Tofu

Question: tofu?????????? ok i wanted to start{trying} to be a vegetarian but whats tofu?

Answer: Tofu is bean curd of the soy variety. Its made by curdling soy milk. Wait...I know what your thinking sounds kind of icky, but its not. Cheese goes through a similar process (I'm more inclinded to think cheese is icky). There are different types silken, chinese...soft...firm...extra firm. If your going to try tofu for the first time my suggestion is that you find a Chinese or vegetarian restaurant that serves tofu and try a dish there. The first time I tried it I bought a package of silken at wal-mart and just tried to cook it without any seasoning. I didn't care for the texture or taste at that time. It took me three years to try it again, but this time I tried it at a Thai restaurant. I'm so glad I did. I love it now. I started reading on how to cook it and and experimenting with it recipes. I have even gotten my meat eating family to enjoy from time to time. I'm not big on chain restaurants, but since I don't know if your local chinese restaurant has tofu or not here are a few that offer tofu: P.F. Chang’s Moe’s World Wraps Planet Sub - I think the still have a vegetarian sub with a tofu spread BD's Mongolian Barbeque

Question: How do you make Vietnamese style tofu? I love going to Vietnamese restaurants and getting vermicelli dishes with the fresh veggies and tofu. The tofu doesn't seem like it's fried (I hope it's not!), but it has a really great texture and it's not oily at all. It's just slightly chewy. It's also like this in the tofu spring rolls w/ peanut sauce that I enjoy. I can't seem to replicate this at home. Does anybody know the method that might be used to make the tofu like this? Thanks for any tips!

Answer: Hope this is close to what you are looking for! Title: Tofu Spring Rolls Yield: 4 Ingredients 2 tb soy sauce 1 ts sesame oil 125 g tofu; cut into cubes 1 ; (4oz) 2 tb olive oil 1 leek; cut into thin 1 ; strips 1 carrot; cut into thin 1 ; strips 75 g mangetout; cut into thin 1 ; strips (3oz) 2 cloves garlic; chopped 1 ts fresh root ginger; chopped 125 g button mushrooms; sliced -(4oz) 1/2 ts five spice powder 75 g beansprouts; (3oz) 1 ts cornflour 1 salt and freshly ground -black peppe; r 1 200 g pack chilled vegetable - fat fi; lo 1 ; pastry 40 g solid vegetable oil; melted -(1 1/2oz) 1 to garnish: radish flowers -and spri; ng 1 ; onion tassles Instructions In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil and 2 tablespoons cold water. Add the tofu and marinate for approx 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a frying pan or wok and stir fry the leek, carrot and mangetout strips for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and mushrooms and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the tofu (reserving the marinade) with the five spice powder and beansprouts. Blend the cornflour with the marinade and pour over the vegetables and cook gently until thickened, add seasoning and leave to cool. Cut the filo pastry sheets to make 16 squares, 23cm x 18cm (9" x 7") sheets. Brush one filo pastry sheet with melted vegetable oil and lay another sheet on top. Place a spoonful of the vegetable mixture at one end of the pastry and roll up gently, folding the sides in. Brush the other end with a little more vegetable oil to seal the pastry. Repeat for the remaining spring rolls. Deep fry the spring rolls in hot oil preheated to 180 C, 350 F for approximately 5 minutes until golden brown. Drain well on absorbent kitchen paper.

Question: How do I eat tofu and what is the best way to prepare it? I am from Russia and this is not exactly a Russian dish. I have never bought tofu before nor seen tofu before. In fact, last week was the first time I have noticed tofu in my grocery store.

Answer: For you it is too new to eat it traditional style. I would recommend frying it preferably in a wok with green onion, garlic, soy sauce, ginger and ground beef. It will be very flavorful and easy to adapt too. Many japanese eat it alone and dip it into a mixture of soy sauce, green onion and ginger.

Question: How do I cook tofu in chicken and dumplings? I am having friends over for dinner soon and want to respect the vegetarian habits of a few of them. I am going to make a batch of tofu and dumplings for them and chicken and dumplings for everyone else but have never used tofu. I know enough to get firm or extra-firm tofu but beyond that I am clueless. Can I just treat it like chicken and prepare it the same way?

Answer: Frank is right on with making sure you use separate pans and using vegetable broth for the vegetarian version. The way I cook tofu is to drain it well with paper towels. Cut into 1" or so cubes. Cook in a lightly oiled skillet until the sides are browned. Then add it into the non-chickend pan of dumplings. If you don't want to go through all that effort you can go buy Morning Star Farms green bag of fake chicken strips in the freezer section of your grocery store. If you shared what recipe you are using, it would be easier to tell you how to make a vegetarian version. Anyway, it is very nice of you to do this for your friends.

Question: Can someone explain the differences of Tofu in the market? There are about 5 or 6 different types of tofu like firm & organic...what's the difference? Are some types more healthy than others? Which are the best in your opinion? How long have you eaten tofu? Any good tofu recipe suggestions?

Answer: There are many types of tofu.Different textures and consistencies are used for different recipes. 1. Tofu fa/tofu cheese is the lightest soya product. It's eaten as cold as a dessert with hot syrup and fruit. 2. Silken tofu has egg added to give it a smoother, softer consistency. This is usually steamed. 3. Normal tofu is good for simple stirfrying with lots of sauce, which doesn't require a lot of stirring. It's usually added towards the end of cooking so it doesn't break up. 4. Firm tofu is for frying and shallow frying. Don't forget to roll it in flour and salt to stop it from sticking. 5. Dehyrdrated and fried tofu is good for stewing.(Usually yellow-orange in colour)

Question: How do I make tofu taste good? I need to use protein sources other than meat, at least some of the time. I can't seem to get the tofu flavor (which I really don't like) out of tofu. Any tips?

Answer: In a nonstick pan with about a tablespoon of oil, brown the tofu in chunks or slabs until it's golden brown-ish. Turn the heat down in the pan (and turn on the stove vent, it's going to get smokey) and add about two tablespoons of soy sauce. Cook until all the fluid is gone and absorbed into the tofu, toss it around to the tofu coats evenly. You can eat it like that. After this step you can make it even better by cooking it to death with BBQ sauce, Thai peanut sauce, apricot preserves (it makes a killer glaze let the some of the sugars burn on the edges and oooh add scallions...) or a splash of liquid smoke. Always use extra firm tofu. Also try freezing the tofu and thawing it out before cooking to make the texture more chewy.

Question: How do you keep tofu from crumbling? I love the tofu served in restaurants. It's always very firm, and either fried or with a nice glazed outside. But when I try to cook it at home, it always ends up crumbling. I try to soak it in a glaze, and it crumbles. I mix it with other things, and it crumbles. How do I prevent this? And I do always buy the extra firm tofu.

Answer: It sounds like you may be buying the extra-firm "silken" kind, right? The ones in the aseptic package (usually Mori-Nu in the US) is good for making dessert, smoothies, pies, puddings...usually anywhere you need to puree something. But it's not so good for cooking. Try getting the water-packed tofu that usually comes in 14 or 16 oz. containers in the US. Make sure that it says extra-firm and does not say silken anywhere on the package. If you are already buying the water packed one, you are either handling it too harshly or it's a crappy brand. Try another one. Here's some info: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/f/TypesofTofu.htm

Question: How do we get rid of natural raw odor of Tofu after cooking? Tofu is s tasteless and unlike Paneer it has natural odor which is dis agreeable to many. We have tried wash Tofu in many changes of plain water without any results. I came across a reference that by deep freezing the fresh Tofu for two or three days would remove the odor and this has worked out well. .Please advise whether storing tofu in deep freezer will affect quality of the same. I would like to have some suggestions of Indian recipes based on Tofu

Answer: tofu is fine after freezing, it keeps well.

Question: How do I get my tofu to not turn to mush? I sort of invented a recipe with tofu. I cook mushrooms, bean sprouts, shrimp, a little onion and lots of pineapple in pineapple juice, but my tofu always turns to mush. I buy the firm kind and cube it, but it still ends up mushy. Should I precook it or something like that? Any suggestions?

Answer: well... when i use tofu for stir fry i always cube it and then put it on a plate. i then stack more plates on it and leave it that way for lets say... 30 min. then i take it out and cook it. the plates squeeze all the moisture out of the tofu and make it firm!

Question: How can I cook tofu without it crumbling up? I want to try to make mattar paneer but replace the paneer with tofu. But I am finding it difficult to keep the tofu from crumbling up as it appears to be softer then paneer. If I don't fry the tofu then it will taste bland. Or is there any other way to flavor the tofu?

Answer: Buy firm or extra firm tofu. If you want it to be more flavorful, let it marinade for a while before you cook it.

Question: What are the differences between soft and firm tofu? Does this affect the taste, and at what times would I want a softer or firmer tofu? I specifically want to fry tofu in a pan and then put it in a pot with broth and udon noodles. Should I buy a softer or firmer tofu?

Answer: For stir frys and soups you want a tofu that is going to hold together. On the science discovery channel's "How it's Made" they showed how tofu is made. Softer tofu is used for desserts and creamy things. Firmer tofu is used where you want it to stay together and/or keep it's shape. Maybe that will help a little bit. I've only used tofu once. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't like it very much.

Question: How long does tofu last when its been sitting in the refrigerator opened? I've had tofu in a container in water for about a week. Is it still good? Also, would freezing it before make a difference?

Answer: I wouldn't use tofu if it had been sitting around for a week without the water changed. If you have leftovers in the future that you won't use right away, you can freeze it. The texture will be different when you use it because the liquid inside the tofu freezes and expands... and it will be chewier-- less smoothe. Some people prefer freezing it to use in recipes anyway to achieve that texture. (drain it first and wrap it tightly)

Question: How to cook tofu and what to do with it? I need step by step instructions on exactly how to cook tofu. Specifically, for a stir fry, but I'm open to any other suggestions that you have. Thanks. how exactly do you cook it though? do you cut into little pieces, leave it in like a steak-looking piece. how long do you cook it for? could you get sick if it's not cooked long enough (I'm guessing not)? do you buy the hard kind or the soft kind? what section is it in in the grocery store? i need to know everything lol.

Answer: For a stir fry, cube it to whatever size you like. The next step depends on how cooked you like your tofu. I prefer it to be golden and a bit crispy on the outside so I fry it in a skillet with a bit of oil. Stir/flip after about three minutes. Stir/flip again after another couple minutes or so. Once it is golden, about 8 - 10 minutes total, take it out of the pan and then cook the veggies. Add the cooked tofu to the veggies during the last couple minutes of cooking to reheat it and coat it with any sauce you may be using. If you prefer tofu that isn't crispy and is simply warmed and almost poached, stir fry the veggies and then add the cubed tofu during the last 4 minutes of cooking. You can cut the tofu into slices for "steaks" or even for stir-fry if you prefer (though the pieces aren't as easy to work with as cubes. I use the extra-firm for almost all cooking. Usually it is found in the produce section of the grocery store but if yours has an organic/natural foods section with a refrigerator case it could be there. Here's one of my fave tofu recipes. http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=701112

Question: What is the difference between firm tofu and extra firm tofu? I just started becoming a vegetarian and what is the difference between firm and extra firm tofu and how exactly do i cook each of them? Is there different ways to cook each type?

Answer: Hi, there are many types of tofu, although they basically all get made the same way. You can guess the difference between firm and extra firm, firm tofu is firm enough to cut into cubes that can be skewered or stir fried. Extra firm is more like cheese - it is firm enough to cut into much thinner slices. Extra firm tofu is made the same way and is pressed with more weight for longer. This squeezes out more water and makes it hold together more. Silken tofu is not very versatile in the kitchen. It can be used in many desserts but it is too soft and delicate for stir fries in my experience. Smoked tofu is usually firm or extra firm - but the smoking process dries it and generally makes it a bit firmer than the unsmoked versions. I buy Viana Real Smoked Tofu which is the best I have ever had, Taifun tofu is good - but these brand are mainly in the UK and EU. I don't know US brands. Some tofus are flavoured with herbs or smoked, they use different coagulants, which can change the taste (nigari, magnesium sulfate) is a bit tangy and a little bitter, Calcium chloride is neutral. I encourage you to try all the types you can find - you will like some more than others.

Question: How long does tofu last before you need to pitch it? I've had tofu in my fridge for about a week now and i'm not sure whether to throw it out or use it for lunch tomorow.

Answer: you have to change the water daily after opening the tofu (and keep it sealed) and 5 days after opening it is pushing it....hope i helped!!

Question: How do I fry tofu without getting lots of smoke in my kitchen? I love frying up tofu with a little cooking oil, lemon juice, and hot sauce, but the problem is my kitchen gets ridiculously smokey for hours whenever I cook it. Any suggestions on how to avoid the smoke?

Answer: I pan fry tofu, more like a saute, on medium high heat with a couple tablespoons of canola oil in a non-stick pan. I've never had a problem with it smoking. I'm not sure if you already cook like this, but I wait until the last minute to add any additional flavors, usually garlic and soy sauce. Maybe it's the lemon juice and hot sauce burning and smoking? Try waiting until the last 30 seconds or so to add your additions, maybe that will help.