Tofu, my kitchen staple, seems to be the ingredient I get most comments about; how to cook it, that I make it look delish *thanks*, that it looks weird… and that it doesn’t taste like chicken (funnily enough). So guys, let’s move past the myths and your preconceptions about the squishy white block and bring you into the know…
Before I give you my easy breezy recipe, I want to clarify the ins and outs. So, tofu is a natural form of protein with ALL NINE essential amino acids, higher values of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and folate than chicken. Essentially it is soy bean curd, so imagine it made in the same way as cheese but with no cows involved - FAR better for the environment, great option to add into your diet, no moo’s hurt 😉. Also, try to avoid comparing the texture or taste to meat, because it… isn’t.
There are different forms of tofu: Silken or firm bring the most popular. This is down to you to choose the texture you like. Silken is a little more fragile and melts in the mouth, firm gives more of a bite and I tend to buy this more. Silken does not need pressing but firm tofu does. To make tofu firmer, you need to squeeze out some water (pressing) so I do this by taking kitchen paper towel (6-8 sheets), I then wrap these around the block, pop it on a plate and press down and into the sides gently with my hands til the paper towels are soaked. I would highly recommend getting organic - I like Cauldron or Tofoo firm and Clearspring silken.
Here are three different ways I cook tofu; fried maple, chilli paprika for salads/snack or sweet soy ginger with veggies, rice or rice noodles. I also tend to make a batch at the start of the week (usually maple) and then it’s quick and easy to put into lunches or snack on. These can be made with firm or silken.
Ingredients for:
Maple Tofu
1 block natural tofu
2-3 tbsp maple syrup
s + p to taste
1 tbsp coconut oil to fry
Chilli Paprika
1 block natural tofu
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (or how spicy you want)
1.5 tbsp coconut oil to fry
s + p to taste
Lazy method for these two
Chop the tofu into 2cm cubes with a sharp knife OR slice it into slabs for quicker cooking. Add coconut oil to frying pan, melt at medium-high heat. Add tofu, letting coconut oil cover most pieces. Fry for 4-5 mins on one side then flip each piece (bit monotonous if in cubes). Once fried for ~10 minutes, reduce heat to low, add other ingredients into the pan and coat each piece. Fry for additional 2-3 minutes. Voila.
Sweet Soy Ginger
1 block natural tofu
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 tsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 lime squeezed
pinch chilli flakes
pinch s + p
1 tbsp coconut oil
Method
- Chop the tofu into 2cm cubes with a sharp knife, put in a bowl and marinade with all the goods - soy sauce, garlic, ginger, maple syrup, lime, chilli flakes, s + p. If you have the time, leave the marinade coated on for around 30 minutes or more.
- Add coconut oil to frying pan and keep it on medium heat. Add tofu and let one side brown for 4-5 mins before flipping… make sure another side also browns for the same amount of time (don’t worry about getting each side on the heat, just a couple is good to get a crunch).
It should take 10 minutes in total. Pop this then into stir fries, rice, veg (with more soy and syrup). DREAM.
Ps. To be a little more lazy, you can get flavoured tofu such as the Oriental or Smoked tofoo - Enjoy.
K x