New to Tofu ... any suggestions for EASY recipes?
#135420 - 01/05/05 02:09 PM
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KimGun
Reged: 10/15/04
Posts: 80
Loc: St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Caribbean
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I recently bought some tofu, as a substitute for cheese, and then found that I didn't know what to do with it. I guess I didn't realise that it was so 'tasteless'. I was wondering if anyone has some quick/easy recipes that I could try, as I do not really enjoy speding much time in the kitchen.
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Hi there, I'd have to say the easiest way is to add it to a veggie stir fry.
Here's my quick meal that I had tonight after coming home from work.
Rinse tofu. Cut into tiny 1" cubes and fry it in a pan or wok with some cooking sray. Add sliced carrots, green and red pepper, onion, celery and whatever else you like. Cook under tender (5-10 mins).
Add a store-bought stir fry sauce. Heat until boiling and then turn off heat. Serve on rice.
I found a GREAT one that I used tonight. It's called Renees 'Sesame Ginger Teriyaki' sauce. There's no bad stuff in it at all. Here's a link. http://www.renees.com/products_sizzlin_sesame.asp
Good luck! 
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I like to sautee slices of tofu lightly with just a little bit of sesame oil and soy sauce. You only need to cook it for 4 minutes or so, while you toast a couple slices of sourdough bread. Spread some low fat ginger soy dressing on the bread and maybe add a couple slices of ham and you have a delicious breakfast sandwhich!
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Ok...just had pre-baked tofu...made by White Wave. Par Excellence! i had it with roasted peppers and squash.mmmm!
Any way we can keep this thread here going? I am also new to tofu and looking for any recipes. Thanks...and super post KimGun!
--------------------
Formerly known as Ruchie
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You could also do this in a grill pan on the stovetop, but I'm not sure how it would work in a Foreman grill. I saw this on a cooking show last summer and it looked REALLY good.
"TOFU ON STILTS" (DENGAKU)
Dengaku is a popular dish at the tea houses that line the lovely Philosophers Walk in Kyoto. The dish takes its curious name from the Japanese word for "stilt." The stilts in question are two slender bamboo skewers that are used to hold the piece of tofu over the coals for grilling.
Makes 8 pieces, enough to serve 4
* 2 pounds extra firm tofu
for the miso glaze:
* 1/2 cup white miso
* 2 tablespoons mirin
* 2 tablespoons sake
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
* 16 bamboo skewers
1. Rinse the tofu and press for 1 hour. (To press the tofu, place it on a gently sloping cutting board in the sink. Place a heavy plate on top of it and let stand for 1 hour. The weight of the plate will press out the excess liquid and firm up the tofu.)
2. Prepare the miso glaze. Combine the miso, mirin, sake, sugar, and mayonnaise in the top of a double boiler and whisk until smooth. Cook the sauce over the double boiler until thick and creamy, about 3 minutes.
3. Cut each block of tofu through the short side to obtain 2 broad thin rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half widthwise. Stick two skewers through the narrow end of each piece of tofu. Preheat the grill to high.
4. Grill the tofu on each side until lightly browned, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes per side, brushing with miso glaze. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve at once.
From BBQ U
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I always recommend VegWeb for people looking for vegetarian recipes - they have a LOT of tofu ideas, ranging from it being breaded like chicken nuggets to alfredo sauce for pasta, all of it vegan. 
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Hi, I"m brand new here, but I cook a lot and love tofu. I bake mine. I use ginger, garlic, low sodium soy sauce or shoyu, a little organic sesame oil (a tiny bit of this goes a very long way, and some mirin or rice wine. Using fresh tofu, the kind that is water packed, drain it, and cut the brick in half. Press it in paper towels between two plates with some weight (a can is enough) on the top one. This will remove some of the water and make it soak up the flavorings better. Then, pat it dry, slice each half in half again, so you have four slabs about 1/2 inch thick. Place these flat in an ovenproof pan, and pour the marinade over it. You should have enough marinade to come halfway up the sides. marinate for 30 minutes, turning once, and then back, in the sauce, at 450 for 30 minutes. Turning once again. It will get rather brown on the outside, and should soak up all the sauce. This is great on anything - sandwiches, stirfries, or in spring rolls.
Please let me know if there are any ingredients that are questionable here - I am just starting here and love cooking - it is a whole new challenge to learn to coo in a way that won't make me sick but I'm up for it!
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Yum!
#155996 - 03/02/05 04:30 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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That sounds good to me! And safe, too, as long as you keep the sesame oil to a bare minimum... but like you say, a little bit does go a long way.
If you have any more tofu recipes, please do share! (No pressure or anything... hehe.) I'm trying to expand my horizons a little - I'm not sure if I'm going to go completely vegetarian, I'm just really tired of chicken and turkey, and looking to branch out into more vegetarian options - but tofu does intimidate me a little. LOL!
By the way, welcome!
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Re: Yum!
#156090 - 03/02/05 07:41 PM
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StymiedChef
Reged: 03/01/05
Posts: 7
Loc: Washington State, USA
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I do a lot of things with tofu - you can bake it in a glass pan covered with your favorite safe barbeque sauce, and then slice it thin and have it on sourdough rolls - yummy!
One thing i learned to do with tofo from "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen" was braise it. In order to adapt that for IBS safe diets, I would probably bake it in any of the sauces he lists - some are savory, some more spicey and thai flavored - I haven't looked at that book in quite some time but they had it at the library (where I often check out cookbooks!) I have made a nice approximation of chicken noodle soup with tofo that's baked in lemon and rosemary, and then I add that to my soup at the last minute, with the cooked noodles.
It's also lovely just plain in broth with tiny slices of carrot and mushroom for texture.
Silken tofo is amazing for desserts. You can blend it with flavorings into seriously decadent puddings - there are nice examples at vegweb. Another great use for silken tofu is making dressings - that stuff will blend into such a creamy smoothness you'd swear it was dairy.
Crescent Dragonwagon's "Passionate Vegetarian" has this fab recipe for tofu sourcream:
1 box silken reduced fat tofu
1 tsp umeboshi plum paste
1/2 tsp salt
2 tb olive oil, tahini or cashew butter (the tahini might be the best option for IBS)
1 1/2 tbst sweetener (lists: sugar, honey, rapicura, rice syrup, sucanat, etc)
blend within an inch of it's life! yay!
ok enough from me for one evening. if anyone has any input on the ingredients in these things, please let me know. I'm still sorting out my diet, my kitchen, my recipes, and my body.
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I know you can freeze tofu, and in fact, it's recommended in some cases because it changes the texture. Is there anything in particular I need to know about freezing tofu? Just wrap it up well and it'll be fine? I'm the only person in my house who will eat tofu, so I know I'm going to need to freeze 3/4 of the package when I open it tomorrow.
I'm going to look for that cookbook at the library. Sounds like there's some great ideas in it. I did notice, in looking through recipes at vegweb and fatfree.com, that a lot of them call for cooking the tofu first in a flavorful liquid, which it then absorbs, and THEN using it in recipes. I think that's where I've gone wrong in the past. Well, that, and not pressing it under a plate to drain. My past tofu attempts have been flavorless and spongy.
Thanks for the tofu "sour cream" recipe! That's going to be useful, because if I'm remembering correctly, the Tofutti sour cream sub is quite high in fat and not really recommended. Just one question - do you think something else could be substituted for the plum paste? I *think* I can get that down in Bangor, but I'm not sure.
Anyway, thanks for your help! I think you're going to get called on for help a lot around here. 
Oh yeah, and I didn't see anything in what you've mentioned that wouldn't be safe. The big thing to watch out for in vegan/vegetarian cooking (other than being sure to get plenty of soluble fiber) is the oil/fat content... otherwise, it's obviously pretty healthy on its own. Fats should be kept as low as possible, and definitely 20% or lower of your daily calorie intake. I find I feel best if I keep it around 10%. It does take a little while to sort everything out, but you'll get the hang of it. I've always loved to cook, but I actually find it MORE fun now than when I was cooking fatty meaty food.
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