Rene G wrote:One day in the not too distant future, we may see a new breed of Tofurky®.

But then, of course, a small but dedicated group of zealots would pop up to save the Heritage Tofurky®.

A food scientist at U of Missouri has figured out a way to mimic the texture of chicken breast, the "holy grail" for soymeat researchers.

I just had a flashback to ChickiNobs

Rene G wrote:I haven't tried sprouted soy tofu. Is it much different from regular tofu? Have you come across any non-soy tofus?

Sprouted tofu has a grassy, almost wheat-like, flavor, nothing dramatically pronounced, but one felt there was something different going on in that anonymous white block of bean protein as opposed to any of the other anonymous white block of bean protein.

Never tried a non-soy tofu (to the best of my knowledge), though it strikes me that would be a bit like a meatless wiener – a food that aspires to be that which it is not, like Tofurkey.

I did select a few new brands of tofu at Chinatown Market today, and I'll be interested in seeing if, side-by-side, I can detect a difference. Like vodka, and even according to a few tofu makers I’ve spoken with, the stuff is supposed to be virtually tasteless.

Rene G wrote:a big part of the boredom is due to texture (much more like seitan than tofu). The Tofurky® is just too uniform, with each bite the same as the last. Without the stuffing for textural contrast, it would be even worse.

Tofurkey seems to lack textural distinction, generally, though the “skin” is definitely tougher, more like real skin and probably the most interesting (though far from enchanting) distinction between different “cuts” of Tofurkey.

I dislike seitan (which is not to say I wouldn’t try it again) – the tofu we froze and then marinated had the same mushiness I associate with seitan, which unlike tempeh, has yet to interest me.

I should clarify that my Tofurkey also had a hard, inedible plastic coating (though without the handy directions on yours); inside was an edible casing around the “meat,” and it could have been cellulose, though that was not listed by name on the packaging.

Thanks for posting the video. Mr. Huff, who said “The true vegetarian will love this product,” makes a tragic mistake. Any vegetarian who enjoys a product like this likely still yearns for animal flesh. That’s sad. But, if the stuff tastes good enough to help some of us cut back from eating a few of the millions of corporate chicken we eat every year, then that seems a good thing.

My daughter Josie said she’s developing a tofu chocolate cookie recipe – I am, as you might suspect, fully supportive of these explorations.

Headed to May Street Market tonight…for tofu.

David Hammond wrote:My daughter Josie said she’s developing a tofu chocolate cookie recipe – I am, as you might suspect, fully supportive of these explorations.

she doesn't have to work too hard - if you buy a box of mori-nu silken tofu, i'm pretty sure that there's a recipe on the box. if not, it's on their website. and it's good!

milic13 wrote:

David Hammond wrote:My daughter Josie said she’s developing a tofu chocolate cookie recipe – I am, as you might suspect, fully supportive of these explorations.

she doesn't have to work too hard - if you buy a box of mori-nu silken tofu, i'm pretty sure that there's a recipe on the box. if not, it's on their website. and it's good!

She wants to develop a new recipe all her own, though I'm sure she's looking for hints wherever she can find them.

Fine Cooking this month (#106) has an article about tea-smoking:
http://www.finecooking.com/videos/how-t ... ckets.aspx

I used the same tea-smoking marinade and method as for the salmon, but used well-drained firm tofu instead.

Coconut Curry Soup with Tea-Smoked Tofu:


We eat a lot of tofu, mostly as stir-fries, but this was much better. The tofu picked up great flavor from the marinade and the smoke-- not too smoky either. It made a great contrast to the dried udon and spicy broth. Delicious.

Jen

P.S. The tea-smoked salmon was even better.

Stevez and I made the trek to Chinese Kitchen, specifically to eat some tofu (I figured if the bean curd was good enough to excite Stevez to drive out to Westmont, it'd be worth the trip).



These circular medallions of soft (and perhaps "silky") tofu were wok-fried with some lightly spiced batter, perked up with garlic, onion and chilies, delicious. The big grain salt added pleasing crunch, and this preparation is a good way to make a hand-food out of softer tofu, which many times seems to need a medium (soup, stew) or else it must act as a stuffing, as it did in this version from May Street Market:



Chef Alex Cheswick pushed the 'fu into the fine dining realm by wrapping Phoenix Bean curd in eggplant and glazing with a mixture made of Mexican tamarind candy. I am intrigued by the way chefs are taking this basic ingredient and spinning it into new configurations. Tonight, I'm going to see what Chef Ryan Poli does with the stuff at Perennial.

Ryan Poli at Perennial does this excellent crispy tofu using Mediterranean spices (onion jam, roasted peppers, black olive crumbs, sauce rouille) -- no Asian tastes here (which, as noted above, work predictably well with tofu, but it's cool to see chefs experimenting with new flavor combos).



Poli uses a Tiny Greens tofu, which is 3X as expensive as most other brands, but you can see the almost ricotta-like texture of this stuff. For tofu, it's got some personality.

My daughter thought this was the first tofu dish she'd had that actually positioned the bean curd as the center of attention (rather than relegating it to being just another ingredient).

Had this dish after the Wednesday cocktail party in the lounge at Perennial -- pretty good deal: you get 15% off dinner if you just drink a few excellent and free cocktails between 6-8.

Thanks for posting this thread. I'm trying to get more protein into my diet, but not necessarily more meat into my diet. I looked at a lot of tofu and was surprised to find that most of it isn't as high-protein as I'd expect. Whole Foods, however, does carry Wild Wood Organics High-Protein Tofu. (I bought the super firm variety.) 100 calories for 3 oz., 4 g fat, 5 g carbs, 14 g protein.

Inspired by David's suggestions, I made a marinade yesterday of:
Soy sauce (a couple tablespoons)
Sesame oil (maybe 2 teaspoons)
Mirin (a splash)
Rice vinegar (a splash)
Roasted sesame seeds (a tablespoon or two)
Minced ginger (a spoonful)
Minced garlic (a spoonful)
"Wasabi" paste (about an inch from the tube)

I cubed the tofu into dice-sized pieces and let marinate--tossing periodically--for about 90 minutes. Then I warmed the tofu & marinade in a non-stick frying pan and served over brown rice. It was great (and I'm someone who, a year ago, would have sneered at tofu and brown rice)! I'll do it again, though will probably try to switch to low-sodium soy or dilute a bit more with mirin and/or rice vinegar. A few sliced scallions to garnish would have been nice, but alas I didn't have any. A little sriracha might kick up the heat a bit. And some stir-fried, steamed or roasted veggies would have been a nice addition.

chgoeditor, cool you're giving tofu a chance.

This morning, I did a very basic breakfast of sauteed sage and some extra firm tofu fried in a pan. I felt that for this super-simple and not-very-Asian prep that salt would be better than soy, and it worked just fine.

I got some tofu "noodles" that I'm kind of interested to try -- we have a huge zucchini in our garden that I'm thinking of stuffing with the noodles and maybe a fresh basil sauce.

David Hammond wrote:I got some tofu "noodles" that I'm kind of interested to try -- we have a huge zucchini in our garden that I'm thinking of stuffing with the noodles and maybe a fresh basil sauce.

I truly hope your tofu noodle experience will be better than my recent one. Inspired by your tofu explorations, I picked up a package of these noodles at Richwell Market a few days ago.



I found these things to be damn near inedible, almost indistinguishable from rubber bands in both texture and flavor. I like tofu but couldn't believe how awful this product was. I was thankful I'd made a nice spicy sesame sauce (and plenty of fresh veggies) but even so most of the noodles went uneaten. This is one of those unfortunate products that gives vegetarian cuisine a bad name, turning eating into a form of penance.

We're using Phoenix Bean brand tomorrow and it will not be hard to eat around the tofu noodles, should it come to that.

Love the "food as penance" remark -- there is some food that is eaten to atone: wheat germ comes to mind, wheat grass probably belongs in that group, and perhaps some varieties of sprouts, but I must say that Tiny Greens make a helluva fine tofu and I really dig their sprouts (they have some like radish, cabbage and other less frequently seen varieties that are good to spread throughout a salad -- they pack a lot of flavor).

If those tofu noodles are anything like the ones you can buy at Whole Foods they taste like bungee cords crossed with Poseidon's balls but the stank, at least, can be decreased greatly by a brief paraboil session. Still not something I'd rec. to pure foodies over dieters and fans of weird futuristic lo-cal novelty foods, but they are not entirely beyond redemption.

I can't tell you guys how much I'm now not looking forward to dinner tomorrow night...but, good soldier, I will report.

What we had tonight were not “tofu noodles” but rather “soybean noodles,” which is a different thing (I’m guessing made of soybean flour and not the fermented soybean curd of tofu).

A giant zucchini had somehow grown up in our garden, beneath our notice. When I picked it a few days ago, it was about 3 pounds. The Wife cleaned it out and stuffed with the soybean noodles, corn, and some leeks and pesto. I thought it was an excellent use of an otherwise grotesque squash, and the noodles came out all crispy, providing a good textural contrast with the vegetable.



So, I’ve yet to have tofu noodles, but Peter, I think baking them might make them more crispy and less rubber bandy. The zucchini was surprisingly flavorful, given its elephantine proportions.

I've had those tofu noodles. Frying them makes them palatable, sprinkled with sesame oil, soy and green onions. But yeah, boiled, they taste like rubber bands.

Sounds like the zuc' turned out pretty well. I'm willing to give soybean/tofu noodles another try but never again the brand I bought last week. I still can't get over how repulsive those things were (I thought tofu noodles sounded like an okay idea). Baking or frying might be the way to go.

Have you tried egg tofu yet? Maybe next time I'm at a Chinese market I'll buy a tube instead of just photographing it.



I wonder if this could be the stuff they use for the salt and pepper tofu at Chinese Kitchen in Westmont (that was by far my favorite dish there). From what I understand, it's usually sliced into disks before cooking. The diameter sure looks the same and that might explain the unusual creamy texture.

Inspired by this thread, I tried the new roasted tofu sandwich at Hannah's Bretzel today. They really load the thing up toppings (alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes, avocado, shredded romaine hearts, onion, red pepper coulis) so I was afraid the tofu itself would be lost. I'm not sure how they seasoned the tofu, but it certainly had a distinctive taste and texture that I could appreciate through everything else that was on the sandwich. Plus, after a couple of days of business travel, it felt good to eat something relatively healthy.

Whoa! I finally had a dish that I will put into rotation at home. Funny, I always thought my first tofu rotation dish would be a cheesecake.

Veggie Belly's Salt & Pepper Tofu recipe is here. I got the tofu from the Green City Market yesterday. I can't be certain if it's the tofu itself or the recipe but this stuff was delicious.

Served with white rice & roasted sweet potatoes & the fantastic hot oil courtesy of GWiv.

I'm buying more tofu from the Farmer's Market on Saturday. This stuff was fantastic & good. It was firm yet it seemed a bit creamy.

I got a quart size tub of soft (no form) tofu from H-Mart. Any ideas of how to cook it?

I'd put it in a cheesecloth bag for a while first. The only thing I could figger to do with the soft/formless type is use it blenderized somehow. It's easier to use if it's firmer.

Geo

razbry wrote:I got a quart size tub of soft (no form) tofu from H-Mart. Any ideas of how to cook it?

I'd scoop it out with a ladle and poach in a dashi-soy-mirin mixture just until the tofu is heated through. The broth should be mildly sweet and salty.

I'm trying to remember what possessed me to purchase this type of tofu. Geo, keep figgering for me Kanin, you write like you know what this is. What is a dashi-soy-mirin mixture? I think I’m on to something