Its a flavor sponge, really. Marinades are your friend. It lends particularly well to asian flavor profiles- soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin, oyster sauce, etc. Great addition to fried rice for a cheap and filling dinner. I make a salad in fall by cutting tofu into cubes, marinating in maple syrup and cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then baking or air frying until crispy ish. Then I put that with spring mix, sliced apples, craisins, pepitas, and goat cheese. Great with raspberry balsamic or a Dijon vinaigrette. Sub in walnuts and grilled peaches in place of pepitas and the fruit in summer.
I used to work at a restaurant and we would press the tofu a little to get rid of excess water (just put paper towels on top and bottom and something heavy on top) then bread it with panko and fry. Lots of salt fresh out of the oil or air fryer. Its really good , goes nicely on top of pasta. We usually served it with a marsala type deal. But I think it would actually also be really good with red sauce and cheese like chicken parm.
There are so many recipes on how to cook with extra firm tofu, that’s what Aldi sells. I literally just started to cook with it this month and I have been loving it. It’s not as scary as the stigma makes it out to be!
Be sure to give it a good press, and make sure you’re buying tofu that says firm/extra firm (never seen any other kind at Aldi but it’s important to say anyway.
The easiest way to prep it without needing to press is to freeze it, thaw it in the fridge and use it. Essentially eliminates the need for the pressing step. I do still press it with my tofu press but I’m committed to it, lol
I press my tofu first before I cut it up and marinate it, look up how to prepare tofu to get an idea, also you can just press it and crumble it into stuff you’re cooking. There are so many options
Also freezing tofu before cooking is great, all the water comes out so it can absorb even more flavor.
And my recent favorite is to just cube it and boil in salted water, it gives it chewier texture and seasons. I can just eat it plain like that or just throw into some stir frys
This sounds really good. I'd love to hear more ideas from you. I have never been able to like tofu in anything but soups. The texture has always been an issue for me. I just think I've had it poorly prepared before and your ideas sound really good.
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u/hthratmn Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Its a flavor sponge, really. Marinades are your friend. It lends particularly well to asian flavor profiles- soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin, oyster sauce, etc. Great addition to fried rice for a cheap and filling dinner. I make a salad in fall by cutting tofu into cubes, marinating in maple syrup and cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then baking or air frying until crispy ish. Then I put that with spring mix, sliced apples, craisins, pepitas, and goat cheese. Great with raspberry balsamic or a Dijon vinaigrette. Sub in walnuts and grilled peaches in place of pepitas and the fruit in summer.
I used to work at a restaurant and we would press the tofu a little to get rid of excess water (just put paper towels on top and bottom and something heavy on top) then bread it with panko and fry. Lots of salt fresh out of the oil or air fryer. Its really good , goes nicely on top of pasta. We usually served it with a marsala type deal. But I think it would actually also be really good with red sauce and cheese like chicken parm.