I used to feel the same way about tofu that I did about squash. I didnโt exactly crave it, but it wasnโt offensive, and it was as good as whatever I seasoned it with โ especially when the โseasoningโ included a generous amount of fat, i.e. butter or oil. These days I crave it. I love how I feel satisfied, as opposed to full, when I eat a tofu-based dinner; I love that I now have a brand I look for โ Wildwood Organic* โ which is smooth and firm with zero aftertaste; I love how well it pairs with bright, umami-loaded Asian flavors; I love that a box of it can sit in the fridge for weeks at a time, waiting for me to take advantage of its loyalty when circumstances (i.e. no youngest child) allow. All of which means, I think itโs finally time to give tofu the Top 10, er 7, treatment that Iโve given to Rotisserie Chicken, Fall Favorites, Skillet Dinners, and Quick Dinners. Here we goโฆ
Vietnamese Tofu Salad (upper left) This one is from Ilene Rosenโs Saladish, and has been in regular rotation in my house ever since Andy took a bite and announced โKeeper.โ Iโm fine with spreading peanut butter on toast for whichever kid doesnโt want to take part in the glory. It requires a little forethought โ the tofu has to marinate for a day (Iโve cheated at 6 hours), you have to pickle your daikon and carrots. But once you taste it, youโll be plotting how to do it all over again the next day.
Crispy Tofu with Ginger and Greensย (lower right) A Melissa Clark skillet classic, from her book Dinner. I think of this like I used to think of Chicken and Rice: memorize the basic technique, then have fun riffing. The riffing in this case comes in the form of vegetables. Iโve made it with chard, with bok choy, with haricots verts. Itโs so healthy and has so much depth, thanks to a dollop of molasses.
Crispy Tofu-Vegetable Dumplings This is the one recipe on the list that everyone at the table eats, largely because the tofu is disguised when blended with the gingery greens. (The crispy, golden-fried thing is not exactly a demerit either.) It might be a good one to start with if you have young, wary kids at the table.
General Tsoโs Fried Tofu Subย (upper right) OK fine, it calls for 30+ ingredients, but if you had the good fortune to try this sandwich at Tyler Kordโs No. 7 Sub shop, you know itโs probably worth the effort. Confession: Iโm pretty sure Iโve linked to this recipe more than once on DALS, and I still havenโt made it. Please report back if you have with any special insight!
Miso-Butter Tofuย I got this recipe from the great Catherine Newman which is reason enough to try it out, no questions asked. But if you remember to press the tofu for at least 30 minutes, the hands-on time is under 5 minutes. It takes 45-50 minutes to get a good lacquered color, but in that time you can make your salad or side dish, have a glass of wine. Scream at twitter. You decide!
Mongolian Tofu Stir-fryย This was the gateway tofu for me. It was sent to me from a reader years ago and had everything I want in a dinner: sweet, salty, healthy, substantive.
Seared Sesame Tofu with Market Greens (recipe fromย Dinner: The Playbook) I make this for myself for lunch if Iโm working at home and Iโm in the mood for a hot meal. Thatโs the other thing I love about tofu โ itโs so easy for solo cooking. I donโt feel bad slicing off a serves-one portion as opposed to a piece of chicken or fish which I usually buy in family-size packs.
What are your tofu go-tos? Let me know.
*this post is not sponsored.
Tofu sub photo credit: Serious Eats
Hi โ When are you going to write about the Italy trip? Looking forward to it.
Red cooked tofu (http://www.recipe4all.com/recipe/Red-Cooked-Bean-Curd-Family-Style-254/), so good! Frying the tofu is kind of messy but even avowed tofu haters have told me that they loved this.
I love tofu! I am lazy and never bother pressing it- when i sear it the most important thing is just to pat dry the outside.
My favorite recipe of all time- which has converted many anti tofu people, is this one with a delicious peanut buttery sauce! Note the amount of soy sauce must be a mistake, use like 2TB total, i omit the tamari
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/tofu-triangles-in-creamy-nut-buttter-sauce-with-scallions-355894
Also the ***huge*** advantage is tofu is cheap! Like $2-3 lb for good organic tofu. Aside from eggs no other protein is so versatile and budget friendly
WOW, @Trockwood! That recipe was sooooooooooooooo good. Itโs a Friday night, both girls are out, and we decided to go crazy and make it for just the two of us instead of going out. Iโm so glad we did โ it was better than what we wouldโve ordered (and overpaid for) in a restaurant. Thank you so much for the link! (Working my way through the others nowโฆ.) JR
I made this tonight and LOVED it. It would be delicious with roasted broccoli.
This is my personal favorite โ I use 1/2 the grapeseed oil, 2 T of coconut oil, and a smidge of sriracha (young-ish kids).
Definitely make her coconut rice recipe, in the headnotesโฆ
https://food52.com/recipes/56204-baked-tofu-with-coconut-kale
I think I overdosed my family on that Miso Butter tofu recipe because theyโve gone on tofu strike. But i bet i can win them back with that crispy tofu dumpling dish. Iโll definitely be bookmarking this page (or printing up every recipe and stuffing them into my DALS book and wonder why itโs bursting at the seams?). Cheers!
Poking around the panty shelf yesterday & discovered a block of firm tofu with a fast approaching best by date. Purchased during a flirty vegan period. The crispy tofu with greens is calling. May offset all of the destruction over the last week (birthday cakes, burgers and a tub of Trader Joeโs jalapeรฑo cheese dip). Cheers!
I fry slices of tofu, steam broccoli, and then eat both over rice with peanut sauce.
Not to ruin everythingโฆ but could the monoglian tofu be made with chicken instead?
You must try spicy braised tofu, aka dubu jorim, sooo good. I use this recipe but modified: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dubu-jorim. The secret to pan frying tofu is to add it and the oil to a cold pan. Donโt preheat and it wonโt splatter everywhere. This is made at our house almost weekly, and the leftover sauce is delicious with plain rice once all the tofu is gone!
I use this sauce with crispy tofu served over brown rice. Itโs fantastic.
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/04/the-best-general-tsos-chicken-food-lab-chinese-recipe.html
And this sandwich is live changing.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/06/13/tofu_banh_mi_a_vietnamese_caramelized_tofu_sandwich_that_shatters_prejudices.html
I am a tofu lover, too, and am so excited to have this list! Iโm always looking for new ways to make it and will be adding all of these to my โmust makeโ list to try. One that is a hit at our house and a good one for people still learning to โappreciateโ the wonderful world of tofu is baked tofu nuggets (I believe this is the recipe I started with (Iโve made it so many times Iโve long sing memorized) https://hellonutritarian.com/crispy-no-oil-baked-tofu-fingers/). We make it 1-2x a month and my 5yo daughter is single handedly responsible coating the tofu for the last year. She loves having that job and watch out if I try to take over! Itโs that perfect combo of winning dish and child involvement that reminds me of DALS recipes ๐
Another go-to is a spicy peanut butter sauce (this is a good one Iโve tried: https://kalynskitchen.com/spicy-sriracha-tofu-peanut-butter/). Such a yummy, hearty dish.
Canโt wait to try these new recipes โ and thank you for thinking of us tofu nuts! ๐
A new tofu go-to for us is Mark Bittmanโs miso soup with soba noodles, bok choy, and tofu. Itโs in his Food Matters cookbook.
Itโs easy to keep the elements separate so everyone can build the bowl he or she wants.
Thereโs a slightly altered version of it here: http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/miso_soup.html
This Food52 recipe https://food52.com/recipes/69829-crispy-sesame-baked-tofu-shiitake-mushrooms is on regular rotation in our house, minus the mushrooms, so I double the tofu (and corn starch and breadcrumbs) and then you donโt have to split into two bowls. Iโve used tortilla chips, crackers, cornflakes, really anything crispy in place of the breadcrumbs. You can use less oil, too when doing all tofu. Also, easily gluten free with gf soy sauce. Even picky children like it!
delicious recpieโฆ thanks for sharing this tasty recpie
We have tofu frequently, I have many recipes but a always on the lookout for new ones. Iโve been meaning to make the Miso-Butter Tofu for ages and finally did tonight. It is SO good. The little bit of butter adds amazing flavor. Iโll be making this again and again, thank you for sharing.
We make the Maangchi dubu jorim recipe verbatim whenever we need something spicy and arenโt eating with the kids. Someone else posted the link, but here it is again: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/dubu-jorim
So amazing!!
I also really like the Thai Sweet and Sour Tofu from Steamy Kitchen: https://steamykitchen.com/39756-thai-sweet-and-sour-tofu-recipe.html
I usually do 1.5x the sauce, double the peppers, and add a ton of broccoli or green beans in.