Lately I have had quite a few of my friends express an interest in reducing their meat consumption, which is AWESOME! But it can be pretty intimidating when you first start. If you’re like I was pre-vegan, meals were almost always made up of some kind of meat, potatoes, and a vegetable. That was just my norm growing up, and even into my early adult years. I never made things like stir fry or curry, and rarely, if ever, did I make homemade soups (except for beef filled chili). So, where do you start? You can’t just leave the meat off your plate and eat potatoes and vegetables. I mean, I guess you could, but instead of that, you could open yourself up to new and different kinds of food!
One of the things that is most intimidating or mystifying to people is tofu. What kind is best? Why are there so many different kinds (silken, soft, firm, super firm, etc)? What kind do I use for certain recipes? What does “pressing” it mean? How do I do that? How do I cook it????
Well, here is my guide to tofu – a food that I never thought I would like, but now love. Tofu is one of those things that can be a big turn off if you’ve had it prepared badly in the past. You think it’s spongey or rubbery, or tasteless. And while it can be pretty tasteless, that’s actually a good thing – you can make it taste however you want! And if you’ve had it and think it’s spongey or rubbery, worry not. It doesn’t have to be that way!
So, first off, let’s review the types of tofu that are out there, and what kind belongs in what what dishes:
Silken Tofu: Silken tofu is the softest, smoothest kind of tofu, and has the highest water content (and lowest calorie content). You can find it both in the refrigerator section of your grocery store or in the regular aisles, as it is “shelf stable”. Silken tofu is not what you want to use in stir fries, or if you want tofu “steaks”. You’d use silken for desserts, like pudding or custard, or for things like creamy salad dressings. There are soft, regular, and firm version of silken tofu, but I use them pretty interchangeably. I like Mori-Nu brand a lot:
Silken Tofu
Firm Tofu: Regular and firm tofu that is water packed will keep its shape nicely in stir fries and other similar dishes, and has a much lower water content than silken tofu. You will only find this in the refrigerator case at your grocer. While you can use this for stir fries and steaks, I don’t like it as well as vacuum packed super-firm tofu (discussed below). This type of tofu is great for things like tofu scramble, mock ricotta cheese (“rinotta”), and if you want to freeze your tofu prior to using (explanation on that later). When I use this, I drain it after opening, and then cut it into slices. If I’m going to make a rinotta, I’ll just lightly press it. To press it, you lay either a clean white towel or a couple paper towels on your counter, lay the tofu on top, and then put another towel/paper towels on top. Squeeze down with your hands, or put a heavy book or pot on top of it for a couple minutes. Then proceed with recipe.
Super-Firm Tofu: Super-firm vacuum packed tofu has the lowest water content, keeps its shape the best, and has the highest calorie & protein content of all the types of tofu. And yet it’s still not super high-calorie: a 3 ounce serving has only 130 calories. By far, my favorite brand of this is Wildwood Organics super firm vacuum packed tofu:
This is my go-to tofu for making any kind of tofu sandwich, for a stir fry, etc. It is SO easy to work with, too. You barely even need to press it, although it certainly doesn’t hurt to do so (same instructions as above). This tofu is not good for rinotta because it’s actually too firm, and has too little water. Also, it doesn’t freeze well in my experience.
Slicing it up
How do I cook tofu?
After pressing your super-firm (or firm) tofu, you want to cut it according to your recipe instructions – strips, cubes, steaks, etc. If the recipe says to marinate it, you should do that after cutting it up. The longer you marinate it, the more the tofu will soak up the flavor of your marinade.
Ready to marinate!
Marinating (in a guajillo chile sauce)
My 3 favorite ways to cook tofu are to “dry fry” it, to grill it, or bake it. Dry frying just means that you spritz a little bit of oil on a non-stick pan (you don’t have to use non-stick, but you can use less oil if you use non-stick) and then throw the tofu in, on medium to medium-high heat. Let it get nice and crispy on that side before turning it over, about 5 minutes. Then flip and let the other side get crispy. You shouldn’t need to respray it, but you can if you want to.
Cooking tofu on a grill pan
Baking is much the same – you just layer your tofu on a lightly greased pan, and bake on each side for about 10-15 minutes (follow recipe instructions for timing & heat). Easy-peasy!
A couple tips on how to change (improve, in my opinion) the texture of your tofu:
Freezing: With water packed tofu, if you freeze it first, and then let it thaw out overnight in your fridge before using it, the texture will become more firm.
Refrigeration after cooking: Another interesting thing about tofu is that I think the texture improves with leftovers. So, if you cook it the night before – baking or dry frying, and then refrigerate it, the next day it will have a much denser, firmer texture. Sometimes I will just take tofu steaks as a snack if they’ve been marinated and cooked the night before, and I have them leftover in my fridge. I love the texture of it the next day!
I hope these are all helpful hints. Now go forth & eat tofu! 
