How To Cook Tofu, Simple Easy Tofu Recipes

Simple Tofu Cooking Tips & Easy Recipes - Marinated, Baked, Fried

The #1 Tofu Tip: Fresh Is Best. The ideal is made today by your local tofu maker - it tastes wonderful! Failing that, favor organic, get tofu that isn't anywhere close to it's sell-by date, and use it quickly. Avoid the vacuum pack keep forever varieties of tofu.

Tofu Storage: If you need to use only part of a block of tofu, drain, rinse, and submerge in fresh water in a clean, sealed container. Store in the fridge for no more than a few days. Adding a couple of ice cubes to the storage container chills the tofu faster and extends storage time (thanks to Ellen Rubard for that tip!). If you change the water every two days, that will also help to extend storage time.

Soy Allergies: Soy is a common allergic food, so go easy with tofu at first until you see how you and your family tolerate it. Start with a small serving once a week, progress to twice a week, and so on. Soy can also adversely affect people with hypo-thyroidism.

Tofu Caution: After reading up about it, I think that it could be safer to limit soy to tofu and other traditional soy products. Miso, tempeh, soy sauce, and soy milk are whole foods, and soy protein isolates are not.

FYI, here's a well balanced and informative article about soy by Virginia and Mark Messina, vegan dietitians

A Little Tofu Goes A Long Way: Tofu is a concentrated protein, and should be eaten in small quantities, combined with grains and veggies. 4 Tbsp is an adult serving. Give up the idea that tofu is a substitute for meat, i.e. big slab of meat = big slab of tofu. Vegetarian diets don't work that way!.

Simple Ways to Cook With Tofu:

• Use firm or extra firm tofu for the following recipes. If it seems too soft, you can wrap in a dishtowel, and press it with a brick or pan of water, or something heavy to squeeze out excess water, just for 5 - 10 minutes
• Small children will eat raw tofu straight up, but since it's raw, it should at least be steamed, to kill any nasty bacteria, and prevent gas
• Slice the firm tofu in 1/2 x 1" pieces, marinate, then fry both sides til crispy. Kids love this, and you can toss the pieces into pasta, rice, casseroles, stir fries etc. See Fried Tofu Recipe below for more details
• For more adult tastes, add spices like ginger, cumin, etc to the marinade, OR use a spicy marinade, then stir fry with veggies OR add an Indian or Oriental spiced sauce. Serve with rice or noodles
• Cut tofu in 1/2" slices, or in 1" sticks or fingers, marinate and bake or broil. Serve with a grain and vegetables or salad.
• After marinating tofu slices, sprinkle with nutritional yeast, then fry, to give it a cheesy, crispy crust.
• Add raw sliced tofu to any veggie dish, or sauce. It'll soak up the flavors. It goes well with stir fried greens. Especially if you throw in a few spices, like cumin, turmeric, ginger, hing
• There are quite a few tasty Savvy Vegetarian Tofu Recipes, like tofu burgers, which have been a staple at our house for many years

What To Do With Fried or Baked Tofu

• Serve with pasta and steamed veggies, with a little tomato sauce and parmesan cheese
• Serve with rice or quinoa, baked squash and steamed veggies, or salad
• Combine with roasted or sautéed veggies and salsa in a wrap
• Add to a grain based pilaf, or veggie stew
• Delicious on a bun with mayo, lettuce & tomato
• Store in a container in the fridge for sandwiches