# Tofu ideas and help



## vaironxxrd (Oct 21, 2013)

Hello everyone,

I recently tried tofu from a restaurant near me and I feel in love with the kapow tofu being offered. So I bought a couple of tofu blocks and tried some recipes, but my tofu not only seems to fail cooking well, but I can't get the flavor out of it. I don't have many ingredients at home but I have recently started to buy aminos, vegetables oil, minor stuff like that. 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a simple and flavorful tofu recipe?
I don't mind getting new ingredients if needed. My goal is to be able to cook that delicious kapow tofu. 

Thanks everyone!


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## no mayonnaise (Oct 21, 2013)

lately I've favored broiled tofu. Just cut into 1/2 inch slices and oil/season then broil.
Marinades barely penetrate the tofu so skip marinading and work on getting a good crust. 
If you do marinade make sure it has a bit of sugar or honey in it to help the crust form. Marinades will still add flavor to the outside. If you marinade try cutting a criss cross pattern 1/4" deep across the two largest sides for extra marinade penetration plus it looks nice when served.
A good crust is key to good tofu in my opinion and a really popular way to prepare it is to fry it but broiling is healthier and both give a good crust. Once fried or broiled you can do a lot with it.


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## merstar (Oct 21, 2013)

I like it stir-fried with garlic, ginger, scallions, and assorted  vegetables, such as snowpeas, broccoli, and red bell pepper, mixed with soy sauce, lemon juice or dry white wine, dark sesame oil, etc.


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## GotGarlic (Oct 21, 2013)

Hi. Tofu really has no flavor of its own, so there's nothing to bring out  Chinese cooking usually uses several seasonings, and kung pao chicken or tofu requires tiny red chilies and Szechuan peppercorns for the spicy flavor. 

Here's a recipe: http://www.blueapron.com/recipes/kung-pao-tofu-with-chinese-broccoli-brown-rice

If you like Chinese food in general, it's worth it to invest in the ingredients. Stir-fries in general are quick, easy, healthy, flavorful meals.

What are aminos?


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## Janet H (Oct 21, 2013)

One of the reasons tofu from restaurants often tastes better is deep frying. You are being bribed with fat and it tastes great - not so good for you however.  Kung Pao tofu is lovely but at my local eateries they routinely deepfry the cubed tofu before adding it t0 the stir fry.

Marinating can add great flavor and so can the addition of some lime juice.  I sometimes slice tofu and crust with dried spices and herbs and then sear it in a saute pan.  Lower fat and a nice twist.


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## vaironxxrd (Oct 22, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> Hi. Tofu really has no flavor of its own, so there's nothing to bring out  Chinese cooking usually uses several seasonings, and kung pao chicken or tofu requires tiny red chilies and Szechuan peppercorns for the spicy flavor.
> 
> Here's a recipe: Recipe: Kung Pao Tofu with Chinese Broccoli & Brown Rice - Blue Apron
> 
> ...



Pardon me I meant liquid aminos.

I am a Chinese food lover... I hope to learn a couple of recipes before my birthday, coming soon. I actually still like orange chicken a bit more than the tofu, so I'm trying to learn that, but I'm a horrible cook.


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## Oldvine (Oct 23, 2013)

One of the wonderful things about tofu is that it takes on the flavors of other foods.  There are different textures in tofu.  Make sure the one you are using fits the project.


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## larry_stewart (Oct 23, 2013)

If you live anywhere near a Chinese food market, you could find many different varieties of tofu to help you experiment. Anything from a large variety of textures ( soft - firm, which can usually be find anywhere), to fried, spiced, pressed, dried ....  Usually found in the refrigerated section ( at least it is at my Asian market).  In addition, if your cooking skills aren't up to par, as you have mentioned, they will also have a large variety of bottled, preprepared sauces  to try.  You can then kinda experiment with them, by adding your own selection of vegetables, tofu ...  Its a good starting point for Asian cooking.

I agree with previous posts that the fried tofu ( or tofu with a crust) kinda absorbs the flavors of the sauce better, because the sauce sticks to the tofu easier.  If using regular tofu, a thicker sauce will stick to the tofu better ( as opposed to one that is more watery).

The less firm the tofu is, the more likely it is going to break up when you cook it/ mix it, so a firm or extra fir would hold its shape better, as would the fried tofu too.

Sometimes when I take in chinese food, and there is extra left over sauce, Ill cut up some tofu and add it in, instead of just throwing it out.


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## JoFleischer (Feb 25, 2014)

I love tofu, especially with Asian style dishes. My current addiction is sweet and sour. I got the basic recipe here - Sweet and Sour Tofu Recipe with Pineapple Juice and Brown Sugar then added my own touches to it to make it "mine".


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## chunhoochun (Jul 7, 2015)

Hi 
I think I can help you
This is Korean ways to make tofu.
-You wan to cut tofu into eatable size
-Get 5 eggs and beat them
-Deep it in each tofu into the egg
-Get the pan out and put it on medium 
-Put it on each tofu you deep it with egg on to the pan (make sure pan is HOT enough)
-Let it sit there for about 2 minutes then flip it for another 2 minutes.
-You will get nice yellow crunchy tofu!
One more thing, if you have soy sauce put little bit on it because it will make even better!
Let me know how you like it.


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