In Chinese cooking, so I've read, there are five flavors: salty, spicey, sweet, sour and bland. That's an interesting way to look at food when you've grown up in a culture that divides flavor into nearly infinite categories. Here in the West, we'd think of bland as a problem, not a flavor; in China it's an active ingredient. Probably you won't understand why this came about until tofu cooking becomes an important part of your kitchen routine. Tofu plain is overpoweringly bland. If you need a little bland in your food, add some tofu.

I'm not against tofu at all. It's a wonderful food and I eat it regularly, enjoy it in tofu stir fry and in tofu soups and tofu stews and even grilled tofu recipes. Low calorie, high protein and economical, tofu makes an excellent substitute for beef and pork if you need to cut down on the red meat, or a practical extender if you need to make a pound of hamburger go a little farther on this week's budget. Cooking tofu, however, is a challenge. If you grew up on meat you've become accustomed to the intense flavors of salt and fat that those proteins provide. Tofu by itself doesn't have that. If there is a flavor to tofu alone, it comes from the ingredient that was used to separate the protein from the whey of the soy milk. That could be nigari or vinegar or more than likely the commercial substitute, epsom salts. It's hard to make a meal based on the trace flavors of vinegar.

Tofu recipes require more work. You can cook steak by itself, with no seasoning at all, and you'll be happy with it. Sear a plain piece of tofu on both sides and you have hot tofu, a big slab of blandness. Don't judge tofu harshly if that's all you've done.

This is the simplest tofu recipe I've found that actually works.

Divide the block of tofu into half and then slice it into equal sections about half an inch thick. I usually slice through the block horizontally as well and wind up with roughly equal pieces about two inches long, an inch wide, and half an inch or so thick. Since they have to be turned once during the process this is about as small as you should go.

Heat a non stick saute pan to medium high and add the cooking oil. Olive oil is one of the healthiest but corn oil adds more flavor and has a buttery taste. Unique oils like sesame can be used sparingly -- the flavor is very strong and some may not care for it.

Cook the tofu until it browns, giving the skillet a swirl every now and then to keep it from sticking. The first side takes the longest because some of the water needs to evaporate. When you get a nice brown going, flip all the pieces. Watch the pan because the second browning won't take as long. As soon as you turn the pieces, get the garlic and lime ready.

Peel and crush the garlic and then mince it. Leave it a bit coarse. Halve the lime. If you're using one of the big limes you'll only need one half, but if you use a key lime you'll need the whole thing. Make sure you pick the seeds out if it's a key lime.

When the garlic browns the second time, add the garlic. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the salt. When the garlic is translucent and browns on one side, squeeze the lime juice into the pan. Take the pan immediately off the heat and give it a good swirl to distribute the lime juice. When the juice is either absorbed or evaporated, grind some pepper into the pan. If you like pepper, add more.

And that's it. Serve it with brown rice and stir fried veggies.

By itself, this style of fried tofu can be a bit dry. Adding fats or sauces will remedy that, but pretty much cancels out many of tofu's healthy aspects. It's easy to adjust flavors by substituting lemon juice for the lime (cut way back on the lemon juice) or using a good flavored vinegar instead. Adding a dash of Aji-Mirin adds just a little sweetness to it.

For an entirely different and somewhat more meat-like flavor, take one more step. All you need is a quarter cup of minced onion and four tablespoons of dried yeast flakes. When you add the garlic to the tofu, add the minced onion as well. As soon as you've swirled the vinegar or citrus juice into the mix, add the yeast flakes. Toss the tofu until it's coated with the yeast -- no extra cooking is required. It's southern fried tofu, sort of.

Tofu is a food that operates according to its own standards. You can learn to work with it, or you can try to hide it. The best approach is to find a set of flavors that goes well with it, a few notes of something striking to balance out the bland. But don't compensate by adding all the fats and sugars tofu helps you avoid. If you soak it in butter or bacon grease you might as well eat steak.