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April 30, 2013How to Use Tofu for Low-Meat DishesI like to eat meat, but just not in large quantities. I’m alow-meat eater, having grown up in a household where animal protein was neverpresented at the table in the form of entire roasts or birds. No NormalRockwell images at the holidays. Food was offered in bite size pieces to (1)make it easier to pick up with chopsticks and (2) feed our family of seven on abudget. We consumed a lot of vegetables via canh (soups), lettuce and rawherbs, stir-fries, and noodle dishes. We regularly ate tofu too, usually seasoned with fish sauceand/or cooked with meat in various Vietnamese preparations. Yes, you can have your meat and eat tofu too!
I didn’t know of vegetariantofu scrambles, tofu steaks, and tofu blanketed by cheese sauce until I moved to Santa Cruz,California, in the late 1990s. A bastion for natural living, there were andstill is a vegetarian restaurant named Dharma’s. At the opposite end of the spectrumis the Hindquarter Bar and Grille, whose motto is: “where the elite meat.”
I live and eat between those extremes and tofu plays a keyrole. If you want to consume less animal protein and/or save money, you don’thave to forgo meat altogether. Having tofu in your diet is not aboutdeprivation, or some kind of monk-like existence. Without sacrificing flavorand with a little help from tofu, you can turn many meat-filled dishes (e.g.,stews, curries, stir-fries, dumpling filling, meatballs and meatloaf – not roast beef) intolow-meat ones. Here are some ideas:
Don’t go whole hogby replacing all the animal protein in a recipe with tofu. Keep some real meatflavor for the tofu to absorb and carry along. Try replacing a third or half ofthe meat with tofu. The idea is to extend the natural meat flavor with tofu,not replace the meat flavor with tofu.
Think of tofu as meatby choosing a texture like firm or extra firm tofu, which has a certain rich tenderness(think of it as the tofu equivalent of chicken thigh and pork shoulder) thatallows it to be receptive to the flavor of surrounding ingredients. Super-firmtofu, which has its practical uses, is super dense like overcooked chickenbreast and pork loin so I prefer to not use it when partially replacing meat inrecipes; it does not quickly absorb flavors because the curds are super compacted.
Use a little moretofu than the protein you’re replacing because tofu has water. For example,in a spicy Thai basil chicken recipe, I replaced 8 ounces (240 grams) ofchicken thigh with 10 ounces (300 grams) of tofu. After draining and panfrying,there was a net amount of tofu that weighed around 8 ounces.
Prep the tofu anappropriate size. If you’re replacing some ground meat with tofu, squeezethe tofu in muslinto remove some of its water and crush it a bit; finish by mashing with a fork.For stir-fries and stews, cut the tofu into pieces that best match size of themeat pieces in the recipe.
Salt and fry tofuif you’re going to add it to a stir-fry or saucy, stewed dish. We often season meat before cooking it so why not do the same with tofu too? I like to soak tofu in salted water but in a pinch, you can sprinkle salt on pre-cut tofu, just go lightly. Then, either sear,panfry or deep-fry the tofu to give it texture and extra flavor – more character! Again,think of what you do with meat when you cook it. Tofu can take a similar kind of treatment.
Add tofu in themiddle or toward the end of the cooking process. Partially or fully cookthe meat before adding the prepped tofu. For the spicy basil chicken and tofustir-fry, I added the tofu after the chicken was nearly cooked (the photo at the top of the post) to enable thetofu to blend with the chicken well. Tofu is an unusual protein because it’salready “cooked” and ready to eat. Let the animal protein catch up with thedoneness of tofu before adding the tofu!
Imbue tofu with sauceor liquid seasonings. Tofu has its own delicate umami but it needs to soakup other flavors to shine. Once tofu is seared, panfried or deep-fried, the piecesare like a damp sponge with pores that are ready to absorb flavor. Let it sitin your sauce or allow it to simmer with the liquid seasoning sauce (if needed,boost the seasonings by a smidgen and add a tablespoon or so of water so there’s something for tofuto soak).
Give tofu the chance to pick up on the flavors of meat and otheringredients in your recipe and you won’t regret it.
Got a similar tofu tipto share? Now is not the time to hold back.
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Comments How to Use Tofu for Low-Meat DishesI like to eat meat, but just not in large quantities. I’m alow-meat eater, having grown up in a household where animal protein was neverpresented at the table in the form of entire roasts or birds. No NormalRockwell images at the holidays. Food was offered in bite size pieces to (1)make it easier to pick up with chopsticks and (2) feed our family of seven on abudget. We consumed a lot of vegetables via canh (soups), lettuce and rawherbs, stir-fries, and noodle dishes. We regularly ate tofu too, usually seasoned with fish sauceand/or cooked with meat in various Vietnamese preparations. Yes, you can have your meat and eat tofu too!
I didn’t know of vegetariantofu scrambles, tofu steaks, and tofu blanketed by cheese sauce until I moved to Santa Cruz,California, in the late 1990s. A bastion for natural living, there were andstill is a vegetarian restaurant named Dharma’s. At the opposite end of the spectrumis the Hindquarter Bar and Grille, whose motto is: “where the elite meat.”
I live and eat between those extremes and tofu plays a keyrole. If you want to consume less animal protein and/or save money, you don’thave to forgo meat altogether. Having tofu in your diet is not aboutdeprivation, or some kind of monk-like existence. Without sacrificing flavorand with a little help from tofu, you can turn many meat-filled dishes (e.g.,stews, curries, stir-fries, dumpling filling, meatballs and meatloaf – not roast beef) intolow-meat ones. Here are some ideas:
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Asian Tofu in the News"A whole cookbook devoted to tofu? Yes, please."— Kate Williams, Serious Eats 2012 Favorite Cookbooks
"Cooking with Tofu (Are You Serious?!)"
— Michael Rulhman on his tofu conversion
"This book should be a priority for anyone with the slightest interest in Asian cuisines."
— Anne Mendelson, Taste & Travel
"The most gratifying part about cooking from Asian Tofu is that all the recipes work the way they’re written."
— T. Susan Chang, Boston Globe
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