Tofu is my new friend. We found each other right between the milk and the eggs. Hidden there is, what I can only refer to as the "other" section. There are all kinds of freaky meat substitutes, "chicken" nuggets, spicy Italian "sausage," and meatless "burgers." To me, a substance that has no shape, consistency, smell, or taste that comes from nature, is probably not meant to be eaten. Even rotten vegetables are going through a natural decomposition process. But, I want to be open-minded, and soy is a plant, therefore I will not discriminate. So I brought my square, white, squishy friend home for a trial visit.
As it turns out, tofu is a very agreeable substance. I made Tofu Curry (with chicken on the side for Greg) and after two tries I got a pretty great result. Unfortunately, my friend Amanda was the recipient of try #1, with which I used "firm" tofu and bit too much curry sauce. Try #2 turned out a bit better because I used "extra firm," which has a more meat-like consistency.
I also experimented with a dessert, which turned out to be a fantastic idea. I started out with putting the tofu in the food processor, and mashing the crap out of it. Then I added some baking chocolate, cocoa, sugar, and water. I mixed and mashed this until it was creamy and whipped. Then I chilled it overnight. The consistency was perfect! It was so chocolatey. No one would ever know that I used tofu! Here are some pictures!
If you like scrambled eggs, there are tons of good recipes out there for tofu scrambles- I improvise a mexican scramble with onions, salsa, etc and then make breakfast burritos. Yum!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteI haven't cooked tofu yet, but there is a tofu dish at Viet -Thai Paradise that I love. It has a very custardly texture and is not firm in the least. I gather from your blog that tofu comes in different textures. Have you tried Seitan yet? A couple of my vegan friends in Baltimore prefer that texture as a meat substitute.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a vegan or vegetarian yet, but dairy is not my best friend sometimes, so that's why I tried the tofu. Apparently there ARE different textures of tofu. Extra firm is the most meat-like and they get more smooth and "custardy" as you decrease the firmness. I have not tried Seitan, but I will definitely try it out!
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