The proper way to cook tofu. DO NOT FREEZE
Hi everyone. I do not want to sound fussy or condemning, but since I am asian and have grown up in a household where tofu is cooked a few times each week, I feel the need to tell everyone how to cook tofu properly.
Firstly, cooked tofu has the same texture as uncooked tofu. It seems that too many people are wondering why their tofu is still raw even though they have cooked it for a long time. The truth is, tofu only needs to be cooked for 5 - 10 mins and its texture does not change. So don't worry and enjoy the wonderfully 'fatty' texture of the tofu.
The tofu does not even have to be browned. My mother used to put it in soups so it is optional if you want to brown it.
Thirdly, DO NOT EVER freeze tofu. reading some posts, it seems like most people seem to have the habbit of freeze, thawing the tofu. IT DOESN"T WORK! Tofu is best eaten fresh and freezing it just ruins the flavour and texture. It you really want firmer tofu, buy the firm types.
i never freeze tofu, and i usually don't press it even if the recipe calls for it. i'd rather buy a firmer type if i want less liquid. but usually i'm not too picky about that anyway, so i get whatever's available.
for what it's worth, though, frozen tofu is kind of like koya tofu. Both sorta spongey and very absorptive.
I love telling people--omnis and tofu-naysayers, mostly--about the many, many ways of preparing tofu...
One of my favourites is freezing, thawing, pressing just a bit, then marinating for a few hours in a delicious blend of water, soy sauce, white or AC vinegar, olive oil, herbs and spices, and p'raps some nooch. Like fb says, it becomes spongey and absorbs flavours very well. Then the tofu can be sliced into slabs or cutlets for egg-type breakfast sandwiches and fake chicken nuggets... I've used this method to fool my niece and nephew into thinking they were eating chicken nuggets! This is also what I recommend to the tofu-naysayers who can't stand the softness of tofu.
But I appreciate the natural, squishy integrity of "raw" tofu as well....
Unfrozen tofu blends well for making desserts and for soy-gluten turkey-like roasts. It's also ideal for making stir-frys and breakfast scrambles, which I eat way more often than tofu sammiches or nuggets.
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