Recipe request - tofu - YouLookFab Forum

Recipe request - tofu

elpgal

Anything that is not a curry please. I ended up with 4 blocks of sprouted tofu by mistake and don’t know what to do with them. This is the high-protein, super-firm type. #firstworldproblems

5 years ago

Off Topic

18 replies

Latest reply was from April

rachylou

Veteran

I’ve been eating tofu tacos that I’ve copied from the eatery next to the bakery. Theirs is tofu, pickled burdock, avocado cashew cream, red cabbage and cilantro garnish. I don’t really know how they prepare the tofu. I’ve been using fried tofu that comes that way. And I made the cream with avocado, yogurt and milk. I think pickled carrot would work in place of burdock. Or parsnip.

Anyways: how about a taco?

5 years ago

Barbara Diane

Veteran

In a fried rice type dish?
I've never heard of sprouted tofu, so not so sure.

5 years ago

Anonymous

I got this I make tofu stir frys about every week to take to work (well not lately...). 1 block makes 5 lunch servings for me. Here are some go to examples- but basic formula is tofu + veggies + sauce.

Latina- with black beans, peppers (often roasted, banana), green chilis, jalapeno stuffed olives, salsa.
Asian- with tamari, ginger, garlic, broccoli, water chestnuts, carrots, cashews.
Italian- with olives, sundried tomatos, eggplant, peppers, marinara sauce, feta.
Summer veggie- with squash, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, marinara or Greek dressing.
Mom's recipe- with spinach, tamari. She may use onions in it, but I don't.

Often I'll add a pack of riced cauliflower to any to fill them out.

5 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I LOVE tofu.

Smother it in Indonesian peanut sauce! I love that dish and make it often. Here's a pic from a few weeks ago:

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5 years ago

Anonymous

There's a recipe for non-dairy feta cheese (made from tofu) sitting on my desk . I'm nervous about eating too much soy protein personally, but I LOVE feta and this recipe, while looking ridiculously complicated, is ticking off my non-dairy boxes too.

5 years ago

Helena

Veteran

We love tofu! We'll also sometimes do a crispy tofu and use it as you'd use crispy chicken - to dip, in a wrap, on a salad, etc ... lots of recipes online, this one looks good:

https://www.food.com/recipe/panko-tofu-179585

5 years ago

Neelie

Veteran

I use tofu in lettuce wraps instead of meat.

For 2 packages:

Press out as much of the liquid as possible between towels.
Chop in food processor or break up by hand into small pieces.
Marinate for at least an hour in:
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup tamari sauce (or soy)
2 tbsp corm starch (All 3 whisked together)

Fry up in a bit of oil in a wok or large pan until stick and crispy. Takes a while for the moisture to be cooked off.

Use in lettuce wraps with any veggies and sauces you like eg:
Bean sprouts, snow peas, carrots etc. We like hoisin sauce. Wrap and enjoy.

5 years ago

Diana

Veteran

This is amazing and super easy:
https://www.101cookbooks.com/caramelized-tofu/

I also like this (Just buy the red curry paste and it's incredibly fast. and you can use regular green beans if you can't find the long beans).

https://www.seriouseats.com/re.....thai-curry

Otherwise, I do a lot of stir fries with tofu. The trick is to pan-fry it until it's golden and slightly crispy (both of those recipes above do this) which takes longer than you might think. Then you can just stir fry it with whatever veggies and sauce you like.

I also make ma po tofu a lot. There's loads of different recipes online, but I do a quick version that is v. simple and tasty. Let me know if you want me to write it out for you.

5 years ago

Style Fan

Veteran

We eat tofu a couple of times a week. I stirfry it with veggies and a sauce or do a super easy oven meal.
The oven meal one can also be stir-fried but I like to put it in the oven because sometimes I am lazy. I chop the tofu block into pieces and put into a bowl. Then I add nutritional yeast. Put in as much yeast as you need to coat the tofu. Then add some oil. I use olive oil. Toss everything together. If I wanted to be fancy I would add a chopped onion, chopped mushrooms and/or chopped peppers. I put this all on a baking sheet. Usually, I put parchment paper on the baking sheet but I might just rub the baking sheet with oil. Put in a 350 oven for about 15 mins. If it is a bit crispy then it is done. If not let it cook longer.
Serve with soy sauce.

5 years ago

elpgal

Veteran

Thanks for all the great ideas. So much tofu and so much time! I’m going to try every one of these.

Diana, I would love a simple mapo tofu recipe. I have Sichuan peppercorns and the peppers.

5 years ago

Diana

Veteran

OK. Keep in mind I don't actually usually measure anything when I make this so I'm guessing at some of the amounts for the seasonings and stuff. But they're easy to adjust to taste.

Also, this is a very inauthentic but very quick and easy version. You can do it in like 10-15 minutes. I also change up some things from the "real" version for personal tastes - for example, restaurant versions tend to be very oily and I don't like that/it's not healthy so mine does not have that chili-oil slick on top. But you could add some chili oil (either store-bought or homemade) at the end if you want.

Mix together:
1/4-1/3 lb ground pork (you can use beef if you prefer, or probably any ground meat)
1 t cornstarch
1 t soy sauce
1 t oyster sauce
1-2 T water

Cook this in a pan with a little oil, breaking it up as you go, until it's just done. (The cornstarch/water means it stays pretty soft, which is what you want.) Then toss in and saute for a minute or so:
1 garlic clove, minced
~1/2 t minced ginger
dried chilis, broken up a little
1 fresh chili, chopped up
~1 t szechuan peppercorns, smashed a bit (or use powdered but I'd probably use less if so)
(CONFESSION: I often leave ALL of these out when I'm being v. lazy and it still comes out delicious.)

Add in 1 pack of tofu cut into cubes (my favorite is actually silken but any kind works, depends on how soft you like the dish) and stir around for a minute or two.

In the meantime, mix:
~1 T cornstarch
~2 T soy sauce
~2 T oyster sauce
~1 cup water
(how much water depends on how wet you like your sauce. You can add more during cooking if it's too thick, or add more cornstarch slurry if it's too runny.)

Dump this in the pan and stir it all around. Let it simmer for 5 minutes or so. (You basically just want the tofu to get hot.) At this point, I often squeeze in some sriracha, particularly if I haven't added the chilies earlier. You can also taste and adjust the seasonings at this point.

Toss in 1-2 sliced up scallions right before you turn off the heat.

Serve with rice and enjoy!

5 years ago

L'Abeille

Veteran

Not a pro like some of these posters, but when my daughter was vegan, I made fish tacos for us and used tofu for hers and it turned out great.

I used a mix of cornmeal and ground flax seed for the breading (because I tried that once when I was using up what we had on hand, and it was so yummy). Fry till nice and crispy.

The other ingredients I used was cabbage slaw (with oil and vinegar), sour cream, salsa, and avocado slices. Cilantro if I have some on hand. I've used flour or corn tortillas.

5 years ago

elpgal

Veteran

Diana, thank you. Can't wait to try it. Not a meat-eater but looks like chopped up mushrooms are a good substitute?

L'Abeille, Looks like tacos are on the menu. I have purple cabbage, cilantro, scallions etc. Did a very productive grocery run today.

5 years ago

Jules

Veteran

My hack for fish taco sauce is tartar sauce and sriracha (you can mix them together or just add separately). I wonder how that would work with the coated tofu? I’ll try it some day as I also have one vegetarian kid and one who loves fish.

5 years ago

April

Veteran

Sacrifice one block to tofu cheese. This is a sliced cheddar-like cheese (tastes nothing like cheddar but gives you the same chew)

Sprouted tofu is way firm, so it's a good use for it.

Also toss some blocks in your freezer, which changes the texture completely.

Macrobiotic-style tofu cheese is quite simple. Cut the block in half at the equator and slather all sides with any kind of miso paste you have on hand. Then just leave it alone for days in your refrigerator. Wrapping in cheesecloth is a nice touch but not essential. Leave it as long as you want - it will get tangier by the day, so taste after like three days or so.

5 years ago

elpgal

Veteran

April and Lisa P, the tofu cheese recipes are very fascinating!

Miso and tofu..? How does it taste?

5 years ago

sarah

Veteran

I love sprouted tofu. It's the best. This is the tofu recipe that we make all the time, and we use it with everything: rice and grain bowls, Vietnamese rice noodle salads, peanut sauce over noodles, any kind of Thai or Chinese stir-fry... It's very simple, but very delicious.

Press out as much of the moisture as possible by squeezing the tofu over the sink between your palms. Slice into 6 slabs (about 0.5 cm thick). Blot with a paper towel to soak up additional moisture.

Heat 2 T oil in a heavy skillet. Once the oil is hot, place the tofu in a single layer. It helps to cover with a splatter guard to prevent oil from getting all over the place. Cook over med-high heat for 8 minutes, until golden brown. Flip the tofu slabs and cook the other side for 8 minutes.

While the tofu is cooking, make the sauce:

1/4 C soy sauce

2 T sherry or Chinese cooking wine

1 T rice vinegar

1 tsp dark sesame oil

1 T ginger, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

3 Thai red chilies, minced (or less if you don't like the heat)

When the tofu is done cooking, pour the sauce over it and cook for 1-2 minutes longer. Flip the tofu and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Slice or cube as desired and add to your dish.

5 years ago

April

Veteran

The tofu cheese I described has a semi-tangy chees-ish flavor without actually tasting like dairy. You know how nutritional yeast is often used when you need something cheese-esque for vegans -- it's kind of like that. Cheesy umame taste but not going to fool anyone.

If yours comes out with a heavy, "beany" flavor, try using mellow white miso.

5 years ago

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