Using Tofu
It isn't so Bad
I know.
As soon as I say 'Tofu' you get that sick look around the mouth. This is because you re thinking of a tasteless unpleasant mass.
Just as you wouldn't put a slab of meat on a plate without having carefully seasoned it, using various condiments and styles for flavour, before you began cooking, so too with Tofu.
Tofu will taste like anything you want it to taste like. That is the usefulness of the product.
This piece of tofu can taste like curried goat, can taste like bacon, can be sweet, spicy, salty.
How it tastes, how it appears, depends on you.
It Is All YOU
Decide what kind of dish you are preparing; Italian, Chinese, Indian, or what you are 'substituting' and marinate to match.
Decide on your Texture.
One can freeze tofu and gain one kind of consistency.
One can thaw it and gain another.
One can cut it into think slices. It can be chopped into chunks. It depends on your taste, and what you want.
Hence you start with options on texture, shape and then move to your Marinade.
Prepare your marinade; this could be Italian Dressing, it could be a mixture of soya sauce, sweet and sour sauce with a bit of pickle tossed in.
It could be a very mild curry with a touch of tomato sauce, it could be anything.
The magic is in the marinade.
All You
Once you have chosen the texture and flavour you desire and have made your marinade, you are ready. You can let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.
To give you ideas;
Instructions
- Freeze the Tofu. After it is frozen, take it out let it thaw a bit. Cut it into thin slices about the width of a ruler. Soak it in:
- a) Barbeque Sauce b) Orange juice c) Pancake syrup d) Pepper sauce, (i.e. jerk seasoning from Jamaica or a spicy Thai Seasoning)
- After a brief soaking, put half the sauce on a microwave plate lay the pieces of Tofu just touching, pour the rest of the sauce on top. Put into a Microwave for about 13.5 minutes. Watch this time. You are going for something crispy on the edges, even slightly burnt. Carnivores say it tastes like bacon.
Other ideas
You might want to bread the tofu in a kind of substitute for fried chicken or veal cutlets.
You make your marinade sticky enough by adding oil or sweet and sour sauce, anything that's sticky.
Tofu cooks fairly quickly. Whether you are using a microwave or a stove, pay attention.
Some people go for the very crispy others the soft.
It is your taste.
It is All You
Once you've used tofu it becomes clear that you can make it taste exactly how you want it to. You control the texture, the size, and most of all, the flavour.
Once you get enough practice you can create anything you want.
The key features are the texture and marinade. And you control both.
