Tofu 2.0: Turning a Bland Block into Culinary Gold

Many lambast tofu as a disgusting, slimy, mushy, flavorless protein that could never stand up to animal proteins. Though I loathe to admit it, this line of thinking isn’t entirely false. Tofu is slimy and mushy, particularly right out of the package. Tofu often finds its way into soups where it wallows as a flavorless, unexciting clump of protein. Or in other cases, it’s cooked right away without adding any seasoning or other accompanying flavors to zazz it up.

But when done right, tofu can be extraordinary! The problem is, most don’t cook it properly.

So much of what makes tofu amazing is that you can do almost anything with it. Just when I think I’ve reached the pinnacle of what one can do with a square of soybean curd, someone comes up with another way to use it that’s even more stunningly creative. But if you aren’t a fan of tofu to begin with (and many aren’t), you won’t see the endless possibilities to make it delicious.

Instead of thinking about tofu cubes, look at a package of tofu as an empty canvas from which you can create a whole world of delicacies. Below are a few ideas just to get you started:

Marinate Your Tofu

The first and most important trick to remember with tofu is that it can be marinated. Much like marinating meat, tofu can soak up the flavors of whatever ingredients you include to add more complex flavor to your dish. This method works great when cooking slabs of tofu, like what’s called for in tofu bahn mi.

It’s also the method used to create delicious flavor in tofu cheeses, such as tofu feta cheese. The longer the dish marinates, the better the flavor, and the less it reminds you of the boring block you opened to create your cheese.

Tofu as Cheese

For the plant-based eater that loves their cheese, or for anyone looking for a healthier alternative to one of life’s greater delicacies, tofu can do wonders to create the right alternative.

Firm or extra-firm tofus can be great for crumbly cheeses that typically hold together (like feta). But they can also be creamed and blended with other ingredients to create a softer vegan cheese, like in It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken’s vegan tofu ricotta. With white miso and a few other staples, this ricotta comes together easily and can be used in your favorite Italian dishes.

For the vegan cream cheese lover, The Hidden Veggies has a recipe that works beautifully to achieve that silky, tangy cheese flavor with just a package of extra-firm tofu, coconut oil, and apple cider vinegar.

Make it Crispy

Oftentimes it’s not enough to simply saute your tofu and hope it comes out crispy. Tofu is very wet when you first open it from the package, and it takes a lot to fully dry out before you need to use it. But one no-fail way to make your tofu slabs crispy? Dredge it in cornstarch first.

Cornstarch is a better alternative than all-purpose flour for crisping as the cornstarch absorbs some of the tofu’s moisture and expands when heated to create a crispy coating. When sauteing it, be sure to leave the tofu alone for several minutes. Futzing with it too early won’t give the cornstarch enough time to become crispy. (This is the method behind my tofu slabs in Tofu Bahn Mi).

Mix It Up

Tofu is also great in that it mixes well with other ingredients. This is good news especially if you aren’t crazy about the texture of tofu. If mixed in well enough, you forget the tofu is there at all!

The ways to do this are endless ways to get creative here. Below are just a few ways in which tofu mixes well into other dishes:

Tofu is a wonderful substitute for eggs in baked goods. It serves as a binder, adds moisture, and provides an equitable amount of protein to the dish. Use one tablespoon of tofu per egg called for in a recipe.
When mixed with flour, tofu adds a helpful amount of protein in dishes where otherwise it might be absent. A genius idea is to create tofu and flour gnocchi. For a dish that is otherwise heavy on carbs and poor on protein, mixing in tofu adds something more.
Because tofu crumbles well, it can also make for a great alternative to scrambled eggs. With the right seasonings, tofu can taste quite similar to a batch of morning eggs. Nora Cooks uses a combination of nutritional yeast, turmeric, and garlic powder to create a sumptuous vegan scrambled eggs dish.

Tofu in Desserts

Tofu isn’t just great in savory dishes; it performs beautifully in vegan desserts. In puddings and creams for example, silken tofu works even better than milk and eggs to create that gelatinous goodness.

My favorite example of this is a chocolate pudding pie. This takes no time at all to come together, and requires only a few hours to chill in the fridge before it’s ready to serve.
Tofu can also be great in cheesecakes or cheesecake like fillings. My Quiet Kitchen has a great recipe to start you off on how this works.

The future of tofu

Though it’s been around for centuries, we’re just touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what’s possible with this astounding ingredient. And if you aren’t convinced by any of the recommendations above, experiment in the kitchen. The geniuses that’ve created today’s tofu delicacies did so by taking a boring slab of tofu and deciding to do something wild with it. You can certainly do the same. I’ll be right here waiting to see what masterpieces you come up with!