Let's talk about tofu!

Wait, don't stop reading!!

Take a look at this photo, and tell me you wouldn’t eat it if you knew if was tofu!

Look, I hate bland, mushy, gloopy foods as much as the next person. Actually, if you even mention “silky” scrambled eggs, I lose my appetite. (I’m feeling my stomach turn just writing those words.)

That’s why when it comes to tofu, I’ve discovered and created recipes that result in crispy, flavorful, textured dishes, and have made me into a tofu convert! My highest hope from this newsletter is that by the end, I will have converted you too.

I like to think of tofu as the vodka of the proteins world. On its own, it’s somewhat unappetizing and strange. But it generously sops up the flavor of whatever you add to it, making it the perfect blank canvas for a lot of dishes—as long as you know how to prepare it right.

Look at that! The char! The glaze! The firmness! (This is a tofu char siu recipe from Woon Heng!)

There are lots of ways to cook tofu, depending on the firmness and how you want to eat it. Some of my favorites are:

• Tofu katsu (as in the first photo)

• Tofu nuggets (like chicken nuggets, but doesn’t require any grinding of chicken)

• Glazed tofu (great for this barbecue tofu sandwich, or this tofu char siu)

• Cut small and tossed in corn starch and dry spices (a good method for a stir fry, or my summer tacos)

And those are just my go-tos! I’ve even used tofu as bacon once, when I really wanted to add it to pasta but didn’t want to go to the store. (And let me tell you, it worked!!)

In addition to being delicious, tofu katsu is also VERY photogenic.

So here are some of my top tofu tips!

I like extra firm tofu. Like I said above, I’m not a fan of ooey gooey foods, so while silken or soft tofu is a very popular choice for many, it is NOT the protein for me. If you’ve always been turned off by the idea of tofu, you’ll likely also prefer the extra firm option. It holds its shape, has actual resistance when you bite into it, and doesn’t have as much moisture. It’s the best option for pretty much every recipe on my site!

Press your tofu! Tofu has a LOT of water in it, so you want to get rid of that before you add any heat. There are literal “tofu presses” that you can buy, but I think they’re unnecessary, especially if you’re cooking just for yourself. All you really need is a cutting board, some paper towels or a dish towel, and a heavy-bottomed pot or cast-iron skillet (or even a heavy book). Slice your tofu, wrap the slabs in a towel, and lay them flat on the cutting board. Then place the pot or pan on top, and let it sit for a while (at least 10 minutes). After that, you can physically press down (carefully!) on the tofu to get the last of the moisture out.

Freeze your tofu. It keeps a lot longer, and it’s easier to press out the moisture more successfully. This does change the texture, but personally, I prefer it—it’s slightly firmer, and a bit more airy. When I buy tofu, I use whatever I need for one meal, then slice up the rest of the package into strips and freeze them in a plastic take-out container. When I’m ready to use them, I just wrap a couple of the slabs in paper towels, and heat in the microwave for about a minute on each side. Physically press down with a fresh towel to release the rest of the moisture, then start cooking!

Cornstarch and tofu are friends. The secret to getting really crispy tofu is adding just the smallest amount of cornstarch. A little goes a long way! The starch draws out even more moisture from the tofu, and also creates a nice crunchy coating around the outside that preps it well for any sauce you add to the pan. If you’re cooking tofu in a pan, you achieve that crispiness with really hot olive oil, and letting the tofu really cook well on each side. That means leaving it in the oil for a few minutes, then flipping and doing the same thing (adding more oil if needed). The outsides should be crispy golden brown. After that, you can chop up the slabs into little squares or triangles, and add them back in for a final toss in some spices or sauce!

A little cornstarch —> going a long way

I love tofu because of its flexibility. It really is what you make of it! Once you have a good base for how to cook it through, the world is your tofu oyster. You can add any sauce or spice to this blank canvas, and experiment to your heart’s desire!

This is certainly not the tofu newsletter to end all tofu newsletters. There’s a whole world of tofu methods and recipes I haven’t touched on, just because I don’t love them myself. But if you’ve never approached this ingredient because you scrunch up your nose at the very thought of it, I hope I’ve changed your mind (at least a little)! Hopefully it has inspired you to go out of your cooking comfort zone, and try at least one of these recipes!

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Tofu katsu with a fluffy egg and frizzled scallions

Time: 30 mins | Difficulty: 2/5 | Recommendation: Weeknight meal

A few months ago, I discovered a recipe from the brilliant Woon Heng for tofu katsu—basically, flattened, breaded tofu that’s fried, taking the place of chicken—and I have fallen in love. It’s become one of the meals in my go-to rotation, because it’s simple yet super flavorful and full of texture. She is vegan, but I am not, so I’ve adjusted mine to be a non-vegan recipe that uses real egg in the batter. If your oil is hot enough, you don’t have to fry the tofu slices for very long, so they don’t get an oily texture at all. I like to make a sauce for the top based on Thai chili paste and mustard, and I also like to actually cook the leftover egg I used to batter the tofu. If you drop a whisked egg into super hot oil, it immediately puffs up and gets sooo fluffy!! You gotta try it! It’s so fun. I recommend having this tofu over rice, because it soaks up the sauce really nicely, or noodles.

Ingredients/tools:

• 2 slices of tofu, about 3/4 inch thick (preferably thawed from frozen)

• Rice flour

• Panko bread crumbs

• 1 egg

• Vegetable oil

• 2 scallions, chopped thinly on a diagonal

• For the sauce:

  • Thai red chili paste

  • Dijon mustard

  • Soy sauce

  • A dash of rice vinegar

  • Honey

  • Chili flakes

  • Immersion blender or whisk

Method:

1. Whisk the egg in a bowl. Pour some rice flour on a plate, and spread some panko on another plate.

2. Dip the tofu first in the rice flour, then the egg, then coat well with the panko.

3. Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet, about half an inch deep. When it’s piping hot, place the tofu in the skillet. Fry on each side for about a minute or so, until crispy and golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle on some salt immediately.

4. Pour the whisked egg directly into the hot oil. It will puff up kind of like a thin omelette. Flip it as needed—you only need to cook it for about 30 seconds. Add salt and pepper, then drain on a paper towel.

5. Lastly, toss the whites of the scallions in the oil for about 10 seconds until they get crispy and start to brown.

6. Make the sauce, adding all of the ingredients plus a touch of water, and immersion blending. (You can also just whisk it all, but blending the sauce aerates it and gets it suuuper smooth!)

7. Layer up! Rice, tofu, sauce, fried scallions, egg, and the scallion greens on top.

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Chaat Tofu Tacos with Goat Cheese and Fruit Slaw

Time: 30 mins | Difficulty: 1/5 | Yield: 2 tacos

Did you know that putting chaat masala on tofu creates a beautiful explosion of crispy flavor in your mouth?? Well you’ve heard it here first. Put chaat masala on your tofu! This recipe came about when I imagined combining my peaches and tomatoes in a chopped fruit slaw, and couldn’t figure out what to pair it with. Then I remembered the frozen tofu in my fridge! It’s way faster to defrost tofu than chicken, so that’s what happened, and I’m glad it did! This slaw would work with any fruits you have (I think yellow peaches would actually be better here than my white) but I recommend something crunchy, and something juicy, and definitely the red onions. Combine that with the zesty tofu, creamy goat cheese, and fluffy frozen parotta, and you’ve got a real winner of a lunch!!

Ingredients:

• For the slaw:

  • 1 peach (white or yellow)

  • A handful of grape tomatoes

  • 1/2 a cucumber

  • 1/4 red onion

  • A hunk of ginger

  • Basil

  • Lemon juice

  • Fruit vinegar (I used mango vinegar) or rice vinegar

  • Olive oil

  • Salt

  • Pepper

  • Sugar

  • Chili flakes

• 2 slabs of tofu, preferably thawed from frozen

• About 1/4 tsp of cornstarch

• Olive oil, about a tablespoon

• Chaat masala (I’m a fan of this brand)

• Basil goat cheese (or just goat cheese)

• 2 frozen parottas (I’m a fan of this brand—if you don’t have any, you can use any other frozen bread, or a tortilla)

Method:

1. Make the slaw: Chop the peaches, tomatoes, and cucumbers into small cubes. Chop the onion as finely as possible. Mince the ginger and slice the basil. Combine everything in a bowl and add the vinegar and olive oil to taste, then add salt, pepper, chili flakes, and just a dash of sugar.

2. Make the tofu: Make sure as much moisture as possible is out of the tofu, then cut the slabs into triangles.

3. Add the cornstarch to the tofu and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper.

4. Heat the olive oil in a pan. When it’s hot enough, add the tofu. Don’t flip it until the first side is nicely golden brown! When it is, brown the other side as well, adding more olive oil if needed.

5. When the tofu is done, turn off the heat, and add two big sprinkles of chaat masala. Toss the pan to coat the tofu. Transfer to a little bowl.

6. Wipe out the pan, and warm up the parottas.

7. Assemble the tacos: Spread a generous amount of goat cheese on one side of each parotta. Add the tofu in the middle. Then add the fruit slaw on top. And enjoy!!

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Nuggs and fries!!

Tandoori Tofu Nuggets

Time: 1 hour | Difficulty: 3/5 | Yield: 8 nuggets

Ever wanted to make a chicken nugget at home but had no idea where to start? Enter, tofu nuggets! They’re just as good (if not better) than chicken nuggets, and they’re much simpler since you don’t have to use ground chicken (or however you make a chicken nugget, I honestly have no idea). They get super crispy on the outside, and the inside stays springy and soft, and of course the tofu takes on any flavor you give it. I adapted this recipe from Eric Kim at NYT Cooking—I’ve added some different flavors, made it for one person, and added a french fry recipe (I want french fries with my nugs!). Give these a try, and you WILL be a tofu convert!!

Ingredients/Special tools:

• Two thick slices of tofu (preferably from frozen—you can chop up a store-bought block and freeze it already in slices, for future recipes!)

• 1 starchy potato

• Vegetable or peanut oil

• Cornstarch

• Chickpea flour (or regular if that’s all you have—chickpea flour adds an extra flavor element)

• Tandoori powder (or really any spices you want!)

• A skillet or heavy non-stick pan

• A big bowl

Method:

1. Defrost and/or press your tofu well. Rip the slices into four nugget-sized chunks each (8 total).

2. Chop up your potato into super thin, french-fry style slices, and pat with a paper towel.

3. Put the tofu in a bowl, and add salt, pepper, and tandoori powder. Coat the pieces by tossing the bowl (and thereby the tofu inside it).

4. Add some cornstarch and toss again until all the sides are coated.

5. Add the chickpea flour and toss, again coating the sides.

6. Heat up some oil in the skillet, and add the potatoes (in batches if needed). I know deep-frying is scary—you don’t need much oil at all, just enough to cover the potatoes! When they’re crispy and the edges have browned, transfer to a paper towel and add salt and pepper.

7. Heat a little more oil if necessary, then add in the tofu in batches. Fry on one side for a couple minutes until crispy, then flip. They should be browned and crisped! You want the oil to be super hot, so the outside cooks through without overcooking the inside.

8. Enjoy with some honey mustard, or ketchup, or sweet and sour sauce!

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Barbecue tofu sandwich

Time: 20 mins | Difficulty: 1/5 | Yield: 1 sandwich

Once I discovered that I could glaze tofu with barbecue sauce, my life changed!! This sandwich comes together in minutes, and in just one pan. You can add anything you want to it, but I like adding white onions and pickles (and make sure you butter and toast the bun!). I recommend using fresh pressed tofu here, so it results in a softer sandwich, but frozen tofu also works great.

Ingredients:

• 2 half-inch slabs of tofu, thawed (if frozen) and pressed

• 1 tsp cornstarch

• Olive oil

• Barbecue sauce

• Hamburger bun

• Pickles

• Sliced onions

Method:

1. Coat the tofu in the cornstarch. Add a touch of salt and pepper.

2. In a pan, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil. Place the tofu in when the oil is hot. When the first side of the tofu is getting a nice golden brown color, flip it and sauté the other side.

3. Once the tofu is cooked through, lower the heat and generously brush barbecue sauce onto the top side. (If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can use a spoon and just spread it around.)

4. Flip the tofu and repeat brushing the barbecue sauce on the other side. After a couple minutes, flip the tofu again and brush on some more sauce, then flip one more time and brush again. You should have at least two coatings of sauce on either side of the tofu.

5. Remove from the heat, add to the bun with your condiments, and enjoy!