My Favourite Tofu Recipes

If you are looking for a food that can replace meat in order to create a vegetarian meal, look no further than tofu which can be readily found in most major supermarkets and specialty food stores. I usually purchase the organic tofu.

Tofu is made by made by first coagulating soy milk and then pressing the curds into blocks.

You will find that there are a number of different varieties of tofu: these include fresh tofu and tofu that has been processed in some way.

The fact that fresh tofu has very little flavor or smell on its own means that it is very versatile and can be used in a wide variety of dishes. You can season or marinate tofu to suit your taste.

Tofu-Vegetable Stir Fry

This is a simple vegetarian dish that takes only a few minutes to make.

Ingredients:

1- 1 tsp sesame seed oil

2- 1 block firm tofu cubed

3- 1 cup oriental frozen vegetables

4- soy sauce or hot sauce to tatse

Preparation:

1- put frying pan or wok on burner set to high

2- add sesame seed oil

3- add tofu

4- stir

5- cook 4 minutes

6- add vegetables stir

7- Cook 4 minutes.

The tofu can be served poured over a bed of rice or with noodles. Instead of frozen vegetables I sometimes use sliced water chestnut, which can be bought sliced in a tin, at most grocery stores and snow peas.

You can also use butter (1 tsp) instead of sesame seed oil or I will use a soy sauce and hot sauce combo for a change of flavour. I do like my food with a string taste and some heat, not the burning my mouth our hot but a bit of a sweat is delicious.

Baked Tofu:

This dish somewhat longer, about 60 minutes to prepare but is worth the time.

Ingredients

1 lb. firm tofu, diced

3/4 c. chopped onion

1 tsp. cayenne powder

2 gloves garlic minced

1 1/3 tsp. Tamari

Put all the ingredients into a bow, stir and then allow them to sit for 20 minutes

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Put on a well greased cookie sheet.

Put in oven, cook for 35- 40 minutes.

You can serve this with rice or use in a wrap.

I enjoy tofu best when I prepare it ahead of time, dicing or slicing as required and then placing it in a bowl with a marinade or with soy sauce, hot sauce combo* and placing it in the refrigerator for bout 90 minutes before using.

You can actually prepare it the night before you plan to use it as long as you put the tofu into an air tight container and then in fridge. This way all you need to do is cook it. This can make for a very quick meal if you also have some cooked rice waiting in the fridge.

You can stir fry them for a tasty and quick meal.

First add the tofu to a frying pan on high, cook for 5 minutes, stir in the rice cook until hot, pour into a bowl or onto a plate and a tasty meal is ready.

* soy sauce-hot sauce combo: I find a teaspoon of each mix together adds a distinct flavour and a little heat to the tofu.