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Your favorite tofu recipes

Irina

Veteran

I quit eating meat a decade ago and had to lean to cook without. I’ve done OK. As I picky eater, I must perfect my recipes but don’t have too many. I constantly look to expand my menu. I keep an eye on my protein intake, which is not always great.

I cook and eat maybe three dishes with fish and only occasionally eat shrimps.One of the ingredients I struggle with is tofu. Whatever I try doesn’t come out right. My DH doesn’t like texture and how plain tofu tastes. I tried to cook it in sauce and with veggies in stir fry. But it’s just kind of boring.

We mostly eat Mediterranean inspired diet due to familiarity of it. It’s close to what we used to eat in the South of Russia where we both were born and raised. We also love South Asian, Mexican but not Chinese food. Maybe tofu is better suited for Asian recipes and that’s the reason I struggle with it? But I’m not ready to give up yet.

What are your true and tested recipes with tofu that you suggest I try?

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21 replies

Latest reply was from Val

LJP

Veteran

Air fried cubes in panko crumbs with whatever seasoning - garlic powder, salt/pepper and dipped in a chipotle sauce or thai chili sauce. I don't love it in a stir fry either and after much experimenting, the crispy air fried bites are by far our favourite. I eat quite a bit of tofu .

phoebe

If you like South Asian food maybe saag tofu instead of saag paneer?

Irina

Veteran

LJP, I don’t have an air fryer. Never wanted one, doubt I can do much with it.

Phoebe, I don’t cook South Asian, it doesn’t come out right. I buy from a restaurant. I find South Asian cuisine is extremely difficult to master.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

LOVE tofu! Fresh, actually - without a jacket. I grew up on it, and we eat it often

My faves are Indonesian, Japanese, Thai, and Chinese tofu - which doesn't sound like your preference to prep, Irina. Sooooooo....

I'd try this - very good, and I double the sugar. Easy and tasty!

https://cooking.nytimes.com/re.....;fellback=

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

May I suggest getting the NY Times Food App. Lots of great tofu recipes there!

L'Abeille

Veteran

When my daughter was strictly vegetarian, I did crisp fried tofu sticks for her to use instead of fish when we had fish tacos. I most often use cornmeal and ground flax for the crunchy coating, and shallow fry them in oil.

April

Veteran

Irina, if you enjoy stuffed cabbage, just take firm or extra firm tofu, freeze it, thaw, wring out water and chop it as small as you can. Cook as you would beef (with same seasonings) and make the stuffed cabbage with it. Some kasha also gives the Eastern European taste and texture.

Freezing gives tofu a rougher texture, less smooth than fresh tofu. Be warned, though, the thawing takes a full day or two in the refrigerator.

I also do it this way to put into vegan chili - in that case, tear it into chunks and add it to your pot. It gives a meaty texture while absorbing all the saucy flavors of your favorite chili recipe.

Irina

Veteran

Angie, thanks, paywall unfortunately prevents me from seeing it. But I will look some place else.

L’Abeille, thanks! Definitely going to try it.

April, thanks. I don’t like stuffed cabbage rolls much, I make stuffed and baked peppers. I use shredded zucchini instead of meat, turns out great. But I’m going to try freezing tofu to experiment with texture. I have an idea to add it to a rice pilaf. Hmmm

Peri

Veteran

This is my favorite, but there are a lot of similar recipes on Pinterest:
https://cookingwithayeh.com/crispy-sticky-tofu

Main thing, get the extra firm tofu and make sure you drain all the water. I wrap it in paper towels and press with my hands, then change out the towels and put it in the refrigerator with something heavy on top. I repeat this every 15 minutes for 3 or 4 times until the towels stay just a little damp. You can also get a tofu press, but I haven't gotten one yet.

I hear you on the air fryer. I tried a mini one and gave it away, too mini for two people even. I had to do things in such small batches that it didn't save any time at all and it was noisy. I might have liked a larger one but I have no desire to try again.

Suntiger

I get the water out by spinning the chunks of tofu in my salad spinner! Works for roasted red peppers too.

My mom has made chocolate pudding using tofu, that even fooled DH. I just use it for stir frys though- often Asian, Italian, or Mexican. Tofu, veggies, appropriate sauce (brown sauce, marinara, pesto, salsa) or spices. Takes like 15 minutes and ends up being about 4 meals. This is the Lazy Latin kitchen after all

Star

Veteran

I don't eat tofu as I have trouble digesting it. However when I make if for DH I always shallow fry (a teaspoon of oil and dry fry once it has soaked up) it separately to very crisp. I find if you do it with the stir fry veggies it does not crisp. April I have no problem defrosting tofu. I cheat using boiling water from the kettle.

Jules

Veteran

I use this method of crumbling and baking tofu to get a ground beef substitute with decent texture. I bake in my toaster oven which is basically my "air fryer" and also saves me heating up the whole oven for one block of tofu. You can change the spices and skip the salsa to get something you could use as a beef substitute in stuffed peppers, for example. I use soy sauce instead of/in addition to salt in a variety of vegetarian dishes (not just Asian) because it adds savoury umami flavour. Mushroom powder is another idea (you can make your own or buy mushroom bouillon powder from an Asian grocery).

https://itdoesnttastelikechick.....-crumbles/

Other than that I tend to agree the cubed, crispy recipes are best for stir frys, rice bowls etc. Here's a simple version that works for me:

https://cookieandkate.com/how-.....aked-tofu/

Suz

(website)

Veteran

We eat tofu at least once a week. It *does* take some experimentation, not only to find a recipe you like but also the tofu you like -- they are not all equal, not only in texture but also in taste. Yes, all are mild, but there are different kinds of mild, in my opinion. I usually like the organic ones.

A sort of braise with tofu and bok choy (and lots of garlic) is something we make almost weekly -- it is very easy. But also Chinese -- soy sauce, chilis, sesame, a bit of oyster sauce plus stock in the braising liquid, so it probably wouldn't suit. Anyway, we originally got the recipe from this little cookbook: https://www.amazon.ca/This-Can.....tag=google

That book also has an Indonesian-influenced tofu recipe we like with green beans and red peppers.

Other recipes we make quite regularly are from the NYT cooking app, as Angie suggests. (Actually, we use that for everything!) .

If I had an air fryer I would use it to make crispy cubes but (with a bit more effort) you can do something similar in the oven and they are great on all kinds of salads or rice bowls -- with different kinds of sauces to your taste. Some recipes advise cornstarch. This one uses nutritional yeast. I guess it depends on the eventual flavours you are after. https://frommybowl.com/crispy-tofu-recipe/

The other way to use it is disguised. So -- put extra soft tofu into a smoothie (or add it to a soup.) Pulverise the firmer kind and use it in a vegan chili or "scramble."

It's true, I think, that it tends to work better for/ with Asian cuisines. I have never liked any of the tofu "cutlets" we've tried -- they always come out bland/ dried out (despite marinades and sauces).

cat2

Veteran

I just checked my recipes and in addition to Asian preparations, we have enjoyed tofu in Mexican-style preparations, Southern US (with a pepper sauce and collard greens) and in a Jamaican jerk chicken like presentation. The common thread is to use a really strong savory sauce so the tofu takes on enough flavor. I think Eating Well has a Marsala Tofu recipe, but we haven’t tried it yet. I look at Eating Well and BBC Good Food for ideas.

Eliza

Veteran

https://cooking.nytimes.com/re.....-iOS-share

We love this recipe, from NYT (as others recommend). Mr E likes to add any Asian style noodle to make it a bit heartier. I often add mushrooms or sliced snow peas to it; most favorite veggies will work. We warm the soft tofu before placing it first in a large soup bowl as it can cool the broth if it’s not hot. Can be briefly microwaved or added to hot recipe broth or a pot of recently boiled hot water for a couple of minutes.
Thanks for the question; I’ll be checking out the suggestions here.

Irina

Veteran

I can’t that you all individually but I greatly appreciate your advice.

Bought tofu today and will give it another go using some of the suggestions posted here.

April

Veteran

I could have sworn I posted this recipe last week but I don't see it, so I'm sure I forgot to hit Submit Reply.

https://wapo.st/43MUK8s

I made a double batch of this for the three of us on Thursday night and there were only two slices left, so it was a hit with my hearty eaters. (Mind, this is a recipe that theoretically feeds 8. Even if it had been just Mr. A and myself - we were three; adult son was also home - I know better than to trust those estimates.)

phoebe

Irina, tofu is a challenge for me as well but protein in general is not my favorite part of a meal.
Having tried baking and frying and finding the results unremarkably improved, I've had good success with improvised vegetable dishes in which tofu is included as an incidental rather than the focus.

Jules

Veteran

I made this last week and it was a new marinade flavour profile that I found reasonable tasty. Not something I personally would eat as ‘steak’ because I still eat real steak, but served it to my vegetarian kid and I later nibbled on some of the chopped up leftovers which I was adding to fried rice. I used smoked paprika instead of liquid smoke, tomato paste, regular Worcestershire sauce, skipped the bouillon cube and boiling water, and added a shake of Maggi sauce (Chinese version), based on what I keep on hand. And used my trusty toaster oven at 400 to get it nicely browned without need of the grill pan.

https://schoolnightvegan.com/home/tofu-steak/

ANewMindset

I learned recently that 'Super Firm' tofu doesnt require pressing. So I bought some! Havent tried it yet but figured this is a tip worth sharing since it simplies the prep process.

Val

Like Angie I grew up on tofu and still eat it regularly. My advice is to embrace the blandness and use it as a contrast to other ingredients. A few tried and true preparations in our house:

- Indian-style “tofu scramble” with onion, tomato and turmeric (tofu stands in for paneer)
- small tofu cubes poached in salt water in the microwave, served as a topping for rice or pasta dishes (I feel like this one is adaptable to Mediterranean flavors)
- fresh tofu and fresh or steamed vegetables topped with peanut sauce in Malay, Indonesian or Thai style