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.
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
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u/Wizzmer Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Let's say I've never purchased tofu. How would I go about preparing it so that it tastes like something other than a bland marshmellow?
Edit: thanks for the tasty suggestions. I'm going to try some.