How to cook tofu: easy recipe with vegetables

“I would buy tofu, but I don’t know what to do with it” and “I bought a package of tofu, what do I do with it?” are two of the most frequent inquiries I receive regarding vegan products.

The truth is that the time has come tofu to supermarkets before we know it well and become familiar with it, and this is not necessarily a bad thing, it encourages many people to try it even if they don’t have the remotest idea how to prepare it.

I often say no there is bad tofu but someone who does not know how to prepare it. I don’t want to be cruel with this, but it is reality. Tofu is like pasta or rice, with a pleasant texture, light color, little aroma and very mild flavor, but it is not the same to eat a plate of boiled macaroni with nothing more than pasta Bolognese. Well, something similar happens with tofu.

What is tofu?

To begin with, we have to look at how tofu is made and what it is made with. Is a block made of legume. Specifically, soy is used.

To make tofu, the soybeans are soaked and boiled (as we do with chickpeas and lentils). Then it is beaten and drained. This liquid that is obtained is nothing more than soy milk. Well, a coagulant is added to this soy milk, it is put in a mold and drained.

That is to say, It is made like cottage cheese but with soy. We are dealing with a block that is going to be very similar to a fresh cheese and that, when cut, shows.

Depending on the amount of water that has been drained from this soy milk with coagulant, a harder tofu (with more soy solids) or softer (more brittle, with higher water content).

The tofu sold in supermarkets and generally the “normal” tofu for any use is hard tofu. It doesn’t fall apart so easily when cut, it doesn’t contain as much water, and it can be used from making egg-free mayonnaise to casseroles, casseroles, meatballs, and almost anything else you can think of.

How to prepare tofu

When using it and trying to do something with it, the first thing we have to do is, once the package is opened, drain it, remove the tofu and cut the amount that we are going to use.

The tofu packets They are usually between 400 and 500 grams, so with a third of the package we have more than enough.

One of the easiest ways to cook tofu and make it very good is to do it stir fry with vegetables.

for it first we drain the tofuwe take out, cut and this block that we have selected we cut into medium cubes. We heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add the tofu and a pinch of salt and let it brown on at least a couple of sides, turning from time to time. Now you can add the rest of the ingredientsFor example, peppers in strips, zucchini in cubes, carrots in slices, onion in slices, a few ears of corn, snow peas, broccoli in small florets, cauliflower (also in small florets), shiitake mushrooms, mushrooms, bean sprouts… Anyway , anything you like together with some spices.Skip it all together for a few minutes until the vegetables are golden brown.Finish cooking with a splash of soy sauce (one or two tablespoons) and sautéing it well. Take it out on a plate and accompany it, for example, with oriental rice.

Of course, there are more things that can be done with tofu, such as eat it as is. As I commented before, it’s not raw: The soybeans have been cooked, so don’t worry about it. He cuts a little piece and taste it. If you like it, put it as it is in salads, it gives it a very good touch.

If you think that tofu tastes little try marinating it, macerate it orbatter itfry it, make it in sauce, scrambled, grilled, in curries… With a simple search you will find a lot of tofu recipes that you can try.

Also you can buy other types of tofu such as Japanese-style tofu, which is harder and tends to be tastier, smoked tofu, grilled tofu, gan tofu (smoked and with soy sauce)… These tofus are generally firmer and have more flavor.

How tofu is preserved

To store it once opened, it is convenient to put it in the package itself or in a container that closes well, and in the fridge. It will last you 3-4 days.

You may be wondering if tofu can be frozen. I I do not advise you to freeze it if you are not familiar with it, since the result of the freezing will not be what you surely expect.

during freezing water crystals will form very large that they will break the structure of the tofu. When we take it out and thaw the ice it will melt and the space it occupied will now be air: we will have a fluffy tofu with little resemblance to the tofu we had when we bought it.

In any case, if you are going to freeze it, keep in mind that before freezing it you have to let it drain with weight on topdry it with kitchen paper, wrap it and put it in a container suitable for freezing.