In the months leading up to all my issues with doctors and my medical issues it was discussed and decided amongst my husband and myself that dairy should be limited if not cut out almost completely.
I half way do that already. Soy milk and often soy cheese as I cannot handle much dairy without digestive issues later. It is also for Lisa as she cannot handle cow's milk or certain soft cheeses.
To deal with eggs - as most of it is cutting out dairy forms of calcium as eggs are included - it was suggested an egg substitute or tofu. Having a little more experience with tofu I agreed to that along with the stipulation that if its purchased and prepared all must at least ATTEMPT to eat it before out right refusing it.
Surprisingly Gir agreed and my quest for information began!
Be aware tofu was created as a meat or other food substitute, healthy with less dietary issues. IE great for vegetarians or vegans. Lets not forget the infamous tofurky or tofu meat brands heh. HEY there are tofu hot dogs and other tofu based meat, so it doesn't stop there. But for me I am starting with the basic form to see what I can do. Plus the packages have great ideas/images for meal ideas.
Every time I think of tofu I think of P.F. Changs tofu lettuce wraps - well that is where I first encountered tofu and learned it is a bland food meant to be seasoned to preference. It was awesome for me.! (Shout out to my vegan uncle for getting me into this back in my younger days!)
Familiar with the brand of Nasoya as well as it being the more available brand where I shop I went with that.
Before I begin with more pictures I want to impart that there are several types of tofu beyond brand name.
Extra Firm, Firm, Medium and Soft.
What the block form of tofu looks like. The blocks of tofu are sold in square packages in the produce section with the organic/soy section.
These require draining and pressing the remaining liquid out before cooking.
The standard block form is made using the curds and why method which is how some cheeses are made.
Silken tofu is the same type of block yet instead of curds pressed into a block form yet does not use the curds and whey method and instead coagulated and not pressed. This leaves it a bit more heavy than most tofus.
Having not known there were other tofu styles beyond the block I am not sure where these other styles can be obtained. Perhaps your local asian market or foreign market store? Whole Foods or ordered upon request? Forgive my ignorance as I am being honest in not knowing. If you have the proper information please share it so that I most post it!
Fresh silken or custard style tofu is more fresh and meant for more delicate dishes. These can be spooned instead of having to be cut or drained.
Dried/Gan/Five Spices tofu is dried and vacuum packed. It is ultra dense and ready to go right from the package.
Smoked Tofu is also very similar to dried tofu yet has a different taste and texture. It is also ready to go from its package and no prep work such as draining it.
Our Final tofu is Inari Tofu
Which is a deep fried kind of snack or treat. I would love to find this and try it as it is said to be sweet!
Sadly as I have little to no experience with all but the block form of tofu I cannot tell you much about the taste or texture beyond what information was provided. So I will go straight to how I know to prepare the block form of tofu.
I have worked with firm and extra firm tofu and I will admit cooking to preference takes practice.
As it is bland most all tofu in block form needs to be flavored or seasoned.
FORE WARNING! PREP TIME CAN TAKE AT LEAST 90 MINUTES TO ALL DAY DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE TO SPARE. Press time and marinating will take AT LEAST 30 minutes EACH!
FIRST step is draining it!
Open the package by either peeling back the label or cutting into it and draining out the excess fluid.
SECOND is pressing it.
Get either a cookie sheet, flat plate or on a surface you do not mind getting wet. I still recommend a tray.
Place a dish cloth or paper towels down on the tray before cutting into the tofu. For dish cloth i mean the non fiber kind, like a microfiber or something smooth texture where it won't leave imprints of little towel strands. (IE not a wash cloth type fabric)
THIRDLY: Cut the tofu block width wise into 4-6 slices or more. Not too thin or they will break more easily.
Place the tofu on the tray with the towels and place another dish cloth or paper towels on top.
FOURTH you want to place weight but not too much weight to drain the slices.
Here is the issue, if you only have an hour, place several heavy plates with a few cans on top for about 30 minutes then remove. OR if you want to do the overnight style you can place a few heavy plates or flat objects on the tray and place it over night in the fridge. Its up to you.
YOU MUST AT LEAST LEAVE IT PRESSED FOR 30 MINUTES!
Once done remove the weight items and set aside the cloths or paper towels as they will be soaked or very wet from absorbing the water. And cut into cubes of preferred size or crumble it depending on what you plan to do with it.
FINAL STEP, MARINATE! Marinate in your choice of seasoning or sauce.
I recommend
- HOWEVER, AVOID marinades with oil in it as that is like putting oil and water together and we all know how oil and water DO NOT BLEND.
- Use cornstarch for a crispy effect. After marinating coat in cornstarch and pan fry or stir fry!
For this use the shake and bake style, ie place cornstarch in the bag, place tofu cubes and close the bag and shake.
- You can also bake, broil, grill or use grilling pans! I did well using the panini grill press cooker leaving the top open as closing the lid will break the cubes.
(either place the cubes or skewer them with kabob veggies)
Here they are having been drained, cut into cubes and been marinating for 30 minutes. The spoon is there to let you know its a bowl. Merp
Here they are on the grill, the grill having been sprayed with baking spray to prevent sticking and frying the sauce to the grill. (Not fun to clean up.)
And here is the finished product! I decided to carefully lower the grill and keep it propped up a little to not totally squish the cubes and it went very well!
They are still a little soft but cooked well. This will go great in a salad or lettuce wraps or in place of any meat for a meal. Thinking of adding these to spaghetti.
I believe you can keep cooked tofu in a sealed container for a few days to add to any food later on as alone its somewhat different. I wanted to show what cooked tofu by it self resembles before adding it to anything.
This is going in some pasta or salad!
As this was done on my panini or multi-purpose grill thing clean up was easy, Rinse the grill plates and place in the dishwasher! OR clean then my hand with a soft bristled kitchen brush so as not to ruin the grill plate itself.
If you baked, broiled or cooked it another way cleaning is still fairly simple, rinse and clean! Tofu is a very versatile substance and tends to not stick to things unless you have it coated with a sticky substance.
Thank you for reading and see you next post!
Images and information provided from Serious Eats Blog and Good House Keeping website
I half way do that already. Soy milk and often soy cheese as I cannot handle much dairy without digestive issues later. It is also for Lisa as she cannot handle cow's milk or certain soft cheeses.
To deal with eggs - as most of it is cutting out dairy forms of calcium as eggs are included - it was suggested an egg substitute or tofu. Having a little more experience with tofu I agreed to that along with the stipulation that if its purchased and prepared all must at least ATTEMPT to eat it before out right refusing it.
Surprisingly Gir agreed and my quest for information began!
Be aware tofu was created as a meat or other food substitute, healthy with less dietary issues. IE great for vegetarians or vegans. Lets not forget the infamous tofurky or tofu meat brands heh. HEY there are tofu hot dogs and other tofu based meat, so it doesn't stop there. But for me I am starting with the basic form to see what I can do. Plus the packages have great ideas/images for meal ideas.
Every time I think of tofu I think of P.F. Changs tofu lettuce wraps - well that is where I first encountered tofu and learned it is a bland food meant to be seasoned to preference. It was awesome for me.! (Shout out to my vegan uncle for getting me into this back in my younger days!)
Before I begin with more pictures I want to impart that there are several types of tofu beyond brand name.
Extra Firm, Firm, Medium and Soft.
There is also a silken version of the same options which gives it a soft texture. There is block tofu, fresh silken/custard tofu (served in containers), Dry/Gan/Five spice tofu which is dried out some and little prep work needed. There is also smoked tofu, inari style tofu which is deep fried tofu, sounds good!
These require draining and pressing the remaining liquid out before cooking.
The standard block form is made using the curds and why method which is how some cheeses are made.
Silken tofu is the same type of block yet instead of curds pressed into a block form yet does not use the curds and whey method and instead coagulated and not pressed. This leaves it a bit more heavy than most tofus.
Having not known there were other tofu styles beyond the block I am not sure where these other styles can be obtained. Perhaps your local asian market or foreign market store? Whole Foods or ordered upon request? Forgive my ignorance as I am being honest in not knowing. If you have the proper information please share it so that I most post it!
Fresh silken or custard style tofu is more fresh and meant for more delicate dishes. These can be spooned instead of having to be cut or drained.
Dried/Gan/Five Spices tofu is dried and vacuum packed. It is ultra dense and ready to go right from the package.
Smoked Tofu is also very similar to dried tofu yet has a different taste and texture. It is also ready to go from its package and no prep work such as draining it.
Our Final tofu is Inari Tofu
Which is a deep fried kind of snack or treat. I would love to find this and try it as it is said to be sweet!
Sadly as I have little to no experience with all but the block form of tofu I cannot tell you much about the taste or texture beyond what information was provided. So I will go straight to how I know to prepare the block form of tofu.
I have worked with firm and extra firm tofu and I will admit cooking to preference takes practice.
As it is bland most all tofu in block form needs to be flavored or seasoned.
FORE WARNING! PREP TIME CAN TAKE AT LEAST 90 MINUTES TO ALL DAY DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE TO SPARE. Press time and marinating will take AT LEAST 30 minutes EACH!
FIRST step is draining it!
Open the package by either peeling back the label or cutting into it and draining out the excess fluid.
SECOND is pressing it.
Get either a cookie sheet, flat plate or on a surface you do not mind getting wet. I still recommend a tray.
Place a dish cloth or paper towels down on the tray before cutting into the tofu. For dish cloth i mean the non fiber kind, like a microfiber or something smooth texture where it won't leave imprints of little towel strands. (IE not a wash cloth type fabric)
THIRDLY: Cut the tofu block width wise into 4-6 slices or more. Not too thin or they will break more easily.
Place the tofu on the tray with the towels and place another dish cloth or paper towels on top.
FOURTH you want to place weight but not too much weight to drain the slices.
Here is the issue, if you only have an hour, place several heavy plates with a few cans on top for about 30 minutes then remove. OR if you want to do the overnight style you can place a few heavy plates or flat objects on the tray and place it over night in the fridge. Its up to you.
YOU MUST AT LEAST LEAVE IT PRESSED FOR 30 MINUTES!
Once done remove the weight items and set aside the cloths or paper towels as they will be soaked or very wet from absorbing the water. And cut into cubes of preferred size or crumble it depending on what you plan to do with it.
FINAL STEP, MARINATE! Marinate in your choice of seasoning or sauce.
I recommend
- HOWEVER, AVOID marinades with oil in it as that is like putting oil and water together and we all know how oil and water DO NOT BLEND.
- Use cornstarch for a crispy effect. After marinating coat in cornstarch and pan fry or stir fry!
For this use the shake and bake style, ie place cornstarch in the bag, place tofu cubes and close the bag and shake.
- You can also bake, broil, grill or use grilling pans! I did well using the panini grill press cooker leaving the top open as closing the lid will break the cubes.
(either place the cubes or skewer them with kabob veggies)
And here is the finished product! I decided to carefully lower the grill and keep it propped up a little to not totally squish the cubes and it went very well!
They are still a little soft but cooked well. This will go great in a salad or lettuce wraps or in place of any meat for a meal. Thinking of adding these to spaghetti.
I believe you can keep cooked tofu in a sealed container for a few days to add to any food later on as alone its somewhat different. I wanted to show what cooked tofu by it self resembles before adding it to anything.
This is going in some pasta or salad!
As this was done on my panini or multi-purpose grill thing clean up was easy, Rinse the grill plates and place in the dishwasher! OR clean then my hand with a soft bristled kitchen brush so as not to ruin the grill plate itself.
If you baked, broiled or cooked it another way cleaning is still fairly simple, rinse and clean! Tofu is a very versatile substance and tends to not stick to things unless you have it coated with a sticky substance.
Thank you for reading and see you next post!
Images and information provided from Serious Eats Blog and Good House Keeping website
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