This Can't be Tofu!

[Guest guest]

Deborah Madison's " This can't be tofu! " was published just a few months

ago. It is a very slight book when compared to her Essential Vegetarian

Cookbook. I bought it as soon as it came out but have not made anything

from it because oil seems like such an essential ingredient in most of the

recipes. Now that I have carefully looked through it in preparation for it

being this week's cookbook-of-the-week I see that I can eliminate the oil

in many of the recipes, or at least greatly decrease it. You have to be

more creative to use less oil, and Madison, along with Julia Childs, have

not wanted to learn those cooking techniques.

 

Anyway, I thought that you folks would enjoy these general tofu comments

from Madison. Note that she does not believe that marinating tofu is

useful. I'm not sure I agree with her. The grilled and marinated tofu

recipe that I posted last week was made wonderful, so I think, by the long

marinating.

 

Kathleen

 

* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Techniques For Using Tofu

 

Recipe By : This Can't be Tofu! by Deborah Madison, page 7

Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : Info/Tips Soyfoods

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

***** NONE *****

 

Draining:

Draining simply means pouring off the water that the tofu is packaged

in. Pressing refers to wrapping it in cloth or paper towels or letting it

sit on toweling to force out the excess water within. The reasons for

pressing the water out of tofu are:

 

1. To make room for other liquids and seasonings to be absorbed, such as

marinades and spice rubs

 

2. To prevent excess spattering when deep-frying tofu

 

3. To prevent diluting sauces and dressings

 

However, you don't have to fret about this, nor do you have to do it every

time. Generally, I find that tofu can simply sit on some toweling while

I'm assembling other ingredients, and that's plenty of time to remove

excess water. For tofu that's to be deep-fried, you have to do a serious

pressing or the water will spurt dangerously in the oil. If you're not

deep-frying tofu, look to the simpler methods that follow.

 

Serious Pressing:

Wrap an entire piece of drained tofu in an absorbent dish towel. Set the

tofu on a cutting board and weight it down with something heavy, like a

large can of tomatoes. Rest one end of the board on a plate or something

else so that the board with the weighted tofu is tilted toward the

sink. The excess water will drain off and flow into the sink. Leave for

20 to 30 minutes.

 

Towel Drying:

This method is especially good for sliced tofu that's going to be

shallow-fried. Use a cloth dish towel or several layers of paper

towels. Lay the sliced tofu on the toweling, cover it with a second layer,

and press gently to wick off the excess moisture. Leave, it like this

while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.

 

Pan Drying:

This process both dries and firms the to tofu so that it won't fall apart

in a stir-fry. Slice or cube the tofu without pressing or towel drying

first, then put it in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, adding a

little oil if you wish. The water in the tofu will evaporate and

eventually it will brown slightly, even if you haven't added any oil to the

pan. This will both dry and firm the tofu.

 

Oven Drying:

Place sliced or cubed tofu in a very lightly oiled pie plate and cook at

375F until all the water has evaporated and the tofu has a nice, slightly

firm feel to it when pressed with your finger. This will take so to 25

minutes at 375F. After 10 to 12 minutes, the tofu will have released a lot

of water. Carefully pour it off, then return the tofu to the oven to

finish drying.

 

The Myth of Marinating

 

Along with the notion that tofu will become whatever you wish by virtue of

its seasonings comes the idea of the marinade, the liquid means of

transformation. I have always felt that marinades are terribly overrated,

and that they don't really accomplish much except to flavor the very

outside of the tofu itself. When I was the chef at Greens restaurant, we

used to keep blocks of firm Chinese tofu submerged for days in an extremely

strong marinade of red wine, mustard, dried mushrooms, soy sauce, and other

ingredients, but it never did much more than affect the appearance and

taste of the tofu's outermost surfaces. When we cut into it, it was pure

white, the marinade clearly never having penetrated the tofu.

 

A more effective use for a marinade is as a cooking liquid. Pour it over

the tofu as it cooks and the marinade will reduce and cave a lustrous,

flavorful sheen. I think you'll be very happy with the results. Here's

the basic method:

 

1. Drain, then slice or cube the tofu. No need to use the serious

pressing method, just blot dry the tofu to remove some of the

water. Assemble your marinade ingredients. Many marinade recipes are

similar to each other, consisting of garlic, ginger, scallions, soy sauce,

sugar, and maybe some molasses or dark vinegar. The sugar or molasses give

the tofu its glossy sheen.

 

2. Heat a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet. Spray the skillet with

peanut oil from your own mister, or a spray such as Oriental Mist, add the

tofu and sear until golden on both sides. Even if you don't use any oil,

the tofu will color, but it's best if it colors a lot and for that you need

some oil. If you use enough oil to shallow-fry, the tofu will also get a

crisp, golden crust.

 

3. When the tofu is nicely colored, pour the marinade over the tofu and

continue cooking until it has reduced to a glaze. As the marinade cooks

down, the sugars caramelize, leaving behind some very delectable tofu. You

can simply serve the tofu as is, or garnish it with toasted sesame seeds

and slivered scallions. You can also slice the tofu and add it to a noodle

or rice salad or a stir-fry.

 

Silken and Soft Regular Tofu:

These techniques, which can he used with all grades of silken tofu as well

as soft regular tofu, firms the texture, which keeps it from falling apart

when cooked. The cooking and the salt also round out the flavor. I

routinely use this technique with silken tofu that I'm going to cook

further, and when I use tofu in salads.

 

Simmering:

Bring 6 cups water in a wide skillet to the boil. Add teaspoon sea salt,

then lower the beat so that the water is barely simmering. Add the

tofu. Simmer small cubes for 1 to 2 minutes; larger cubes for 4 to 5

minutes. Gently remove the tofu with a strainer and set it on a towel to

drain for several minutes. Once dried, this tofu will be fine for gentle

frying.

 

Steeping:

Bring 6 cups water in a wide skillet to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt, then

turn off the heat. Add the tofu and let it steep for 3 to 5

minutes. Remove with a flat strainer. If you wish to cool the tofu, lower

the strainer into a bowl of cold water, then turn the tofu onto a towel

until needed.

 

 

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -