How to Cook Tofu Like the Pros: Dry-fry and Marinate Method
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If you are a vegetarian, you know it well--tofu disaster, slimy tofu dishes where the tofu has disintegrated into a flavorless mush. How do restaurants do it? My special method uses dry-frying and marinating, resulting in firm, flavorful tofu that leaves even meat-eaters impressed.
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If you are a vegetarian or vegan who would love to make your own delicious tofu dishes at home, this recipe is perfect for you. Pass this web page along to your friends and family as well, and, when you visit for dinner, you will no longer have to subsist on side dishes or choke down their well meant but disastrous attempts at tofu.
Dry-Fried and Marinated Tofu
for Stir-Fries and Other Dishes
Needed:
- One 16 ounce brick of extra-firm tofu for every four people.
- Cutting board and knife
- Cloth Napkin or dish towel
- Teflon pan OR a very well-seasoned cast-iron pan *
- Spatula
- Prepared marinade in a bowl (see recipes at end for suggestions)
* A note on the pan: If you use a normal cooking pan like stainless steel or other varieties that don't have a non-stick coating, you will most likely have a lot of trouble with the tofu sticking to the pan, since no oil is used. Teflon isn't supposed to be dangerous at low to medium heat, but to be safe I've switched to using a very well-seasoned cast-iron pan. As long as I'm careful to watch it, I don't have trouble with sticking.
Preparation:
(First, prepare your marinade. See recipes at the bottom of the page.)
Tofu comes packed in water. Drain the tofu and cut it so that your pieces are a half an inch thick. For most recipes, you will want to then cut it into triangles, but some recipes call for strips.
Put the tofu pieces between two absorbent cloth napkins or woven dish towels (NOT terry cloth) and gently press, enough to get a lot of water out but not hard enough to squish it.
Dry-frying:
Use a Teflon or well-seasoned cast-iron pan at medium heat on an electric range, low to medium-low on a gas range. Slow cooking is the key to keeping the tofu from sticking to the Teflon and insures that the water has time to evaporate out before the outside is browned. Do NOT use oil. You want to leech all of the moisture out of your tofu, so do not use oil--leave the pan dry.
Place your tofu in the pan leaving room around pieces. You may need to fry a few batches to give it enough room. As the tofu cooks, use a spatula to frequently press down on each piece. You will see the water seeping out and sizzling in the pan. Once the bottom sides are very firm and golden in color, flip the tofu pieces and fry the other side, again frequently pressing each piece with a spatula. When they are golden and firm on both sides, they are done.
Marinade:
The dry-frying method has left your tofu dry and firm, ready to suck up the flavors of a marinade like a sponge. Place the tofu pieces in the marinade and stir well, making sure the tofu is submerged. Marinate for at least a half an hour and then use this delicious firm and flavorful tofu in a stir-fry.
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Marinade Recipes:
Here are some example marinades that work well with dry-fried tofu. These marinades also do well with meat.
The following Marinades should work for one 16 ounce block of tofu after frying.
Simple, All-purpose Tofu Marinade:
- 1/2 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos (for a salty, smoky flavor)
- Splash of rice vinegar
- 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed
- water to cover
Chinese Tofu Marinade:
- 1/2 cup shoyu (or soy sauce)
- 1/4 cup rice wine (or sherry)
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or crushed
- 1 tsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
Thai Tofu Marinade:
- 1/2 cup fish sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1/2 cup rice wine (or sherry)
- 1/4 cup palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- Splash of rice vinegar
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- 1 small shallot (or half onion), finely minced
- 1 tbsp chili paste
- 1 tbsp finely minced lemon grass (fresh or dried)
(tofu asparagus stir-fry recipe)
Storage:
If you have a half a block of uncooked tofu that you did not use, simply put it in a sealed container completely submerged in water (a zip-lock baggie will do in a pinch, but some sort of Tupperware container is best). Cooked tofu, on the other hand, can be stored just the same as any other leftovers.
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Comments
I am so excited to try this out tonight! I went to the N. Asheville Farmer's Market yesterday and got some baby bok choy, cilantro, and scallions. I'm going to use some asparagus and water chestnuts, too! It should be fun and delicious.
Glad I found this, I love Tofu, but I never cooked it right, just with onion, peas and cut tofu. The above sounds delicious. I will try it out. Thanks again for sharing this. Cheers :)
I often press my tofu between two towels, with a pan sitting on top of it. After about an hour, most of the liquid is absorbed by the towels and the tofu keeps its shape. Then I cook it and add it to the dish I'm making. I hadn't yet figured out how to get the marinaded tofu thing down, so I'm excited to try this method.
AHH HA! I've been soaking my tofu, THEN cooking it. Which has been resulting in a gross disaster! Thank you!
Oh I can't wait to try this!
We enjoy tofu and eat it regularly. i'll have to try cooking it this way.
Thanks for the tips. I blacken tofu cubes in olive oil, adding peppers, mushrooms, garlic and onions in the final 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Add great glops of soy sauce and a lesser glop of steak sauce or liquid smoke and mix in with powdered or flaked yeast protein. It tastes like breaded meat and goes great in rice or noodle dishes.
I have a teenage daughter who is vegetarian and we enjoy many vegetarian meals together, but I have always shied away from the whole tofu thing. Now I know where to come for advice and inspiration when we eventually try it. Thanks.
scrumpdidaliumptious neighbor !
I can't wait to try this tonight! Have you ever tried a barbeque marinade?
Yes, a barbeque marinade is quite tasty! My favorite soy product to use barbecue with is tempeh, though. There's a recipe here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Barbecue_Tempeh_Sandwich_R
Now I know what to do. I have used tofu, but never cared a lot for it because it was so tastless and I didn't care for the texture. I will DEFINITELY give this process a try. It sounds sooooo good. Thanks much for the info.
so good!!
what is the best recipe for a curry tofu? i usually just brown the tofu in strips then add curry powder and brown that, then done.... but sometimes i add cayen pepper powder allso.
I'll try this at weekend. I've tried tofu twice and both time I ended up will a load of slush in my stir fry!
ehsc010 ~ I haven't done much curried tofu before, but I have made a masoman curry with tofu before. I'll try to get a recipe for masoman curry up in the next few months!
This is amazing! I have been veg for 2.5 years and didn't start enjoying tofu until about a year ago. The problem is that most of the tofu I love is breaded and fried. And I certainly have not been brave enough to try making it at home--tom many bad memories of throwing wet cubes of tofu in with various dishes in college. No wonder I was nervous!
I am so jazzed to try this method! Tonight I am making something with the baby bok choy, shitake mushrooms, ginger, scallions and cilantro I got in my organic produce delivery yesterday!
That tofu looks delicious. I will have to try the recipe!
I'll be perfectly honest - I've never tried tofu.
This one's on the menu for tonight :-)
Looks great - nice work.
mine didnt look so appetising, but tasted so good, ill keep tryng till i get the presentation spot on, thanks a lot!
Thanks so very much for writing this. I will try it. I really appreciate the pictures and the homemade marinade recipes.
I can't wait to try this.
Susan
My husband and I love this method! We're not vegetarians but love to have a bit of variety for our evening meals. We now love Tofu night since I found this page. We were clueless on how to use it before then. Thank you =)
Wow, this technique is amazing - I can't believe I haven't seen it before. Recently, I had decided to minimize my reliance on highly processed faux-meats (i'm a struggling vegetarian), and other products like tempeh just wasn't quite there texturally for me. But this really creates something with bite. Thanks for sharing!
I don't use teflon pans, any ideas for cooking (drying) using stainless steel, cast iron, or wok? Do you think baking the tofu would work to dry it out?
I think this is great I have been looking for alernatives to meat that still had full to the bone flavour,, and it looks like your little tip has helped me change the way i have been eating for the better. thanx!!
Q
This looks great! Thanks very much for what looks like a good way to get less fat into my cooking. I wonder about the teflon, though, that's a very unsustainable technology, both in manufacturing and in the home. Do avoid high temperatures when using it.
New non-stick alternatives are emerging, however I have yet to see any real information on whether they are better than teflon or not.
For the moment, as an alternative to Teflon, I suggest tossing in some dilute soy sauce, then baking on parchment in the oven. This will dry the tofu and give it a nice golden color as well. The dilute soy sauce solution will also impart a bit of that caramelized taste you would get in the frying pan.
Once I have tried this method (probably in a few days' time) I will report back!
:-)
Bett
hi
i was wondering if you thought baking the tofu would be effective in dry frying it or getting it ready for marinade. i'm trying it with 2/5's of an extra firm block. the remaining 3/5's i used your method but then i thought of this.
what do you think of this?
chris
if you don't want to use teflon, maybe can try an oven to get it dry and firm
About the Teflon comments: Yeah, I understand, I use cast iron for everything *except* dry-frying my tofu. I am going to do some experimenting soon to see if I can get the same effect with a very well-seasoned cast iron pan. In the mean time, check out this great article about "green" and healthy alternatives to Teflon: http://greatgreengadgets.com/gadgets/2007/08/22/gr If it makes you feel any better, Teflon's harmful effects are only released at extremely high temperatures, and tofu is dry-fried at a much lower temperature than that.
A few people have suggested baking it in the oven, and while I agree that would dry the tofu out, you get a decidedly different effect than this method--the texture isn't nearly as good. I wouldn't want to do that, myself. Baking it, you can't be constantly pressing the water out with a spatula (as you can using the dry-fry method). In order to dry it out enough using an oven, you'd have to bake it to the point that the exterior would be really chewy, tough, and over-cooked. I'd definitely look into Teflon alternatives instead.
I have made tofu in the oven before and this method here is much better!!
I am going to have to try this-- I don't like teflon and would like to know if well-seasond iron skillet woud work/ Can I put just a swipe of oil with a paper towl?
The only way i have liked using tofu is making it into a fruit smoothie.
I make this once a week now, thank you!!!!!
nice one!!! i've been trying varios methods but can never get the right texture, but this method sounds perfect!! thankyou all knowing tinternet! x
Thanks for the excellent ideas. It always tastes horrid when I cook Tofu -can't wait to try.
Wow, I'm going to try soon! I tried cooking it and got lumps of wet tofu cubes in my stir fry. EW
I really want to try this...I always ruin anything I try to make with tofu.
mmm.. your page is so tasty. Thanks for such a nice recipe. I also like to try this Dry-fry :)
I tried pressing firm tofu between 2 cutting boards with 3 pounds of cans on it. About 1/2 cup of liquid resulted. Then I cut it into cubes and added a BBQ sauce to the original container with the cut tofu in it and let it absorb that for 1/2 day. Next I floured it with pre-cooked (browned) flour and deep fried it for 5 minutes. After putting it on paper towels to absorb the grease, I put it back in the BBQ sauce.
You can use this several ways - I like to use it in a stir fry with onion, rice and the tofu - and anything else you want... add some hot broth after cooking before serving. Yum.
awesome...never thought about pan frying it to dry it before I marinade it...what a great idea!
successs! i said i would try it and i did tonight and the results were extremely tasty!
awesome, want to try this .
its really great..
I wish I could say that this worked, but I used a teflon-coated pan and it still stuck! It was a catastrophe. Dinner was pretty much ruined.
Jenbeee ~ Oh no, that's very odd. Did you use "extra-firm" tofu and press it really well with a cloth first? I've never had that happen before. I wonder if it was the brand of tofu.
Mmmm I tried this but with a bit of a different cooking method. I sliced into a little thicker than 1/4" slabs. Painted them marinades of my choice (one was a soysauce based, hoison sauce marinade and the other was a spicy thai peanut sauce)
Dryed them out on the outdoor grill which added another depth of flavor and the nice grilled marks on each side. When sufficiently dried out . . I threw the leftover marinade on each one . . very tasty!!
thank you for this article!!!
i've been tofu friendly for years and never knew the secret to making really good tofu
I'm doing this tonight - I'm really excited.
This recipe is wonderful. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! The texture is restaurant-quality and fabulous!! No more smooshy tofu for me!
I googled tofu marinades and this site popped up!
I am marinating as I type. I used frozen a thawed tofu which helps with texture also but i added the dry-frying before marinating. I have to say I have high hopes based on the results so far.
Tomorrow it will go into the tofu asparagus stir fry.
I have a question. Does anyone know why tofu marinades seem to rely so heavily on soy sauce? I have had a hard time finding recipes without it. I'm not anti soy sauce but it tends to make all the dishes tasted the same.
Probably because it contains a lot of salt, and tofu's inherent blandness needs plenty of coaxing toward whatever flavor you're looking to get. Try using different vinegars, but always remember to balance the acidity with something sweet like maple syrup or apple syrup* or honey or barley malt (for the vegans) or you'll wind up with a tofu pickle. No matter what you marinate in, make sure there is plenty of salt in your mix, all the flavors in the world won't help unless it is properly seasoned (salted).
*- Apple Syrup: Take a liter or 2 of your favorite apple juice or cider or juice some fresh ones. Put it in a pot on the stove and crank up the heat and let it reduce WAY down; until you have a cup or less. The bubbling in the pot will change as the water evaporates, from a water-type bubbling to a sugar-type bubbling, which looks almost foamy. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.This apple syrup is divine on almost anything you put it on: salads, ice cream, etc., and it's just pure natural apple sugar. Try it with pears or other juices.
Tofu is a tricky thing to work with. We bake ours on a pizza stone (or any of those stone products). The stone really draws the moisture out of the tofu more than any other method I've tried.
You just have to be careful and flip the pieces halfway through.
How long do you bake it on the pizza stone and at what temp? That sounds like it would be a lot quicker and could do all in one batch.
I have tried this a couple of times and it works a dream. Thanks for posting! I agree with Deborah (above) that freezing really helps too. If you freeze a whole block and then defrost, quite a bit more water will come out when you open the pack. This takes a bit more planning but seems to speed up the towel and dry frying stages.
I made tofu for the first time last week & it was great. I use super firm tofu. It's great for frying & it comes in a dry block, no water to deal with or freezing. Just slice it & fry it
KT, I'd never heard of that before. Where'd you get it? What brand? Sounds very useful.
I dry fry my tofu using the George Foreman! Works great..u get grill marks and all. Then near the end I add dry seasonings, like Italian Mix, Thai, Curry. If you put the seasoning on too soon, it tends to burn the seasonings. then I just put the strips of cubes on my salads for lunch at work.
Great tips, always looking for better ways to handle tofu
I just started to be a vegetarian on the last week of March 2009, just 2 months b4 my high school graduation.
This is so good!!!
Hummmmm, I love tofu :))))))
Yesterday i bought tofu and it didnt have any instructions on what to do so i just removed it from the water cut some few pieces and fried it together with some vegetables for half hour....you can guess the taste...tasteless...im trying this recipe tonight,thank God i found it!!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH. This looks absolutely wonderful, I am running to the market right now to make this for my dinner tonight! Similar to what I used to do, but looks much better.
I also use tofu that isn't packed in water and so no need for draining! It is Wildwood Organics brand; I find it at Whole Foods. Works great for this dry-fry and is quicker than draining!
Does anyone know if it works as well to fry larger batches of tofu, keep it in the fridge, and marinate it when I feel like it? Is the tofu as absorbent? And does it keep well?
There is a great little gadget now to drain tofu without towels and plates and things. TofuXpress. It's awesome.
This made the BEST tofu I've ever had, it didn't even need a marinade! Thanks so much!
Thanks so much. I love this process and the recipes. One thing - call me a Luddite, but I don't use teflon pans. I have the old-fashioned cast iron which I love. I have found only one tool that works for cleanly and deftly lifting and turning the tofu in the early stage of dry-frying. A spackle blade is ideal for a variety of tasks in a kitchen - especially if you do not use teflon. It's thin enough and stiff enough that it leaves no tofu on the pan and it doesn't damage the tofu triangles. A hardware or paint store isn't typically thought of as a source of kitchen utensils - but in this case it works. Thanks again for this recipe.
Thanks sooooo much! I tried different ways of cooking tofu and never succeed in frying it that way. I'm sure it will be as good as the one I ate in China. Your marinades seem yummy too!
Thanks- this is really helpful... I always try to achieve that dry skin that restaurant fried tofu always has with the same results- soggy soft tofu. I wish there were more recipes out there involving tofu for the avergae cook.
I have been a vegetarian for 16 years and never ever could figure out how restaurants did this with tofu. Thank you thank you thank you!
I did the air frying method and the tofu finally came out right! However, I used a sweet & sour pork recipe and used the air fried tofu instead of the pork. Yumm!
this worked great! I accidentally bought the precubed tofu, but it worked great with my lime cilantro marinade for fajitas.
I tried this method just this afternoon, and it soaked up flavors wonderfully. My only question is this: how do you avoid "mushy" centers? The outside was great -- firm and chewy, but the middle just kind of "squeezed" out between my teeth. Any suggestions?
Brittney,
There are two things you can do. The longer you dry fry it, the less squishy it will be in the center. If it is turning golden before the center is dried out, then try a lower heat for a longer time. Be sure to keep pressing it as you cook it, too! The other thing you can try is to cut the pieces thinner. The thinner the tofu the less squishy center you end up with.
Well, here I am again. That last batch I made never made it into any kind of recipe. Everyone just kept eating it like a snack. Including me. I'm finally making more and they're lining up. Thanks again - it's wonderful!
I just tried this recipe and so far my tofu has turned out delicious-looking (still marinating), but it took FOREVER to dry-fry- over an hour for one block (two batches, admittedly). Am I doing something wrong?
Also, how long does the fried, not-yet-marinated tofu keep? I could see maybe making a big batch once a week or so.
CE ~ you can try frying it at a slightly higher heat to speed up the process. Different ranges will have slightly different temperatures at different settings. Just be sure not to char the outside before it dries out. You could also use a bigger pan, or do two pans at once.
I haven't tried to keep the tofu at that stage before, but I would imagine that it should keep a few days if you seal it and refrigerate it. You could also store it in a marinade with a preserving ingredient, like vinegar.
I tried this and it is so yummy. I did mine on an iron skillet and then marinaded it in teriyaki merinade. I am having the leftovers today, cold, with an asian cabbage salad. Delicious!! I am so glad that I finally found a fried tofu recipe that worked.
I cannot wait to make this tonight!! I have been searching everywhere for tips on what I am doing wrong with my tofu. I think this method is a winner. THANK YOU!!!!
This method works great. I tried it using a cast-iron panini pan and it worked perfectly, and was a lot less work. Because the lid is heavy, you can just leave it on and walk away. It does the pressing for you and you get some nice grill lines! I did it dry and it doesn't stick.
Can U cook the tofu the night before U are going to use it & then marinate it the next day?
Amy ~ Yes, that should work fine as long as you keep it in a sealed container in the fridge.
Thank U. I'm am going to do that now. U're article was very informative for me for this will be the 1st time ever that I have tofu. I look forward to reading more of U're recipes.
Thanks for the great post!
This recipe looks great, I'm going to try it tonight! I also agree with those who choose to use non-teflon pans. Rather than cast iron however, I invested in a set of Saladmaster cookware simply because it is constructed of medical grade steel that will not leech into the food under any temperatures. It cooks my vegetables really well, we'll see tonight how it does tofu!
i must try this draining method, as i have always wondered why you get two types in the supermarket:one in a block that reminds me of a block of yogurt!, and the other in lovely pieces that you want to eat right off the shelf.
thanks a mill.!!
ive been having tofu catastrophes a lot. This worked GREAT! i kept my heat on the electric stove at 4-6 through the entire process. YUM!
16 of you actually tried the recipe. Thank you for your comments. Do the rest of you just hunt around on line looking for recipies that LOOK good so you can comment? Your postings are a waste of time, as is mine right now. Are you nuts?
thanks for this great tip! I made some miso soup and it was great.
Eh..I know it's been commented on before, but cooking at low temperatures do I really NEED to use a Teflon pan? I've never cooked with tofu before and want to try this. Most other recipes call for olive oil to be used, but since this is meant to be dry, I can't use that to help prevent sticking.
I could buy a Teflon pan, but I really don't think that i want to use Teflon. Is it really going to stick that badly if I don't use it, but keep it at a low heat?
I have had dry-fry tofu stick pretty badly to stainless steel pans and a few other types of conventional cookware. However, I now have a really well seasoned cast-iron pan which does the job beautifully, so I no longer need to use Teflon. If you can season a cast iron pan so that it's practically non-stick, you're set. (I know, I need to revise the article so that people stop having to ask.) Feel free to experiment, of course!
Love Tofu!We have Tofu pretty often. You inspired me to work on more hubs about food. Yummy:)
I bought tofu many times, but didn't know what to do with it. I tired this method and cooked it with brinjal. It was great , my husbend loved it. Thank you
Thanks so much for these tips! I tried the dry-frying tonight and used your recipe for the Chinese Tofu Marinade and it all rocked...it was the first time I've ever *liked* tofu that I've made at home. Very tasty! :)
I have struggled with tofu... and so many of my vegitarian recipe books have not made it any easier. This is the important piece I was missing! This is a sure fire way to impress people with some tofu, even if its simply served with rice. What a great introduction.
Love Tofu! Thanks!
This is great! I will be trying it tonight! When cooking tofu in cubes, how do you make the inside not squishy?? When I make it the outside is super crispy but I hate the mush on the inside!
My tofu is now perfect thanks to this method.
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Rachel says:
2 years ago
I will definitely try this whole process next time I use tofu. As it is, my tofu dishes only come close to what I'd like them to be 1/2 the time!