The Trouble with Tofu

[Yelof]

Nice in theory but the stuff turns my stomach unless I am very drunk

hit the kabab van after the pub?

I wouldn't worry too much about protein in your diet, there is protein in all sorts of foods and you need less then most people figure.
I have been a vegetarian for 18 years now and I've never spent much time worrying about my diet.

If you don't like tofu ignore it. If you want an easy way to try veg. cooking you can get Quorn in all the supermarkets and it is cooked with just like meat. It is micoprotein i.e. fungi growing in vats, but try not to think about that it is tasty.

Eat the odd lentil or bean dinner and lots of spinich or broccoli

[DanaC]

You guys rock

Quorn I dont like. The taste reminds me to much of puffball mushrooms which my dad put me off by drying big steaks of the stuff in his workroom. ....I dont recall why he would be doing such a thing but I do recall the smell

[Undertoad]

micoprotein i.e. fungi growing in vats

OK, just eat fuckin' meat already.

I mean, how can you complain genetically engineered food and then eat this shit?

[DanaC]

*chuckles*

[Yelof]

Funny enough I wouldn't have a problem eating GM food, but I'll admit that is a rarity amongst my "type"

We used to be able to pick giant puffball mushrooms at my Granny's farm, if you found them before an adult did you could play football with them, but watch out the really ripe ones would just expode in a burst of spores when you kicked them. I guess they must have evolved the ball shape as a way of attracting children to kick them and thus effect spore dispersal

[DanaC]

Oh my word *grins* I had totally forgotten the delights of puffball football! We used to pick them on Over Dale .....My Dad was less into playing footie with them....he used to come back with them after working at night. He always said the best time to collect them was early hours of the morning.

[wolf]

The best recipe for tofu that I have is very simple. Leave it the fuck on the store shelf.

[Yelof]

There are however some nice tofu dishes

If you ever got to a Indonesian resturant, choose a tofu satay.

You can do a cheap homemade version with peanut butter and curry powder, used to do it a bit when I was a student.

In general the best dishes for tofu come from countries who have been cooking with it for centuries i.e. Asia

[DanaC]

*nods* the recipe I heard on the radio for Steamed tofu parcels ( or pudding cant recall now) sounded gorgeous. that was from some Asian country I think. The way it was described made it sound like the ultimate comfort food

[mizchulita]

Get some dried tofu (TVP-Textured Vegetable Protein). It won't go bad, and doesn't even need to be refridgerated! Just sprinkle it in chili or spagetti sauce, or hydrate it and mix with sloppy joe sauce. Yummy if you've forgotten what real meat tastes like.

[magnolia]

The soft tofu works beautifully in soups. For an easy and healthy soup, try taking veggies and adding largely-diced (3cmx3cm or 1inxin) cubes of tufu. Don't add the tofu until the veggies are almost done as it only takes about 7-10 minutes for it to cook.

There is a spicy recipe that calls for soft tofu, green onions (scallions) and a spicy chili sauce that is wonderful. Can also add pork or beef it desired.

Tofu (soft or firm) works wonderfully in hot pot. Similar to fondue, it is a soup base that is full of whatever you like (meats, veggies, spicy, not spicy). Take a selection of raw foods (meats, veggies, tofu, etc) that are in smaller pieces and add to the pot. Cook until done and serve. Wonderful with a peanut-based sauce (usually can find in Thai areas of the grocery store). If you have access to an Asian market and can find the tofu "sheets" these are also delicious - can either use in sheet form, or make knots out of them.

There is also a way to take tofu and soy sauce and make a wonderful homemade tofu-burger-like-thing. Not like the frozen kind in the stores. More like a chicken patty. Very yummy!

Fried tofu is also good, although it kind of defeats the healthy side of eating it! I would stay away from the "stinky" tofu - usually an acquired taste.

Cookbooks and recipes from China, Tawain, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and other Asian cities will have good ideas. I would look for one that is written by a person residing in a Western country; otherwise you may have a difficult time locating other ingredients that may be called for in a recipe. It is one of the most versatile foods around . . . comes in many varieties and can be cooked in countless ways!

[DanaC]

*Smiles* since I posted last I have tried tofu in several dishes. The various stir fries have bene the most successful especially the honey and ginger one....Cut into thin steaks and fried is nice when served in place of bacon on a breakfast platter.

I am intrigued to try the softer stuff.

[Catwoman]

I have been a veggie all my life (never eaten meat or fish) so am well acquainted with tofu. It's a love-hate thing. See it tastes like shit on its own but in a nice stir fry with Schezuan or Hoi Sin sauce (you can buy nice little sachets in Waitrose) it adds a bit of bulk to the meal. And full of protein. Also try smoked tofu - personally I think it's marvellous on its own, a nice texture and taste, but for some reason it doesn't taste as nice in stir fry's as normal tofu. Waitrose also do ready-seasoned tofu chunks which are quite nice. Happy tofu-ing!

[staceyv]

i used to eat a lot of tofu...this way is the tastiest:
buy extra firm tofu!
squeeze the extra water out of it.
marinate it, or just brush it with salad dressing, marinade or butter and seasoning.
pan fry it.
yum.

[perth]

Welcome back, Stacey. Been lurking?

So what do you generally marinate it in?