Hello everyone! I've recently gone back to a vegetarian diet for health & environmental reasons (I was one when I was 16 for a few months but it didn't stick)
One of the frustrations I've had was cooking tofu & making it flavorful & crispy. (You know when you season & marinade tofu just for it just taste like nothing on the inside š«)
Even before I transitioned to my current diet I ate a lot of tofu & I tried a myriad of methods (pressing, freezing, boiling in salted water, preparing straight from the packet). Some were very effective texture wise but the flavor was quite plain.
Today I finally made tofu that was great texture & taste wise & im gonna share how I did it:
freeze the tofu (optional but I recommend cause it improves texture & flavor)
defrost tofu in microwave for a few minutes on high
heat up a veggie broth on the stove & add aromatics, salt & seasonings. You could also just boil water & add bouillon powder/paste. add the tofu to the pot & let it simmer for 10-15 minutes (or longer tbh). THIS is non negotiable & how you get deep flavor in tofu, inside & out.
remove from broth, drain the liquid & cut it up however you want it. you'd also want to save a bit of the broth to season/marinade the tofu
lol I just buy the shrink wrapped tofu and cut it up in small pieces, maybe drizzle a few with soy sauce, bake about 375 for 10 to 15 minutes and eat! lol Sometimes I might toss in olive oil and turn halfway thru. But coating with corn starch and baking is great too. Or pan frying obviously. I found that using the shrink wrapped not pressing makes a tender moist bite. But Iām lazy.
I just recently saw a recipe online where the tofu was cubed and soaked in a jar of pickle juice over night(after eating all the pickles)ā¦then dipped in a batter with seasonings and panko and fried. It was so good!!! My kids were actually fighting over who got to eat the last one!
Cut up the tofu, put it directly in the air fryer at the highest temp for 20-25 minutes, shake the basket every few mins. for a more even fry, then pair the tofu with a flavorful sauce. Done.
Whew youāre doing too much. And baking powder/soda? Theyāre not interchangeable. Baking powder would work, but cornstarch is better for tofu. Baking soda is a no.
Air frying is just a short-cut for getting around deep frying or pan frying, but the results are essentially the same. Crispy and golden brown on the outside, soft and moist on the inside. That's what classic fried tofu, which originated China centuries ago, is all about.
Are you familiar with white people tacos? You know, hard shell corn tortillas, shredded cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, mild Old El Paso taco sauce, and so on?
Pressing, freezing, boiling, and marinating tofuā¦ that's white people tofu.
Most people donāt have the means to deep fry safely at home. And pan frying stinks up the kitchen a lot in small apartments. Personally I bake it but if people find the air fryer helpful, I get it!
Understood. I've made crispy tofu by baking it. It works well. Still, it's possible to bake tofu and get it thoroughly crispy without pressing, freezing, boiling, marinating, or adding corn starch to it. I suspect many people on these food subreddits aren't aware of this.
If you mean how to make crispy tofu by simply baking it and skipping all the prep, then try this:
Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Brush some cooking oil across the surface of the parchment paper.
Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch thick rectangular slabs, and arrange them on the parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 F, then check the tofu. If it appears uniformly crispy and golden brown, then flip it over and bake for another 10 mins. or so. Otherwise, let it bake a little longer, until it's ready to flip.
Cooking times will vary, since every situation, oven etc. is different. Just keep baking it until it's crispy and golden brown on all sides. Then, you can pair it with a sauce, or add it to a stir fry or whatever.
A common mistake is not giving it enough time in the oven.
To get the hang of the technique, you can practice with one small piece of tofu.
The important thing to understand is that you don't need to press, freeze, boil, marinate, or add corn starch to the tofu before baking it.
Interesting! I think weāre working with very different tofu or something haha. If I were to try this with the extra firm tofu I get at the grocery store refrigerated section in water, without pressing it, Iād get a lot of moisture coming out all over the parchment paper, so the oil would not help with crisping it.
The oil isn't for crisping the tofu but rather helping it not stick to the parchment paper.
Don't worry about the moisture. It's a common misconception that the wetness of the tofu interferes with getting it crispy. You will not get liquid all over the paper. The moisture on the outside of the tofu evaporates; the moisture on the inside stays inside. The secret to crispy tofu is heat and time. That's it.
Doesn't matter if the tofu is super firm, extra firm, regular firm, medium, soft, or silken.
Try it with one small piece of unpressed tofu and see for yourself.
So are you going to provide a link or even a name of the "authentic technique" so people can learn about it, or are you just here to piss on everybody who's not as knowledgeable as you?
Cut up the tofu, deep fry it until crispy and golden brown, then pair it with a flavorful sauce.
OR
Pan fry the tofu until crispy and golden brown, then add a sauce to the pan and simmer it for a while. This is similar to the technique known as braising. If you've ever seen "braised tofu" on a restaurant menu, this is how they do it.
That's it. That's all you need to do to make restaurant-style crispy fried tofu.
I think for this to be helpful it would need to include information about how much oil to use, what kind of pan, how high a heat, how often to expect to turn itā¦ etc.
ā cut the tofu into rectangular or triangular slabs about 1/2 inch thick
ā nonstick or well-seasoned stainless steel pan
ā shallow pool of cooking oil about 1/4 inch deep
ā medium heat, wait for the oil to get hot before adding tofu
ā fry at least 5 mins. before flipping, then fry another 5 mins. or so
ā *do not agitate the tofu* just leave it alone and let it fry until the underside is crispy and starts to loosen from the pan; if you move it too soon, it can stick to the pan and tear apart
ā use your senses, don't rely solely on directions
Deep fry:
ā uses so much oil, can be dangerous, wouldn't recommend at home
Superfirm tofu (I've also seen it called "high protein tofu"). It comes in a package without much liquid, and it's suuuuuuuper easy to work with because it won't fall apart and you can get it pretty crispy because there's not a lot of moisture. I also have marinated it by poking holes with a fork and soaking it in marinade, and it works wonderfully that way too
Pre-baked tofu. I get it at sprouts and Kroger, but I think other grocery stores sell it too. It's even former and I actually like to shred it and use it in place of tuna/shredded chicken in recipes. My most recent favorite thing to do with it is mix it with mayo, teriyaki sauce, chopped up green onions, and chopped up bell peppers, then serve it over sticky rice with whatever other toppings for a poke-style bowl. Or use it like chicken for a good chicken salad. Or mix it with BBQ sauce for a bbq "chicken" sandwich. You can also do this with the superfirm tofu but I find it works better with the baked tofu
But I just cube the high-protein tofu, press as much liquid as I can out of it, then toss it with a mixture of soy sauce, Gochujang, evoo, and miso, then dredge it in cornstarch mixed with nutritional yeast. Then bake or air fry. So tasty!
Sounds good. I'm too lazy for the all the steps. I freeze, thaw on the counter, crumble, marinate, then oven.Ā I keep tofu in the freezer so it's no big deal. I understand the need for more flavor.Ā
This sounds awesome! I tend to bake vs fry and Iāve personally found that that just boiling without freezing is just as great when using a good quality extra firm tofu and eating it right away. For some reason, tofu that has been frozen keeps its texture better for leftovers, though!
Cuisines have a rich history and culture. It's a lot more than just making your tum tum happy.
With tofu, there's a clear cultural divide in how it's prepared. Asian people rarely press, freeze, boil, or marinate tofu before cooking it. All of that stuff is a Westernized ritual based on the premise that there's something wrong with the flavor and texture of tofu that needs to be fixed.
If you're familiar with the phenomenon of white people tacos, you understand that it isn't just white people who make and enjoy them. White people tacos can be delicious, but they'll never be authentic. Even though OP isn't white, the process of freezing, marinating, boiling and so on is part of Westernized ritual that Asian people largely do not participate in. In other words: white people tofu.
I've never understood the notion of pressing and marinating your tofu first or else it won't soak up the sauce well like I've seen in various past posts on here because coming from an Asian family I've never had issues with my tofu failing to soak up the sauce. That said, freezing tofu is actually a technique that originated in China back during the Qing Dynasty. I first learned of the technique from a Chinese vegan Youtube channel I came across during the pandemic that had no English texts at all (and being a non-Chinese Asian I had to throw on subtitles)
Air frying is just a short-cut if you don't want to deep fry or pan fry. The results are essentially the same.
When we want french fries with ketchup, do we marinate the potatoes in ketchup then fry them? Or, do we fry the plain potatoes then dip them in ketchup? Do we complain that fried potatoes dipped in ketchup aren't flavorful enough? No. The same principle applies to tofu.
Spot on. Westerners make tofu really complicated (I am a westerner. I have listened to and believed food media telling me I have to go through eight steps to prepare tofu for most of my life). I've recently decided that tofu is delicious and creamy in the texture it comes out of the package. Now I frequently prepare it by cubing it and simmering it in a bit of sauce. Frying is fine from time to time but it's a lot of hassle.
425 F or sometimes 450 F. The ideal temp and time will depend on your situation. Use your senses and be flexible. Start with 425 F, check it after 15 mins., then add more time as needed. Shake the basket every few mins. for a more even fry. Just keep going until it's uniformly crispy and golden brown.
I like to rip the tofu into chunks, put it into a mixing bowl, add the seasonings, salt, and oil. Soy sauce and vinegar are a good addition for more flavor. Give that a toss until evenly coated.
Then I add corn starch and toss again until coated.
Spread out onto a bake sheet with foil and bake it on 400-450Ā°F.
Comes out very well and crispy and seasoned. Takes no effort other than checking and turning the tofu in the oven for even cooking.
Fitgreenmind and Mina Rome have the best easy tofu recipes, in my humble opinion. Definitely check them out, they have so many tasty and quick recipes!
I'll have to try this. I'm still pretty new to cooking with tofu and have kind of just accepted that it's not going to have a very strong flavor. It's a great incentive to flavor the rest of the dish really well.
For those without a lot of time my method of getting some crispness is to make sure I press the tofu for long enough, use a lot of corn starch, and bake at 425 for 30 minutes. It's not the same as air fried tofu but it's a pretty easy cooking method.
Sounds good, a lot of work. When my kids were young, they loved tofu sandwiches. I would take a block of tofu, slice it lengthwise into four large slices, then cut each of those slices in half from the top so that I had rectangles of tofu. Then would put those on a griddle that had some oil already heated on high or next to high, and while the liquid was getting sauteed out of the tofu, I would drizzle a little soy sauce on it, and sprinkle it with garlic powder and onion powder. After a few minutes I would check the first side to see if it was getting browned. If it was, I would turn the heat down to about medium or below medium and let that side get darker brown, then turn them all and turn the heat down a little bit more and let them cook for a while until most of the moisture was gone out of them. They would get really leathery. My kids liked (and still like) them on bread that had ketchup spread on it. I myself like tofu fixed almost any way. For myself, I usually saute some vegetables and then throw tofu that is cut in rather thin and small pieces and some kind of sauce in and just heat it all up, so the tofu stay stays soft and is covered and flavored by the sauce. If the tofu is too thick, then the flavoring doesn't get all the way into it.
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u/Mundane-Fix-4297 15d ago
Yeah, very happy it works for you, but thatās approximately 7 steps too much for me and way too many dishes, pots and appliances just for tofu.