Baked Tofu - posted in Files

[Guest guest]

On Wed Aug 24, 2005 Jenn " <jj_73molly wrote:

 

> Evening, everyone. I tried to make baked tofu today. I wasn't

> successful. I thought I read somewhere to freeze it first. I did

> this. But the recipe in the Vegan Planet and the recipe posted in the

> files don't mention freezing it first. Is this where I went wrong?

 

It might be helpful to know the way the two types of tofu are made, in order to

understand which will work better for different dishes. I used to make both

kinds for years before it was available in grocery stores (yeah, I'm really that

old ).

 

Soymilk, like dairy milk, will curdle. When the curds and whey are completely

separated, the curds are ladled into a pressing box and weighted down until a

firm cake is formed, and the whey drained off. This is Chinese-style tofu, and

is stored in cold water.

 

Japanese tofu, a.k.a. kinugoshi, (the boxed kind, eg. Mori-Nu) is essentially

jelled soymilk. No curd/whey separation takes place; the thick soymilk is

poured into a container, the coagulating agent added, and it sits undisturbed,

until it's firmed.

 

When you put your Japanese tofu in the oven or freezer, you're simply freezing

or baking whole soymilk.

 

The Chinese kind is great for frying, baking and freezing. The Japanese kind is

better for dressings, smoothies and vegan 'cheeses' (although the softer Chinese

kind can be used this way too). That said, there are recipes for stir-fries

using the Mori-nu, but it requires delicate handling.

 

hth,

Nancy