reproduced with permission of (c) Jenny Langridge
How to cook tofu
It’s really very similar to a sponge – it tastes like nothing but CAN taste like absolutely anything – the trick is texture and marinade and even carnivores will love it. For all recipes where I say use tofu, if given an option pick the firmest available. When you buy tofu it will typically be in water so take what you need for your meal (about 100g/3.5oz per person) and cover the rest in water and store in the fridge changing the water daily until you want to use the rest (within 3-5 days).
You’ll want to get some of the excess moisture out of the tofu so it browns better and doesn’t splatter so much oil – to do so just wrap it in kitchen roll and press gently. Next cut it into bite size pieces – I tend to go for triangles in my asian food, big cubes if it is going on a stick (satay or on the grill) & squares for everything else, all about 2.5cm/1in.
Put a tablespoon or 2 of oil into a frying pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot place the tofu pieces in the pan. Let them brown on the bottom before attempting to move them. Once they’ve browned they will flip over no problem at all whereas before they will break into bits. Flip them all and do the same to the other side, or sides, if you’re making cubes.
At this point you’ve created a nice texture – now it’s time to give them some flavour – each recipe will tell you specifically what to put on them. In general you can use soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, balsamic vinegar, or pretty much any dressing or marinade. You can throw in some nuts and/or seeds as you’re cooking them in their sauce as well. Tofu will never be boring again!
Tempeh: Not as commonly found, it is essentially a chunkier version of tofu. Consistency is much less of an issue and as such it doesn’t need to be fried. Simply remove it from the packet, cut it into pieces and throw it in your dish in place of meat. I use it a lot with Indian curry sauce from a jar – if you’re in the UK keep an eye out for the fabulous Anila’s – they are suitable for all categories in this cook book as well as having no additives, preservatives, onion or garlic. Brown tempeh on each side under the grill if you want it to have a crisper texture. Still give it a little flavour boost with some sort of sauce though. My favourite is BBQ.