How do I get firm tofu? HELP!
Posted by Cristybel on Oct 09, 2007 · Member since Apr 2007 · 18 posts
Hi, everyone! I have wanted to prepare all the great recepies we have here that include firm tofu as an ingredient. Where I live I can only find crumbled tofu, it's very moist and it fall appart as soon as i get it out of the package. I've tried freezing it, like some recipes suggest, but I never get the right texture...What am I doing wrong? :'( I would really appreciate any advice you could give me. Thanks!
Firm tofu I think is just more firmer than soft tofu. It is still very soft.
It shouldn't be falling out of the pkg in crumbles.
Firm tofu is at the supermarkets and health food stores.
hmmm.... is soft tofu the best you can find? if you can find medium even you can press it and it gets very firm.
It might be harder to find various forms of tofu in Mexico unless you are in a large metropolitan area. You can try using what you got. It should taste the same the texture will just be different.
Good luck!
can you request that you get firm tofu?
maybe you can freeze it and then REALLY squeeze and drain the tofu to get it dry. wrap it in a clean towel and weigh it down, manually pressing it often.
Maybe you can find asceptically packaged tofu. That is tofu that is made right in the cardboard box. It is shelf-stable and doesn't need to be refrigerated. Japanese silken tofu is sold this way. (Mori-Nu is a popular brand). It is much more custardy and delicate than the Chinese-style tofu most people are referring to here, but if you slice it or cut it into chunks and freeze it first (and then let it thaw), it works quite well.
Hmmm jkl, I was thinking maybe she DID have aseptic (silken) tofu (that kind seems more crumbly to me)
But yes, freezing it will help to stay intact a great deal.
Check your package Cristybel, does it say "silken" anywhere? What else is on the label? Brand name? Is it sold refridgerated? Or off the shelf?
The asceptically packaged tofu can come out in a nice little block if you are careful when cutting open the package. Then you can cut it into slabs or chunks and stick it in the freezer, which will firm up its texture. If you can find it, Cristybel, you can keep it in your cabinet for a quite a while.
Thank you, everyone. I actually live in a small city where the vegetarian options are very limited. I think Ï might travel to a bigger city to try and find firm tofu. Meanwhile, I'll try draining it and freezing it until I get it right :D
Thanks! You have been really helpful
Oddly enough, you can actually buy Mori-Nu tofu off of the amazon website.
Another good mail order source is www.healthy-eating.com.
The healthy eating website doesn't carry the mori-nu tofu but they do have regular tofu which I think they will ship vacuum packed and refrigerated, which is probably expensive. BTW, they also have the book Art of Tofu which was funded by Mori-Nu and written by Michael Jackson's former personal vegan chef and has tons of excellent recipes for stuff to do with that boxed tofu. I'm sure I'm sounding like a commercial right now, but I do think it is great that you can send tofu all over without having to worry about refrigeration. My children prefer the texture of the refrigerated Chinese-style kind, and it is easy for me to obtain, so I don't use the boxed stuff that often.
I have just started to make my own Tofu and noticed the more you press the water out the firmer it becomes. Here is my recipes. You need to get yourself some magnesium chloride from the chemist first. This is what makes it curdle.
2l Soya Milk heat it up until you see small bubbles appearing on top. Take it from the heat source and pour in a mixture of 100ml cold water with 1.5 teaspoon magnesium chloride. Let it stand for 15 minutes.
Than strain the mixture into a tea clothe over a collander or something where the water can run away. When it is cold enough to handle you can press some more water out. Put it in the refrigerator to cool down until you need it. It is now ready for use. The tofu will take on any shape you press it in. I get about 500g from 2l.
Good luck.
Gleny
www.incredabletransformation.com
:)
I have just started to make my own Tofu and noticed the more you press the water out the firmer it becomes. Here is my recipes. You need to get yourself some magnesium chloride from the chemist first. This is what makes it curdle.
2l Soya Milk heat it up until you see small bubbles appearing on top. Take it from the heat source and pour in a mixture of 100ml cold water with 1.5 teaspoon magnesium chloride. Let it stand for 15 minutes.
Than strain the mixture into a tea clothe over a collander or something where the water can run away. When it is cold enough to handle you can press some more water out. Put it in the refrigerator to cool down until you need it. It is now ready for use. The tofu will take on any shape you press it in. I get about 500g from 2l.
Good luck.
Gleny
www.incredabletransformation.com
:)
Magnesium chloride!! I KNEW it had to be a bad translation. I was watching a documentary on a French channel about tofu, and they used the word for "gypsum" as the active agent. Which, being interpreted, is plaster of Paris! Glad to hear the real name for the agent.
Ay yay, I missed this post, and I just looked at your profile, Cristybel. I was in Guanajuato (San Miguel de Allende in fact) a few years back. I don't even think we looked for tofu, but we did eat soya-chorizo often (amazingly, it was pretty easy to find), which is basically spiced/seasoned tofu. If you can't find firm stuff, you might be able to substitute soya-chorizo, unless the recipe is bland/delicate. Just a thought.