In the wide world of vegan and vegetarian cooking, tofu is the preferred protein. Most Americans are intimidated when it comes to working with tofu and have no clue how to approach this super bean. I know that I had no concept of how to process tofu until I lived with a vegan roommate in the late nineties. She really taught me the way of tofu. And since then I’ve been improving on how I work with it.
There is a variety of tofu on the market. I purchase two kinds, firm or extra firm tofu, which comes in 1 lb blocks packed in water, and also soft tofu. Soft tofu is the wiggly jiggly stuff I use in my Breakfast Tofu Scramble.
Tofu needs to have the water pressed out of it before you cook it. Another method is to boil it, but that is a more advanced level of cooking. Take the block and cut it in half. Then wrap it in cloth or paper towel and press it between two plates. Put something heavy on the top plate to squeeze that water out. Let the tofu press for at least half an hour. I usually wait between forty five minutes and two hours.
After pressing, unwrap the tofu, and then slice, dice, mince, bake, or marinade it. The point is not to be afraid when looking at the tofu and wondering how on earth you are supposed to make it taste good.
There are lots of books out there with tofu recipes. But stay with me, and we can learn the way of tofu together.
