Comments on: Cooking with Tofu (Are You Serious?!)

By: Brian Vo

Brian Vo — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:50:13 +0000

Andrea you’re a true ambassador of Tofu!

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:42:18 +0000

You’re absolutely right and thank gawd there’s plenty of non-GMO and organic tofu available these days. We grow so much soy in this country and most of it is destined for feed lots and industrial uses. Why not consume at the front end of the food chain once in a while?

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:40:18 +0000

You’re likely thinking of the dim sum of crisp tofu skin enveloping the shrimp filling? Oh my, it’s one of my faves too.

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:38:42 +0000

DIY silken tofu is da bomb, ain’t it? Thanks for recommending my book!

By: Tags

Tags — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 22:40:07 +0000

Whenever I go to a dim sum parlor, I always keep my keenest eye out for the dumplings made with tofu skin instead of pasta. This is the highlight of my trip every time.

By: Weekmenu week 35 | Mama kookt

Weekmenu week 35 | Mama kookt — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 10:51:00 +0000

[...] recept van Andrea Nguyen, gevonden op de site van Micheal Ruhlman. Interessant recept, ten eerste om de flexitarische combinatie van rundvlees en tofu, en daarnaast [...]

By: berti

berti — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:51:19 +0000

OMG you’re making me hungry!! I like good tofu. But in netherlands, its rare…..its mostly crap tofu. Still don’t make my own…yet….want to…..and soymilk and the countless soy products you can make yourself, too…. The Book of Tofu, is also very good, with lots of recipes and in depth history, and more than you ever wanted t o know!! Worth to hunt down a copy.

By: Witloof

Witloof — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:44:47 +0000

Freshly made tofu can be so delicious it’s mind boggling. I once had home made tofu in a Japanese restaurant. It was served in broth with some shaved smoked bonito on top, and it was so sweet and delicate I couldn’t stop eating it. Storebought tofu, on the other hand, is nasty and should be avoided.

I don’t think that it’s a good idea to rely on soy products for protein. Most soy these days is GMO, and who knows what the long term effects of eating GMO foods will be? Tofu should be used as a condiment or complement and not as the main source.

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:59:43 +0000

You’re thinking of a tofu croquette? Sometimes it’s made with soy milk lees (okara) leftover from pressing out the milk. Great way to cook and eat sustainably.

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:58:26 +0000

You, Yukari? Really? Love all the cool modern and traditional tofu in Japan.

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:51:57 +0000

You’re absolutely right, Sam. The NY restaurant probably gets super fresh tofu, which develops a certain umami after a it’s made. Season it with a little soy or even salt, and it’s yowza good. There’s a Japanese silken tofu and rich soy milk hot pot recipe in Asian Tofu is the ultimate expression of that umami goodness. I had it in Tokyo and had to replicate at home.

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:48:40 +0000

Agedashi tofu — any chilled tofu — is a summer classic. You can top it so many ways.

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:43:09 +0000

The tofu you’re thinking of was firmly pressed then simmered in soy sauce and other seasonings to give it that chocolatey coating. Finally, it’s baked to dry out the coating a bit. Pressed seasoned tofu is a savory that’s often sliced and stir-fried. If you make it yourself, you can even tea smoke it in a wok. Or, season it with lemongrass, chiles, etc.

There’s still a bit of moisture in the stuff so you’d have to dry it out more before dipping in chocolate. Not a bad idea.

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:38:41 +0000

Awesome Tom. Let me know your thoughts.

By: Andrea Nguyen

Andrea Nguyen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:34:32 +0000

Michael, were you in the market in Hoi An? There are some fabulous eats there and the vendors are well skilled. Tofu got a bad wrap in the US. With folks traveling to Asia and eating/cooking more Asian food, things are changing. There’s room for tofu in most diets. Pork bell and tofu make nice friends.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:35:25 +0000

The legendary Hunan Restaurant in San Francisco was the inspiration for a great enhancement to Ma Po Tofu — adding shrimp to the dish (the sweetness of shrimp makes a great complement to the spice and salt) — give it a try!

By: picklejuice

picklejuice — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 07:12:52 +0000

i love tofu, cold with some soy sauce and green onions (negi). maybe a little grated ginger. delicious!

By: Swain

Swain — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 06:36:04 +0000

When I was teaching at Humboldt State one summer many years ago they alway had a tofu dish. Ok, college cafeterias are hard enough without half of the dishes filled with tofu. It was about week 4 or 5 that I said ok, “Dish me up some of that tofu an chickpea curry”. Shocking it was pretty good, actually better than the turkey sandwiches I had be eating. SIDE NOTE: one of the turkey sandwiches gave me food poisoning for about three-four days so that might be one of the reasons I tried the tofu curry. Happy I did. However, tofu really needs a sauce, flavor, marinade, something. It’s pretty bad out of the package. Good post….going to work this into my life more.

By: allen

allen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 03:18:51 +0000

Tofu is a lean protein, no flavor and weird, but add a little sarachi or sambal olek and you turn Sean Hannity into Bill Maher – much better.
A vessel for adding flavor, especially if you fry it in oil and get it crispy.
Add lemon grass, spicy, sweet, salty and savory, well it’s completley doable. Unlike Sean Hannity.

Friday’s gotta be cocktail post day doggonit!!! C’mon – Barttle’s and James, vino, stale beer, anything. Just through something up there.
Desperate!

By: GG Mora

GG Mora — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 01:14:53 +0000

I’d always felt the same as you about tofu, until I started trying some of the recipes on Heidi Swanson’s excellent blog (101 Cookbooks). Now every Tuesday is ‘Tofu Surprise’ night. My favorite is big chunks of tofu marinated in a sauce of pomegranate molasses, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger, and Sriracha, baked for about 1/2 hour on a baking sheet…tossed with hot cooked soba noodles (and the leftover marinade) with chopped cilantro, thinly sliced raw scallion, and toasted sliced almonds.