27 Tofu Recipes That Will Change The Way You Think About Vegan Food (2024)

FAQs

What are the different ways to cook tofu? ›

Its texture is firm enough to be cooked over high heat, such as pan-frying, air frying, baking, braising, and grilling. The outside becomes golden and crispy while the inside remains soft and tender. Grilled tofu is a delicious way to add plant-based protein to your summer meals.

Is All Tofu Vegan? Although tofu in general is completely vegan friendly, we always recommend checking the ingredients list on the tofu you have. Sometimes, the odd brand of tofu may use a different method to create their tofu, some of which include animal byproducts in their process.

Use a steak marinade, grill with onions and barbecue sauce, and serve on a toasted bun at your next BBQ. Cube it, coat with cornstarch, pan fry, and serve with honey mustard and sweet potato fries for super-easy "chicken" nuggets.

Tofu is commonly used as a source of protein in vegetarian dishes. While making stir fry one can easily exchange the beef or chicken with tofu. There are many more uses for tofu. Vegetarian and vegan cooks are frequently using tofu to replace eggs and dairy.

Tofu is categorized as silken, regular, firm, extra-firm and super-firm. Silken, the softest type of tofu, can be compared to a young white cheese. Firm tofu, the most common, has the same consistency as feta, while the texture of super-firm can be compared to that of meat.

What to not serve with tofu? According to studies, a high volume consumption of tofu and spinach together can increase your risk of kidney stones. Tofu and spinach contain calcium and oxalic acid respectively and the combined can form kidney stones.

Tofu's an especially good choice for people who eat vegan to ensure they meet their recommended daily protein intake. “Unlike animal sources of protein like beef, tofu is cholesterol-free,” says Romito. And while a serving of tofu has 5 grams of fat, it's mostly polyunsaturated fats.

Tempeh contains the most fiber and more protein than tofu because it contains the whole bean.

'I don't like tofu/mushrooms/aubergine'

“I would say none of those are necessary for living a happy vegan life,” says Hamshaw. “In the vegetable kingdom, there are always plenty of other options that will give you the same micronutrients.

Tofu is closely related to Buddhism

Due to this belief, many Buddhists are vegetarians. Since tofu provides a good source of plant protein, it makes tofu more and more accepted in east Asian under the spread of Buddhism (History of Soybeans and Soy foods, 1100 B.C. to the 1980s, 2004).

What are some fun facts about tofu? ›

Incorporating tofu into your daily meals and snacks can bring several health benefits. Those benefits include brain health promotion, ease of menopause symptoms, and heart disease prevention. However, eating tofu has some risks, as it might lead to digestive issues or interact with certain medications like MAOIs.

To replace 1 egg, substitute 1/4 cup (about 60 g) of puréed, silken tofu. Silken tofu is relatively flavorless, but it can make baked goods dense and heavy, so it's best used in brownies, cookies, quick breads, and cakes.

Silken tofu, with its creamy and smooth texture, can be blended and seasoned to mimic cream cheese (how long does cream cheese last?) or ricotta. On the other hand, firmer tofu varieties can be crumbled or cubed to stand in for feta or paneer once they have been marinated or seasoned appropriately.

Both seitan and tofu are plant-based proteins. However, while seitan is an excellent plant-based protein alternative, tofu is a complete protein (seitan lacks the amino acid lysine). Unseasoned tofu is typically lower in sodium than store-bought seitan, which can be processed with salt, sugar or other flavors added.

The most common methods for cooking extra-firm and firm tofu are pan-frying, stir-frying, baking, grilling, and scrambling it.

It sticks, and the crispy bits end up sticking to the pan, which is a tofu tragedy. Plus, it requires more oil, and you don't need to use a lot of oil to get crispy tofu. When you bake your tofu, you give it time to develop crispy edges and warm, pillowy insides. It's simply the best.

While you can use various techniques to make tofu crispy (for example, I use freezing and boiling in this Crispy Tofu cooking guide and pressing dry plus pan-frying in this reader favorite Tofu Stir Fry, and in the oven with Baked Tofu), the best method that I've found is using the air fryer.