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Staring at a cube of tofu


Blanche Davidian

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A vegetarian friend and I have agreed to get together to cook on a regular basis, and I was hoping to pick up some tips from folks who have had experience cooking with what I'll call "meat substitutes"--tofu, tempeh, tvp and the cornucopia of fake meat products like Soyrizo or I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon! I've had success with vegetarian cooking in the past, but also enough spectacular failures that I'm wary about trying anything new without some preliminary research.

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I think one of the key things to using things like tofu and tempeh is not to think of them as meat substitutes. All they are are foods with a high protein content. Try to think of them as ingredients in their own right and not as an imitation of something else. If you try to use them to imitate something, theyll taste like just that, an imitation.

Use them for their own unique qualities to bring out their full potential, just like any other ingredient.

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And there are so many different kinds of tofu. Soft, makes excellent dessert, whipped up in a blender with fresh fruit and honey. The extra firm stuff is brilliant on the barbeque, especially if it has been marinated in something delicious first.

If are are staring at it blankly, throw it into the freezer. A little sesh in the freezer changes it completely. It seems to become even more absorbant. Here you can cube it and throw it in a stew or wok fry it with lots of chile and garlic.

If you know a local tofu maker, you can purchase what is referred to as okara (I think that's the right spelling), for next to nothing. It is the stuff thrown away - kind of like whey - in the tofu making process. Number one it makes killer compost for your garden, but also is very high in nurtrients for humans. You can use it as a filling, adding whatever flavour components you like, garlic, ginger, green onion, etc, then make little cakes and steam or stuff them inside tofu skin and steam, etc.

I could go on, but this is probably enough information.

Have fun with the tofu.

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But do these things really exist..  Soyrizo or I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon..  :biggrin:

Soyrizo does, it's actually pretty good! I haven't tried the bacon substitutes in a long time, but I didn't think they were very good.

Edited by uberleet (log)
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I really believe that if you try use tofu as a meat substitute (especially if you are not vegetarian) you will only be disappointed. Tofu is a wonderful product on its own and it is very easy to love.

This is the eGCI class I did on soy, using Japanese soy products.

This is the 4 page thread (with photos) on tofu from the Japan forum

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Chop into cubes, fry , till golden then mix with shredded carrot, dikon, sesame oil, garilc minced rice wine vinegar and a dash of soy. add some sesame seeds and you have a tasty dish.

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Ah, it's been way too long since I did a butt. - Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"

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One summers evening drunk to hell, I sat there nearly lifeless…Warren

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i've had just as many successes and failures with "mainstream" ingredients as with tofu. tofu in other cultures is definitely mainstream -- it should not be derided for what it is not, but valued for what it is.

it is supremely versatile (drinks to entrees to desserts) and is a wonderful canvas on which to paint other flavors (aside from having its own delicate flavor).

deborah madison's books have a lot of ways to cook tofu. many tasty ways include marinading it and sauteeing it. my SO who is not a vegetarian (and a bit reluctant where tofu is concerned) really, really liked the tofu sauteed in orange sauce that i made for us.

cheers --

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Thanks for all the helpful replies! A couple more questions: Does anybody cook with tempeh or seitan? Does anybody buy the fake meat stuff from companies like Morningstar Farms?

By the way, I am 100% of the mind that it's counterproductive to disguise "meat substitutes" as meat. Nothing could be more dreadful than tasting a big ol' spoonful of a vegetarian friend's "Faux Tuna Salad" or "TVP Chili" and then having to answer the question "Doesn't it taste JUST like the REAL THING?!?!?!"

Some of it can be pretty good, but it NEVER tastes like the real thing.

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Thanks for all the helpful replies!  A couple more questions:  Does anybody cook with tempeh or seitan?  Does anybody buy the fake meat stuff from companies like Morningstar Farms?

By the way, I am 100% of the mind that it's counterproductive to disguise "meat substitutes" as meat.  Nothing could be more dreadful than tasting a big ol' spoonful of a vegetarian friend's "Faux Tuna Salad" or "TVP Chili" and then having to answer the question "Doesn't it taste JUST like the REAL THING?!?!?!" 

Some of it can be pretty good, but it NEVER tastes like the real thing.

one of the people i work with uses the fake meat stuff to make lasagna or chili.

i've tried tvp but it ain't like the real thing. i do use firm tofu then press it to use for padd thai.. and i am a carnivore and do enjoy working it... just don't mistake it for meat and treat it as a wonderul protein source...especiially in sweet and sour soup

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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My boyfriend would suggest using it as wallpaper paste :laugh:

I processed some in the blender to use as a fill-in for a creme sauce, wanted to make the sauce a little lighter for my dad, who is on the South Beach diet -- it did have an odd resembelance to wallpaper paste!

shelora -- I had no idea freezing would change the absorbancy of tofu. Interesting! I will have to try.

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The vast majority of the time when I cook with tofu, I stick to Chinese or Japanese-inspired cooking techniques for that ingredient. Trying to make tofu conform to western dishes and techniques doesn't tend to work very well for me. I do occasionally broil tofu (broiling/grilling is not unknown to traditional tofu cookery, see for instance the Japanese snack tofu dengaku), or mash some tofu up and season it as a salad/spread/dip/dressing, but I don't present or think of these as "just like" some other dish for which it is substituting--the dish as prepared has to stand or fall on its own merit.

I do also frequently marinate tofu, because it's true that, like many other mild-flavored foods, the stuff is a great palette for other stronger flavors. But I no longer feel this compulsion to always dump tons of flavor on the stuff for fear of revealing some culinary void. :smile: For tofu isn't a void; especially when fresh and from a good source, it has a delicate, pleasing flavor all its own. Japanese cookery includes dishes like yudofu in which tofu is simply simmered in water and served with only simple seasonings such as a splash of shoyu and some slivered scallions. It's really quite soothing.

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Thanks for all the helpful replies!  A couple more questions:  Does anybody cook with tempeh or seitan?  Does anybody buy the fake meat stuff from companies like Morningstar Farms?

By the way, I am 100% of the mind that it's counterproductive to disguise "meat substitutes" as meat.  Nothing could be more dreadful than tasting a big ol' spoonful of a vegetarian friend's "Faux Tuna Salad" or "TVP Chili" and then having to answer the question "Doesn't it taste JUST like the REAL THING?!?!?!" 

Some of it can be pretty good, but it NEVER tastes like the real thing.

I haven't done much experimenting with tempeh. I can buy it ready-to-cook in a variety of flavours. I usually grill or steam, depending on which diet I'm on!

Seitan - which sounds so much like that guy with the pitch fork - doesn't do much for me.

In terms of fake meat, I'd rather eat a steady diet of vegetables and rice than eat fake meat. Please. There is just so much great real food to be had and can you just read the list of ingredients in those products. No thank you.

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