You've seen tofu. You've eaten tofu. And there's a good chance you've purchased tofu at the grocery store — it's available just about everywhere now.
But, like most people, you probably have no idea what to do with it. Good news: Tofu is one of the easiest and healthiest foods to cook! The extremely mild taste goes with anything, and it's packed with quality protein — making it a staple in many vegan and vegetarian diets.
You'll find a few different densities of tofu in stores, and they're all a bit different. Soft or silken tofu is custardy and therefore works well in soups, according to Susan Westmoreland, culinary director at the Good Housekeeping Institute. "Both medium and firm work well stir-fried, battered and crisped, baked and glazed," she says. "Firm does all of that plus grilling."
In order to turn this white brick of pure potential into dinner, it helps to know a few tricks and tips. Here are some basics to get you started, and some awesome recipes with tofu to try out.
First, you need to "press" tofu. Here's how:
Tofu is packed in water, and it's a lot like a sponge — if you don't press out the old water you can't work in any new flavors. This is really easy; it just takes some advanced planning.
- Open a package of extra-firm, water-packed tofu (not the silken kind) and drain.
- Cut the tofu width-wise into slices — four or six should do it.
- Lay paper towels on a sheet pan and spread tofu slices in a single layer on top.
- Put more paper towels over the tofu, then another sheet pan over them.
- Place heavy objects on the sheet pan (try cookbooks or cans of tomatoes).
- Leave it alone for at least 30 minutes, but preferably a couple hours. You can leave it like this all day or night if you put it in the fridge. If you're in a hurry, apply some manual pressure to cut the time to 15 min., but it won't be quite as awesome.
- Uncover; leave as "tofu steaks" or cut into cubes, marinate, and cook accordingly.
What You'll Need to Cook Tofu
$2.29 House Foods Organic Extra Firm Tofu
It tastes best when marinated, just not with oil.
If you don't marinate it, it won't taste like anything. Tofu has a lot of water in it — even after you press it — and oil and water don't mix. Using oil in your marinade will actually create an oil slick on the tofu, meaning the flavors will never absorb. So skip the oil in your marinades and opt for extra vinegar, soy sauce, citrus juice, or stock.
Use cornstarch to make tofu crispy.
If you're going to pan-fry or stir-fry your tofu, simply coat it in cornstarch after marinating. A medium or light coat is best. Just put your marinated tofu in a big plastic zipper bag, add a half cup of cornstarch, close, and shake well. I like to dump it all into a colander over the sink to shake off the excess. This will give your tofu a fantastic, crispy coating — and it also really, really helps the tofu not stick to the pan.
You can also broil and grill it.
Tofu is great on the grill, in a grill pan, and under the broiler! Just marinate it, spray your cooking surface with a little canola oil, and cook until you get nice grill marks or crispy edges, about seven minutes per side (or less on a scorching-hot grill). Tofu doesn't actually need to be cooked at all, so you don't need worry about internal temps. This is a super-healthy (un-fried) way to prepare tofu!
Here's what you can make with tofu:
Tofu is the ultimate multitasker — it's not just for stir-fries anymore. Try one of our recipes below from the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, or experiment with these ideas:
- Use an Italian marinade and bread crumbs to easily replace chicken parmesan.
- 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.
