Tofu basics

Tofu. It can really be good stuff, honest. If you think you don't like it, give this method a try, I have actually gotten more than one comment along the lines of, "I don't like tofu, except this." The two big complaints that most people have about tofu are that it has a gross soggy texture and that it is mostly flavorless. Interestingly enough, the solution to the texture problem also helps us solve the flavor problem.

As we all know, tofu comes in different levels of firmness from soft to extra-firm. A look at the nutrition information for different levels of tofu firmness reveals that the main difference between softer and firmer tofu is water content. I personally use Nutrition Data. Let's look at regular tofu vs. extra-firm tofu. Regular tofu is 84.5g of water / 100g total weight. Extra-firm 81.3g/100g. You might say "but that is only 3.2%, that's not much of a difference." However, another way to look at it is you are going from 15.5g of not-water to 18.7g in the same overall product weight. That means you are getting 20% more non water stuff per 100g purchased. I personally like the Wildwood Super Firm, which has an even lower moisture content. There is not the same detailed analysis available, but if one simply adds up the macronutrients listed on the package (fats, carbs, protiens) one can get a rough estimate of the non-water content of the tofu. In this case there are 23g in an 85g serving, or about 27% non-water. That is a full 74% more non-water stuff than regular tofu!

Since many people seem to dislike the squishy texture found in softer tofu, we definitely want to start with the firmest tofu available. I am not really sure how standardized the labeling of tofu firmness is, but it should be pretty simple to figure it out from the nutrition data on the package. More calories/ macronutrients per serving means less water and more firmness. But why stop with just the firmest tofu out of the package? If water is the enemy of firm toothsome tofu, we can go a step further and wring more water out of it. This is a simple matter of cutting your block of tofu into slabs and squishing them between two flat surfaces. Some paper towels on top and bottom will soak up the water as it is pressed out.




After 15-30m of pressing your tofu should be nice and firm. Now we can tackle the flavor problem. After pressing the water out, the tofu will now absorb a marinade pretty readily. Spending 15-30m in a nice salty flavorful liquid will help overcome the bland-flavor problem. Here is a simple example, but you could also add garlic, ginger, hot peppers, sriracha, or whatever you want.

1 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp dark mushroom soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp honey




After the tofu has marinated it is ready to be cooked. Just put a couple of tablespoons of vegetable or peanut oil in a wok or skillet and get it nice and hot. Remove the tofu from the marinade and cook it for about 8mins turning frequently, until it begins to brown. I generally do this as a first step in a tofu-veggie stirfry, and in that case I just set the tofu aside, fry up the veggies and then put it all together at the end.

Mmm tofu.