How To Tofu

Last night I cooked tofu for the first time. As a tofu beginner, I was a bit nervous and did some research online first. I'm not a vegetarian, I just don't eat a lot of meat. And tofu is packed full of protein to help add some to my diet that is lacking.

Most online sites say the type of tofu I bought it not high quality, but I didn't know that before I bought it. It was a plastic container sealed shut. I bought the extra firm kind at Erie County Farms. It was only $1.50, so I figured it was worth the risk of disliking it.

Note: this is my first time eating tofu, but most times I've eaten it (in Thai or Indian cuisine) I've not been impressed.

So what did I learn?

Tofuacts:

• Tofu is to Soy Milk as Cheese is to Milk. It’s made by taking soybeans and soaking them in water and grinding them to make soy milk. It's then treated to encourage the protein to separate (like cheese). The curd is then separated from the watery part (the whey) and pressed into tofu blocks.
• Tofu is a concentrated protein, so the serving size is smaller than a slab of meat we are used to seeing on our plates. The adult serving is only about 4 tablespoons. (I think I had about one-sixth of the tofu in the container and I was stuffed after it.)
• In addition to loads of protein, tofu is also a good source of iron, omega-3, and selenium (an antioxidant), to name a few. And it is very low in calories.
• The two main types of tofu are soft/silken (used in smoothies and sauces - picture a custard consistency) and firm tofu (more solid with a more cheesy texture. This needs to be sliced with a knife.)
• Tofu is basically flavorless, but it is a great sponge to flavors. I think most people's dislike comes from that fact (and, yes, the texture can be strange too), but without taste why would you eat it? Marinating it adds lots of flavor.
• Tofu is stored in water. Any part of the block you are not using should be stored in water in an airtight container (for only a few days).
• Wet tofu won't brown, so you need to blot it dry. And, boy, there was a lot of water to be blotted. I used a lot of paper towels.

So how was the tofu and the meal? Stayed tuned for my "Meatless Monday" blog entry - on Monday, wink.