Tofu

Glaucus · 18 Apr 2011 at 18:41

On a health kick and trying to eat less meat so been eating fish as well that's been going really well, but thought I would try cooking tofu, had it in a Thai restaurant a few years ago and it was absolutely amazing, best dish on the table beating the meat dishes.
However it added nothing to a Thai green curry I made to night, no texture or anything.

Has anyone got any recipes they like using it for, I know it has to be marinated for flavour, but this stuff didn't have any texture at all, is it just rubbish tofu (blue dragon firm) or does it need cooking in a special way.

ingouk · 18 Apr 2011 at 18:46

AcidHell2 said:
On a health kick and trying to eat less meat so been eating fish as well that's been going really well, but thought I would try cooking tofu, had it in a Thai restaurant a few years ago and it was absolutely amazing, best dish on the table beating the meat dishes.
However it added nothing to a Thai green curry I made to night, no texture or anything.

Has anyone got any recipes they like using it for, I know it has to be marinated for flavour, but this stuff didn't have any texture at all, is it just rubbish tofu (blue dragon firm) or does it need cooking in a special way.

which sort of tofu did you use?
dried tofu seems to be the best for replacing cooked meats. the other ones might still be too juicy.

Glaucus · 18 Apr 2011 at 18:48

This stuff http://www.waitrose.com/shop/ProductView-10317-10001-33470-Blue+Dragon+tofu+firm+silken+style

ingouk · 18 Apr 2011 at 18:58

ah, the silken one. thats the one with the most moisture in it. try finding the dried one. should give a much better texture.

Glaucus · 18 Apr 2011 at 19:02

Found one silken recipe
http://japaneserecipes.wikia.com/wiki/Soba_Noodles_and_Tofu_by_Elle_Bee

Probably give this a go, seems you are right silken seems more used in soups and desserts instead of cream. May have to look at that at ~60kcals per 100g it's pretty darn low energy. Would love some first hand experience though, but I doubt many people on here use it.

ingouk · 18 Apr 2011 at 19:05

the only recipe i've got somewhere for silken tofu is for chocolate mousse. not something you want for a main course. ;-)

J1234 · 18 Apr 2011 at 19:06

Dry fry (NO oil) it until it is lightly browned on both sides, then marinade it. Dry frying it makes it like a sponge and it will absorb anything you put it in.

Glaucus · 18 Apr 2011 at 19:09

ingouk said:
the only recipe i've got somewhere for silken tofu is for chocolate mousse. not something you want for a main course.

If it's good I would still be interested.

ingouk · 18 Apr 2011 at 20:08

Tofu Chocolate Mousse
thats the recipe i used. just made a white chocolate sauce with a hint of chilli for it instead of the strawberry mint stuff. It tasted better than i tought. its something i would make again.

Stupot_ · 18 Apr 2011 at 22:46

Wagamamas do some pretty nice tofu dishes. I think I've had the 'yasai chilli men' before and it was alright.

arc@css · 23 Apr 2011 at 14:41

'Clearspot' tofu is the best one I have used. Dragonfly also was very good. Personally I couldn't stand the Mori-Nu soft / firm tofu.

SpeedFreak · 25 Apr 2011 at 21:06

AcidHell2 said:
On a health kick and trying to eat less meat so been eating fish as well that's been going really well, but thought I would try cooking tofu, had it in a Thai restaurant a few years ago and it was absolutely amazing, best dish on the table beating the meat dishes.
However it added nothing to a Thai green curry I made to night, no texture or anything.

Has anyone got any recipes they like using it for, I know it has to be marinated for flavour, but this stuff didn't have any texture at all, is it just rubbish tofu (blue dragon firm) or does it need cooking in a special way.

I'm going to pimp Wai Yee Hong as it's 10 minutes down the road from you and my daughter's godmother runs the online store. There are quite a few different types there including sweetened and fried but my favourite is plain steamed drizzled in soy sauce, sesame oil and sprinkled with finely chopped fresh chilli.

ic1male · 1 May 2011 at 01:37

I tried to cook tofu once. It came in a Blue Dragon block pack. I took it out and patted it well with kitchen towel and chopped it up into smaller blocks. However when I started to stir fry it, it just disintegrated into blobs and ruined the dish.

So how the buggery do you do stir fried tofu and have it maintain its shape?

arc@css · 1 May 2011 at 05:20

ic1male said:
I tried to cook tofu once. It came in a Blue Dragon block pack. I took it out and patted it well with kitchen towel and chopped it up into smaller blocks. However when I started to stir fry it, it just disintegrated into blobs and ruined the dish.

So how the buggery do you do stir fried tofu and have it maintain its shape?

Blue Dragon imo is one of the worst, try a brand like Clearspot or Dragonfly.