan Potatofu Patties

When you want a quick and delightful vegan breakfast or supper patty made in your vegetarian kitchen, our Vegan Potatofu Patties will receive a warm welcome and many calls for repeat performances! Similar to Latkes and packed with protein and laden with great flavor these golden patties fill the bill! Yum!

2 packages tofu

2 pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes.

1 Small Onion

1 1/2 boxes of Barbara’s Instant Mashed Potatoes or 2 Cups of Potato Flour, or Potato Latke Mix

Sea Salt & Cayenne Pepper to taste

1 Tbs. Granulated Onion

1/4 Cup finely sliced Green Onion

Coating:

1/4 Cup Dried Parsley

1 Tbs. Granulated Onion

1/2 box of Barbara’s Instant Mashed Potatoes

Wash, Peel and Grate 2 pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes and the onion.

(You can use a food processor for this)

Add Salt and Cayenne Pepper, Granulated Onion. Crumble 2 pounds of Tofu into the potato mixture. Add 2 boxes of Barbara’s Instant Mashed Potatoes or 2 Cups of Potato Flour. Add 1/4 Cup finely sliced Green Onion. Mix well.

In a shallow bowl mix Granulated Onion, dried Parsley and Barbara’s Instant Mashed Potatoes. Mix. Using an Ice Cream Scoop or serving spoon, drop portions of mixture into the coating mixture; dredging them liberally as you form them into thick patties. Fry in Canola Oil. Pat with Paper towel to remove excess oil. Plate. Serve with Vegan Sour Cream and Apple Sauce. YUM!!!

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Vegan No-Egg Salad

In your vegetarian kitchen whether you want to make a yummy sandwich or fill a tomato on a bed of lettuce, our Vegan No-Egg Salad fills the bill! Yum!

1 Package Firm Tofu crumbled

1/2 Cup Nasoya Nayonaisse

1 Tbs. Dijon Mustard

1 Tbs. scant Turmeric

1/2 tsp. Bells Poultry Seasoning

1 Tbs. Chopped Fresh Parsley

1 Tbs. Chopped Fresh Dill

1 Tbs. Chopped Fresh Green Onion

1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

Five grains Black Salt* (optional)

Black Pepper

*Black Salt is available at Indian Grocery Stores. It has a high Sulfa content so you will need to use only as much as fits on the tip of a sharp knife. It is the Sulfa content that pulls the tofu into the familiar smell and taste of ‘egg’. * Some folks in transition really appreciate it. And for your non-veg friends and family -- they will never know the difference!

Measure all of the ingredients into a bowl with the exception of the tofu. Mix well. Crumble in the tofu. Mix well. Awesome!

*Wonderful in Sandwiches, or stuffed in a hollowed out Tomato on a bed of Boston Lettuce

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Vegan Tex-Mex Love Boats

In your vegetarian kitchen creativity and presentation is nowhere more evident than in these vegan Tex-Mex Love Boats! Scrumptious and stunning on the plate!

Extra Firm Tofu (allow 1/2 block per person)

1 Jar prepared Red Beans or 1 Cup cooked, rinsed beans

1/2 Package of frozen Corn kernels or Roasted Corn kernels

1 Cup Fresh or prepared Salsa

1/4 Cup Hungarian Paprika

3 Tbs. Granulated Garlic

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/4 Cup Shoyu

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Shredded Jalapeña Soy Cheese

Place 1 block of extra firm Tofu on a cutting board.

Cut it in half on the diagonal. Set them upright so that the hypotenuse faces you. Using a metal spatula, with a thin blade, carefully cut a wedge shape from the center of each half. The walls should be about 5/8 of an inch thick.Reserve removed wedges and crumble finely into a mixing bowl.(Make one cut along each of the outside walls being very careful not to cut all the way through the block. Using the edge of the spatula cut straight down and then cut parallel to the bottom. Lift the wedge of tofu out and reserve.) Mix 1/4 Cup Hungarian Paprika, 1 tsp Chili Powder, with 3 Tbs. Granulated Garlic.

Moisten with Tamari and olive oil until you have a thin paste.

(Paint the tofu boats inside and out with a pastry brush.)

To the crumbled reserved tofu add frozen corn kernels and salsa, along with a jar of prepared Red Beans.Season with Chili Powder, Garlic, Pepper and Salt. Mix. Pack lightly into the boats.Bake at 350° for 30 minutes basting with Tamale Sauce.Top with grated Jalapeña Soy Cheese and return to the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Garnish with finely chopped Cilantro. Plate and serve.

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Vegan Tofu Cutlets

Enjoy Your Vegetarian Kitchen’s amazingly flavorful, crispy, golden vegan tofu cutlets. An entrée to please  the most discriminating palate.

Extra Firm Tofu — allow a minimum of at least 1/4 pound or three slices per person.

You will need to do the following marinade twice so make sure that you have double the amount of the following on hand:

1/2 Cup Eden Tamari or Shoyu

1/4 Cup Eden Mirin

1 Tbs. Ground Coriander

1 Tbs. Ground Cumin

1 Tbs. Minced Garlic

1 Tbs. Minced Fresh Ginger

1/2 Cup Toasted Sesame Oil

Splash San-J Szechuan Hot Sauce

1 Tsp each Granulated Garlic and Ginger (used only in the mixture for painting the tofu)

Szeged Hot Hungarian Paprika

3 Large Spanish Onions sliced Nituke

Slice large Spanish Onions thinly. (Nituki - from end to end rather than in rounds or half moons.)

Place in a large bowl along with:

1 Tbs. each finely minced garlic and ginger

1 Tbs. each ground Cumin and ground Coriander seeds

1/2 Cup each Toasted Sesame Oil, Tamari or Shoyu

1/4 Cup Eden Mirin, along with a splash of San-J Szechwan Hot Sauce.

Let onions to wilt in the mixture for a minimum of 15 minutes while the tofu is sliced.

Line baking sheet(s) with parchment and a thick layer of wilted Onions and sauce.

Place each block of Extra Firm Tofu on a cutting board and cut it in half diagonally. Set the halves upright so that the hypotenuse of the triangular wedge faces you. Slice thin triangles from the blocks of tofu. You should get 6 thin slices from each half. Allow a minimum of 3 slices per person. Place each slice on the bed of wilted onions in a geometrical pattern.

In a separate small bowl create a duplicate of the marinade without the sesame oil.

Using a pastry brush, paint the triangles with the mixture of 1/2 Cup each Tamari or Shoyu, 1/4 Cup Eden Mirin, along with a splash of San-J Szechwan Hot Sauce. Add 1 Tbs. each Ground Coriander, Ground Cumin, 1 Tsp each Granulated Garlic and Ginger; and a splash of Szechwan Hot Sauce to taste. Then paint each with Toasted Sesame Oil. Sprin

Answer 10

i just have to say that TAP shows his ignorance with his misuse of commas...he doesn't even have to open his mouth.