Tofu: The White Whale of Vegetarian Cooking

(#10) Master 25 New Recipes

1. Stuffed Peppers
2. Risotto
3. Polenta
4. Beef Brisket
5. French Onion Soup
6. Chocolate Chip Cookies
7. Lentil Soup
8. Macaroni & Cheese
9. Zucchini Bread
10. Chicken Piccata
11. Moussaka
12. Chocolate Cake
13. Zebra Cake
14. Chili
15. Cornbread
16. Steamed Artichokes
17. Baked S'mores
18. Barbecue Chicken
19. Meatballs
20. Waffles
21. Omelette
22. Chex Mix
23. Kale Chips
24. Tofu

Ah, poor misunderstood tofu. Delicious if prepared correctly, and yet so hard to prepare.

Personally I could take tofu or leave it, but Ronnie is actually one of those rare meat-eaters who will actually choose to eat tofu regularly. His favorite is adding "vegetables and tofu" to his meal at Pei Wei. So I figured it would be nice for me to figure out how to cook it.

My first attempt was this recipe that I found on - you guessed it - Pinterest. This was a unique recipe in that it did not attempt to make the tofu crispy but instead made it even softer by essentially boiling it.

I expected the texture to be somewhat unpleasant but actually it was pretty smooth and creamy. The sauce was really killer, though- I probably would have eaten that on anything.

http://www.alexandracooks.com

The second time I tried cooking tofu I went the more traditional, crispy route and made a stir fry. The best way to get tofu crispy is to get as much moisture out of it as possible. The best way to do that is to press it between two flat surfaces (ie cutting boards) lined with paper towels and let them squeeze the moisture out of it for about an hour.

 I once made the mistake of draining out all moisture and then adding moisture back in via a marinade. Don't do this if you want crispy tofu. 

Instead, sear it off and add any liquids afterwards, as a sauce. Like they do in this recipe, which I plan on trying next. 

I'll let you know how it goes! Meanwhile, be bold and try tofu on your own. It might not be as bad as you think.