How Do You Cook Tofu?

How Do You Cook Tofu?

 So you bought a box of tofu and either tried to prepare it and it turned into a complete culinary disaster, or it has been sitting in your fridge just waiting to go bad because you don't dare pull it out and try to use it.  Well, have no fear, tofu is very easy to prepare IF you know how to do it.

If you do not know how to prepare tofu it can end up having a terrible taste and texture.  Many people who say they don't like tofu, don't like it because they have never had it prepared properly.  I decided to do a little tofu tutorial on how to cook tofu and use it in recipes so you can enjoy it rather than loathe it.

This simple tutorial will teach you how to cook tofu without any added oil, and yet you will achieve a beautiful browned tofu that will be a delicious addition to any recipe.

How To Cook Tofu Tutorial

1. Purchase Firm or Extra Firm tofu in the water packed cartons.  *Do not get silken tofu!
2. Cut the plastic and drain out the water
3. Press the tofu in a large kitchen towel to remove most of the water, do not press too hard and damage the tofu.
4. Slice the tofu in squares or triangles as you see above.
5. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and place the tofu in the skillet as shown above.
6. Use a spatula to press the water out of each slice of tofu as it cooks, it will sizzle as the water is released.  Continue to do this until the tofu slices no longer sizzle when pressed and they are browned on the bottom.

As you can see the tofu will brown very nicely and you do not have to use any oil to get this beautiful browning of the tofu.

8.  Flip the tofu and continue pressing the tofu with the spatula to remove water and brown the other side.

9. When the tofu is browned on both sides, remove from the skillet.

10.  Marinate the tofu in whatever marinate you will be using.


Examples of Marinades:

Barbeque sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Fajita sauce
Stir fry sauce

You can use any marinade that you want, make sure to marinate for about 15 to 30 minutes before cooking.  You can even marinate the tofu overnight for best results, but if you are just making a quick dinner 15 minutes is adequate.  Once the tofu is marinated you can either cook it in a skillet with the sauce and veggies or you can bake it.

Beautiful Asian Tofu Sweet and Sour Stir fry

As you can see, with this method of cooking tofu leaves a beautiful browned appearance and a very good texture.

Try out this method of cooking tofu and let me know how it works for you!