Tofu, also known as bean curd, is the name of a vegetarian food item that is made from soy milk. Originating from parts of China, the dish has today become a very popular cuisine in most parts of the world. Tofu is mainly produced by coagulating soya milk and pressing the curd produced as a result of this. The commonly used coagulates for preparing this are salt coagulates, acid coagulates and enzyme coagulates. Since tofu has a very little flavor or smell on its own, it is used as an ingredient in a wide variety of dishes, both savory and sweet. The common varieties of tofu available commercially are firm tofu, soft tofu, fermented tofu, flavored tofu, fried tofu and frozen tofu. Amongst the most popular dishes that are made with tofu, as the main ingredient, are mapo tofu, tofu burger, miso soup, stir fry tofu and tofu noodle soup. In the following lines, we have listed a number of simple tofu recipes. Go through them and know how to cook tofu.
Easy Tofu Recipes
Steamed Tofu
Ingredients
- Tofu
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- Few Drizzle of Sesame Oil
- 1 Green Onion, chopped
- 1 tsp Sesame Seeds (optional)
- 2 Green Chilies, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the tofu into ½-inch thick pieces.
- Put the tofu pieces in the steamer and steam for 10 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, prepare the soy sauce mixture, by adding soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, sesame seeds and chopped green chilies.
- After the tofu gets steamed, serve it with soy sauce mixture.
- Steamed tofu is ready!
Deep Fried Tofu
Ingredients
- Garlic Cloves, minced
- Salt, to taste
- Water
- Vegetable Oil, for frying
- Tofu
Instructions
- First of all, you need to cut the tofu into ½-inch thick pieces.
- Make the marinade by combining garlic, salt and water.
- Marinate the tofu in the garlic-salt mixture, for at least 30 minutes.
- Put oil in a pan and after it gets hot, fry tofu in it, until golden brown.
- Fried tofu is ready!
Tofu Soup
Ingredients
- Chicken Stock/ Vegetable Broth
- Roasted Garlic
- Salt
- Pepper
- Chives
- Spinach
- Tofu
Instructions
- Put the chicken stock or vegetables broth in a pan and heat it.
- Add roasted garlic, salt and pepper.
- Cut tofu in 1" x 1" cubes and put in the simmered broth.
- Add chives, cut about 1" long, to the stock/broth.
- After the stock/broth starts boiling, add spinach and turn off the heat.
- Tofu soup is ready!
Marinated Tofu
Ingredients
- Tofu
- 1 Shallot (finely chopped)
- ½ Onion (optional)
- 1 tbsp Fresh Lemon Grass (finely minced)
- A splash of Rice Vinegar
- 3/4 cup Sherry or Rice Wine
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar or Palm Sugar
- 3/4 cup Soy Sauce or Fish Sauce
- 1 tbsp Chili Paste
Instructions
- Cut the tofu into half-inch thick pieces.
- Deeply fry the tofu in vegetable oil or refined oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix all the above ingredients with the fried tofu and allow to stand for a few hours.
- Once fully marinated, you can have this dish with steamed rice or with noodles.