Tofu - Flavor's Enemy

[x2ski]

For the past few weeks I have been trying to eat better. Instead of one terribly-unhealthy, gigantic meal per day (right before bed), I've been eating 5-8 smaller meals to get my metabolism back on track.

The meals consist mainly of whey protein shakes, yogurt, Dannon Frusions, chicken tortilla wraps (w/ lettuce, onion, tomato etc.), tuna sandwiches on multi-grain breads, oatmeal, and the occasional Egg Beaters with Boca sausages (flavored soy protein). So far it's been working out well, and it's been very easy to implement

I've been very impressed with the convincing flavor of Boca sausages... To me, they taste almost excatly like regular sausages, which brings me to tonight's experiment.

The grocery store I go to carries pretty much everything. There are several international food aisles which make you believe you are in a foreign country, given all the exotic products (it's amazing what the Japanese consider "candy"... shrimp seem to be popular over there) . There are also many organic/whole foods aisles. Given my past success with Boca sausages, I decided to give tofu a try. The store has a section loaded with products to accomodate eating tofu: tofu burger mix, tofu taco mix, tofu hummus mix, tofu mashed potatoes, tofu scrambled eggs, tofu smoked salmon (j/k) etc. One of these products caught my eye... tofu gyros.

Damn, gyros are good. I like gyros a lot, but they aren't something you normally "whip up 'cause you have extra lamb in the freezer." And the picture on the box looked very appealing. So, I grabbed the box, a couple pounds of firm tofu as the box suggested, some pita bread and ingredients for the cuke sauce. I was pretty stoked, 'cause if people can make soy protein taste like breakfast sausage, it shouldn't be too hard to make tofu last like meat for gyros.

I get home and get cookin'... According to the box, "combine contents with tofu and water to desired firmness". First of all, wtf do I do with the tofu juice that's already in the container? I decided to discard it, was that wrong? Anyway, I mixed it all up and let stand for 10 minutes as the directions requested. The gyro mix consisted mainly of couscous... wtf?

After 10 minutes, I am instructed to form patties and fry in oil. Form patties? Are you freakin' kidding me? It's like trying to fry a pile of wild kittens... Kittens can move, trust me.

After my failure to fry "tofu patties", I noticed another recipe on the box regarding a "gyro loaf", so I threw the mixture into a bread pan and baked at 375 for 25 minutes as instructed. After 25 minutes, it appeared as though my loaf hadn't baked at all, so I left it in for an additional half-hour (in 10-minute intervals). I finally took it out after it being in the oven for almost an hour, and it still didn't seem cooked at all. I sliced a piece and through together a gyro, and the tofu part tasted like absolutely nothing.

Completely flavorless.


I decided to try the frying pan again, along with some Cavender's Greek Seasoning, garlic, and other spices in an attempt to salvage this train wreck.

I sliced pieces from the loaf and placed them - very delicately - into the frying pan. They fell apart anyway so I decided to just stir up everything and add my own personal seasonings. 45 minutes later, it seems like I'm finally cooking the stuff, but there are still completely uncooked white pieces among the dark brown "cooked" pieces. Do I have the wrong idea on how this stuff is supposed to look when cooked up?

Regardless, it seems as though tofu is the blackhole of flavor. Sure, flavor goes in... But it sure as hell doesn't come out. I threw in garlic, oregano, Cavender's, Frank's, chipotle marinade, garlic powder and red pepper flakes, and they all seem to have disappeared.

Is tofu Soylent Green? Is tofu people?



If anyone has any solid tofu recipes, feel free to let me know. At $1.39 a pound, it isn't that bad of a deal. But so far, I teh suk at the tofu.

[daveymck]

I attempted a tofu chinese meal once was nearly sick, hated the taste and texture of it is just horrible to me, although I may have cooked it wrong.

Some tofu with noodles and few other bits and pieces is easy and quick to make and relatively good for you.

[swede123]

I've tried Tofu a few times and my experiences have been quite similar to yours. Sounds like Tofu is not my bag, baby.

Swede

[stigmata]

Here's how to do nice tofu:

1) Get a decent make. The Oak-smoked cauldron is nice, you can get from Holland & Barret in the UK.

2) Drain the liquid. Dry tofu by squeezing it in kitchen roll firmly but gently.

3) Cut the tofu into triangle shapes about 1cm thick, maybe 7x4 or something. It looks better this way.

4) Marinade it for a couple of hours. Something like Mirin, Soy Sauce, Garlic, lots of Ginger. Tofu is so bland, you need to do something serious to give it an interesting kick. Sounded like your marinade should of worked.... did you leave it long enough?

5) Take it out of the marinade and use the marinade for some extra flavouring in stir-fry.

6) *Griddle* the tofu on a griddle pan. Just put it on the pan for a few minutes either side on a medium heat. Make sure you get the darkened stripes across the tofu pieces (again, this looks cool) and it is a little crispy around the edges.

7) Do this at the same time as the stir fry, and then just bung the tofu in at the end, or layer it on top.

Bingo, perfect tofu. Badly cooked tofu (e.g. 99% of it) is minging. Well cooked tofu should be well marinaded (because it has no flavour) and be a little crispy on the outside with a softer but firm interior. In this way it should be able to act as a sort of "meat subsitute" as the flavour/texture should offest nicely against the veg.

Another good meat substitue is Quorn. The texture is quite chicken-like, but again it lacks in flavour. However, the quorn pieces work well in things like curries, were the flavour of the meat is completely drowned out anyhow.

[RunDownHouse]

Tofu is a [censored] sponge for flavor. If its flavorless, that's because you don't know how to prepare it.

[TiK]

This (http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/basic/tofu/tofu.html) is my favorite way to eat tofu. It's called Hiyayakko, and it is fantastic. I also love the chinese dish Mapo tofu, compared to Japanese dishes, Chinese dishes are much more flavorful. It is my experience that the Japanese prefer subtle flavoring and shy away from the much more robust flavorings of other asian cuisines.

I would stay away from Tofu Gyros, Tofu Hummus, i.e. cuisines that are inexperienced with tofu use, as I'm sure it will end up tasting like [censored]. Honestly, Tofu Gyros? Disgusting... Anyway, my two cents.

[astroglide]

cavender's is great on burgers

[oddjob]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's how to do nice tofu:

1) Get a decent make. The Oak-smoked cauldron is nice, you can get from Holland & Barret in the UK.

2) Drain the liquid. Dry tofu by squeezing it in kitchen roll firmly but gently.

3) Cut the tofu into triangle shapes about 1cm thick, maybe 7x4 or something. It looks better this way.

4) Marinade it for a couple of hours. Something like Mirin, Soy Sauce, Garlic, lots of Ginger. Tofu is so bland, you need to do something serious to give it an interesting kick. Sounded like your marinade should of worked.... did you leave it long enough?

5) Take it out of the marinade and use the marinade for some extra flavouring in stir-fry.

6) *Griddle* the tofu on a griddle pan. Just put it on the pan for a few minutes either side on a medium heat. Make sure you get the darkened stripes across the tofu pieces (again, this looks cool) and it is a little crispy around the edges.

7) Do this at the same time as the stir fry, and then just bung the tofu in at the end, or layer it on top.

8) Throw tofu away, pick up phone, order pizza.



[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

[Cancer Merchant]

If you're into hot, there's a bunch of good-stasting szechuan-style hot tofu variants. One is:

2 tsp peanut oil
2 Tb grated fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (about 2 cups)
1 Tb dark brown sugar
4 cups chicken broth (that's what was printed! I used veg. broth)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp Chinese chile paste w/garlic, or to taste
1 lb. firm tofu cut into 1 inch squares
4 cups thinly sliced bok choy greens
1/2 lb. fresh Chinese-style (lo mein) noodles
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In wok or pot, heat oil. Add ginger, garlic, cook for about a minute.

2. Add mushrooms, cook til soft, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Stir in sugar, broth, soy sauce, chile paste. Cover and bring to a boil.

4. Add tofu and bok choy. Cover and simmer til greens wilt, about 2 minutes.

5. Raise heat to high. Add noodles, cook covered for about 2-3 minutes til noodles are tender.

6. Remove from heat. Stir in cilanto.


Another easy way is to juts dice it up and stir-fry with ginger, gren onion, and hot pepper oil.

[Paluka]

You can microwave tofu to get all the water out of it and then it doesn't fall apart.

[Luzion]

[ QUOTE ]
I would stay away from Tofu Gyros, Tofu Hummus, i.e. cuisines that are inexperienced with tofu use, as I'm sure it will end up tasting like [censored]. Honestly, Tofu Gyros? Disgusting... Anyway, my two cents.

[/ QUOTE ]

Definitely man. I don't know how anyone would consider eating tofu gyros. If you are going to eat tofu, then you should just order some next time you go out to your local asian restaurant. Asian cuisines are far more experienced using tofu in dishes. You would definitely enjoy dishes like ma po dofu and korean spicy hot pot soups filled with lots of tofu. Later you can use these experiences and figure out how you want to cook tofu better.

[Paluka]

[ QUOTE ]
Dannon Frusions

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know how healthy these things can be. They have high-fructose corn syrup in them.

[TiK]

[ QUOTE ]
You would definitely enjoy dishes like...korean spicy hot pot soups filled with lots of tofu.

[/ QUOTE ]

Called Soon Dubu Jigae, this is probably one of my favorite Korean foods. Spicy with lots of tofu in it. It looks spicy enough to burn a hole through flesh (though it's not as spicy as it looks). But when made right it is [censored] fantastic.

[TiK]

[ QUOTE ]
You can microwave tofu to get all the water out of it and then it doesn't fall apart.

[/ QUOTE ]

They also sell tofu in varying grades of firmness. Ranging from very firm (you can pick it up by spearing it with a fork), to not firm at all (it'll disintegrate if you even drop it into the pot roughly). Buy them all and experiment.

[Paluka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You can microwave tofu to get all the water out of it and then it doesn't fall apart.

[/ QUOTE ]

They also sell tofu in varying grades of firmness. Ranging from very firm (you can pick it up by spearing it with a fork), to not firm at all (it'll disintegrate if you even drop it into the pot roughly). Buy them all and experiment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very firm is preferred by basically everyone.

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You can microwave tofu to get all the water out of it and then it doesn't fall apart.

[/ QUOTE ]

They also sell tofu in varying grades of firmness. Ranging from very firm (you can pick it up by spearing it with a fork), to not firm at all (it'll disintegrate if you even drop it into the pot roughly). Buy them all and experiment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very firm is preferred by basically everyone.

[/ QUOTE ]

No way.

[Phoenix1010]

tl;dr.
Tofu rules.

[x2ski]

[ QUOTE ]
Sounded like your marinade should of worked.... did you leave it long enough?


[/ QUOTE ]

Not really... it was a desparation attempt towards the end of frying, and this was after it had been cooking for like an hour and a half.

[Blarg]

You always dump the water out. In fact, if you keep tofu in the fridge for a while, after opening, you should change the water every few days.

Tofu is flavorless, like you note. The way you get it to work in cooking is by either mixing it in so that flavorlessness doesn't matter, or preparing it properly. But biting into a bit hunk of tofu is going to be pretty dull. It's not really good consumed as a giant piece, anyway.

Marinating tofu can make it fine in bite sized pieces, if stir-fried. Then it can become chewy, though still lightly flavored. But it doesn't at least taste like a big bunch of nothing.

You have to experiment with tofu products and add-ins, because many are crap. Like, some tofu cheese is good and some is only worth spitting out. A whole lot of products are like that; blame the idea, not the tofu. You can't take a bad recipe and then blame the tofu for the recipe being bad.

Myself, I like it best cubed up and dropped into Ramen(makes a very unnutritious meal much better for you), cold into salads(adds balanced protein and the flavorlessness isn't bad here), put in spaghetti(much nutrition added, and it blends in the the texture of the noodles so that you don't really even notice the tofu.

I've fried it up and found it edible but not very satisfying.

A key to it is how much moisture is in it. I like the firmest kind, myself, but whatever kind you get, if you are marinating it for frying up, or just frying it straight, you want to squeeze some water out of it. Put it in a plate or bowl and put another plate or two on top of it, to squeeze out the water.

[x2ski]

[ QUOTE ]
Tofu is a [censored] sponge for flavor. If its flavorless, that's because you don't know how to prepare it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I clearly don't know how to prepare it... This was my first try.

I appreciate some of the suggestions in this thread though, so I might give it another chance sometime.

[x2ski]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Dannon Frusions

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know how healthy these things can be. They have high-fructose corn syrup in them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, but I think some of the good-for-you stuff in them might offset that.

Regardless, I've been eating a lot more yogurt now, instead of the Frusions.

[Luzion]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You would definitely enjoy dishes like...korean spicy hot pot soups filled with lots of tofu.

[/ QUOTE ]

Called Soon Dubu Jigae, this is probably one of my favorite Korean foods. Spicy with lots of tofu in it. It looks spicy enough to burn a hole through flesh (though it's not as spicy as it looks). But when made right it is [censored] fantastic.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. That stuff rocks!

http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/sogongdong10.jpg

yummy!

Vegetarian here! Tofu eater to your rescue.

First rule of eating healthier = start with what you know. Take the things you know you like and cook them with less fat and less sodium.

Then, when you start getting adventurous, don't go crazy and try to make your own fake meat products. The reason those sausages and the other stuff sells so weell is because it's damn hard to make comparable stuff on your own. They have some secret sauce or something, I swear.

Now, about tofu. Tofu is created much like cheese and comes in many consistencies, much like cheese. That watery stuff is just that, water. Dump it out. But if you ever have left over uncooked tofu, store it in purified water.

Sounds like you didn't get extra firm tofu and maybe you didn't let the mix sit long enough or in a cool enough room. I often put a mix like that to sit in the fridge. The fridge will suck out some of the moisture and make it more of a solid that you can form into patties.

good luck

[x2ski]

[ QUOTE ]
First rule of eating healthier = start with what you know. Take the things you know you like and cook them with less fat and less sodium.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, and just as delicious... I'm surprised at how much cheese I used to eat (especially on sandwiches). Now I don't really miss it at all.

[ QUOTE ]
Now, about tofu. Tofu is created much like cheese and comes in many consistencies, much like cheese. That watery stuff is just that, water. Dump it out. But if you ever have left over uncooked tofu, store it in purified water.

Sounds like you didn't get extra firm tofu and maybe you didn't let the mix sit long enough or in a cool enough room. I often put a mix like that to sit in the fridge. The fridge will suck out some of the moisture and make it more of a solid that you can form into patties.

[/ QUOTE ]

I got the firm stuff, 'cause the gyro mix requested firm. I will try "extra firm" in the future and see what happens.

Thanks to everyone for their advice.