Tofu

Hey all.

I'm looking for easy (I mean really easy!) tofu recipes for my wife to make and pack for her lunch at work.
Any ideas?

Thanks

Sauce it and broil it, I say.

We eat a fair amount of tofu at home and I don't consider it easy to cook. For most preparations, it needs to be pressed and drained, and then possibly marinated. Sometimes I'll cut, press, and drain as soon as I buy it and then pop it in the freezer until I want to use it. Freezing it gives it a denser texture, more like meat, but I actually prefer it from the unfrozen state, which requires a lot of time investment.

The easiest thing I do with slabs of tofu is to brush them with a sauce that will carmelize (like BBQ sauce) and broil it for a few minutes a side, being careful not to let it burn. Serve it with whatever you want: steamed veggies, cole slaw, bread, whatever.

There are more involved preparations that I do, but this is by far the easiest.

Best,
Michael

Thanks Michael.
I like the carmelizing idea.
I tried some of the pre-baked tofu out there. It was pretty good. I was just looking for ideas to go with it.

Land of Plenty has a great recipe for fish-fragrant tofu. Basically it is an easy sauce (if you have the chinese ingredients), ginger, garlic, scallion, and fried tofu (which I buy rather than fry myself). I realize this a) may be too involved (although w/ dicing it is less than 20 minutes) or b) may be kind of high fat given the fried tofu. However, with rice I think it works out to less than 20g/serving. It's quite delicious and keeps for about a week (five days would be better). If you're interested, let me know and I'll post the sauce ingredients/ratios.

Please post it.

curry71 wrote:I tried some of the pre-baked tofu out there. It was pretty good. I was just looking for ideas to go with it.

Well, I can't speak for that stuff. I've never cooked with it. My tips only apply to the fresh stuff packed in water.

Best,
Michael

my favorite tofu recipe is a modification of something from fuckcorporategoceries.net.

Slice, drain, and press a package of firm tofu.

Many incisions in each slice, and slide in fresh basil leaves (one per section of tofu is enough). Marinate the tofu in a mixture of soy sauce and balsamic vingar for at least 24 hours, though longer will give you an even better flavor.

Grill on a George FOreman till carmelized (I think the broiler would work, too, if you don't have a Foreman, but the Foreman gives you an additional pressing, which I like).

This reheats well, but also tastes good cold, in salad, or with rice.

If you like the flavor and texture of tofu, then simply cutting it up and adding some flavorings (salt, pepper, scallions, soy, and sesame oil) is a very nice and light dish to go with rice. I like it the tofu served chilled when served this way. Add some vegetables and call it a meal.

Can vary the seasonings (e.g., some rice wine vinegar or something else acidic, or some chile paste) although I think what I suggested is relatively traditional.

Like your namesake try it in Japanese curry (purchase Japanese curry bars S&B or whatever brand you like) in any Asian market (Japanese, Chinese, Korean...) with an assortment of vegetables. Try it in any Thai Curry (pre-ground pastes in tubs or single-serving cans) available in any Asian market to combine w/ coconut milk and assorted veges (or seafood a/o meats if your wife's not vegetarian or cutting down on the like). Purchase pre-packaged mapo tofu mix (I say pre-packaged only b/c you stressed easy vs home-made mapo tofu sauce) and "mix" away. The recipes may work better w/ the med to firm varieties of the white tofu. There are endless other preparations esp re: other Japanese or Chinese tofu types (ie: noodles, dried sheets, spiced, puffed, fried, etc). We often stirfry it w/ seafood and Chinese leafy greens to make a "seafood hotpot" type dish. We also eat it cold w/ a sprinkling of bonito flakes and soy. We never try to cook tofu like we'd cook meat - tofu's not meat and is not a meat substitute in many Asian people's mindsets. Tofu's simply another ingredient which has a wonderful host of dishes specific to it. That's where I see many friends who have gone wrong in trying to prepare tofu. They treat it like they'd treat cubed chicken or something, and ultimately their recipes run awry. Which brings me a little off-topic, but I wanted to post some pics from a restaurant I attended in Machida which specialized in tofu kaiseki.












Like an iron-chef episode, the main ingredient in most of the items is tofu.

Here's the fish-fragrant fried tofu adapted from Land of Plenty

3 t ginger
3 t garlic
3 scallions (white parts only; sliced in diagonal)

2 T pickled chili paste
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 t light soy sauce
1 t sugar
1/4 t salt (I usually leave this out or just do it to taste)

stir-fry the first three, add the paste, stir-fry another minute, add the rest of the ingredients and reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

i typically do 1.5x the amount of sauce ingredients listed above b/c I like it a little, well saucier, or to make it easier, triple it and use a pound of fried tofu.

Jay K's pics of tofu kaiseki are wonderful. To me, nothing is better than [i]yuba[/i] (fresh tofu skin) with a dab of soy sauce and fresh wasabi. The tongue is tricked into thinking it's sashimi. If anybody knows where to buy [i]yuba[/i] in Chicago, weigh in. Mitsuwa may have it but I'm not sure.

Hi,

I was at Ed's Potsticker recently. I inquired why was my favorite eggplant dish there called, 'Fish Fragrant Eggplant?' Especially puzzling when there is no hint of fish odor. I was advised the sauce used is associated with fish preparations.

***

The Chinese-American Museum currently has an exhibit on tofu.

238 West 23rd Street, Chicago, IL 60616 -- about 1/2 block west of Wentworth Ave and 3 blocks from the Chinatown station of the CTA's Red Line.

The museum is open from 9:30-1:30 PM on Fridays and 10:00-5:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Regards,