You are a hot mess. I’ve tried to love you. I really have. We’ve had several experiments at home, all failures unfortunately.
I’ve read Feisty Foodie’s blog and have been impressed how she didn’t like tofu as a young girl, but has retried it as an adult. She’s growing to appreciate you.
I may never have tried you as a child, but I am trying things as an adult. I’m working very hard at it. You have been on my list for a long time now of foods I WANT to like. However, it just doesn’t seem to be working out.
You are bland. All the seasonings I use don’t seem to change that fact.
You are creamy, soft. Your consistency resembles that of pudding to my palate. I hate pudding, custard, yogurt, or anything else that doesn’t have some sort of solidity or crunch factor.
You slightly smell. I shouldn’t hold that against you I know. Broccoli smells too. I’ve found a way to like broccoli. I can’t seem to get over your smell though.
Quite some time back, I thought pan-frying you might help. I thought the crispy outer shell would help. It didn’t. Instead, you tasted like I had fried up one of my kitchen sponges, without the soapy taste of course. I ate you anyway, mostly. Some of you I fed to the dogs. They aren’t as picky as I.
After all the failed attempts to like you, I put you aside for awhile. I thought that maybe, one day, I would find the recipe for me. The recipe that would help me like you. I feel that I should like you. I feel like it is important that I like you. Can’t you understand how important it is to me to like you? You’re filled with protein. You’re supposed to be important to a more vegetarian diet. I am determined to like you. Your time just hasn’t come for me yet. Or so I thought.
Lately, I’ve been spending alot of time with Mr. Bittman’s book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I’ve decided to take a formulated, planned approach to cooking out of this book. I’ve been making a list. A list of recipes that I’m fairly sure I’m going to like sprinkled with recipes I want to try. I have bento block lately. I can’t seem to think of what to cook for lunch. Instead, I have fallen back on a little too much take out. It seems to me a bit of planning is in order to break my block.
When I reached the section on tofu, I was going to skip you. I didn’t think I was ready. However, in other chapters of the book, I continually saw references for something called “Scrambled Tofu.” Mr. Bittman speaks of how you can use scrambled tofu as a variation for certain recipes. When I finally reached the chapter on tofu, I looked for the recipe on scrambled tofu. I read what Mr. Bittman said about the recipe. Adding tumeric is supposed to make you look like eggs. Mr. Bittman made me think that cooking you in this manner would liken you to eggs. The recipe seemed simple enough. “Place tofu in food processor. Season. Put in skillet on medium heat. Cook until I find a dryness I like.”
Okay, I thought. I can do that. Mabye this is the recipe that will change it all. I didn’t expect tumeric to turn you into eggs suddenly. I didn’t expect to taste you and to taste eggs all of a sudden. No, I expected to cook you, and you to have the CONSISTENCY of eggs. That’s all I really wanted.
I went to the store. I purchased another little box of you. I came home. Wrapped you in a towel. Let you drain while I prepped and prepared the bean patties I wanted to try. This took quite some time, so you were able to drain well.
I followed the recipe. It called for mushrooms. Other variations called for other vegetables. I had none of them. I decided to try to use peppers and onions instead. Could this have been my mistake? No, I don’t think it was. I won’t blame the peppers on your failure. Or Mr. Bittman. Or his editor. Or whoever thought it would be a good idea to liken you to eggs.
I placed your smooth, processed self into the pan once the eggs and peppers were well cooked. The pan was at the medium heat level the recipe requested. Yet, you didn’t seem to get drier. I raised the heat twice. You started to get drier. You sort of crumbled up, but never really looked like the consistency needed. I tasted you. You were not good. I can’t even describe how not good you were. As much as I hated to do it, you hit the garbage can along with my lovely peppers and onions.
I have to tell you, Dear Tofu, I am not trying you again. This is the end of our association. It is unfortunate indeed. I mean, how many eggs and beans can one girl eat in a week to get her protein? I guess I’ll find out.
HAHAHAHAHAHA… I predict this is not the end of tofu yet for you.
For a while, but not forever…
Sorry you don’t like tofu. Is it the type you’re buying? I don’t really like the creamy gooey tofu that comes in the waxed cartons. Go to the asian store and look at their tofu section. You would be amazed. Tofu noodles, tofu sheets you can wrap yummies in and bake, pressed tofu (much better texture). Andrea Nguyen has a great stuffed tofu recipe in her cookbook. It’s not vegetarian, but if Larry ate the tofu, so will you.
There’s also pre-flavored pressed tofu (much firmer w/meatier texture). If you julienne this and stir fry w/veggies in oyster sauce they would be good over rice. You can add garlic, ginger, sesame oil in the process too.
I’ll share with you my mushroom stuffed tofu balls soon too. The tofu balls are delicious. Basically it’s squares of tofu that’s been deep fried. My mom buys it in the freezer section at Vinh Phat. Email it to you soon!
Here’s the Pork stuffed Tofu recipe. I usually make it without the tomato because I never have any on hand.
http://mllenoelle.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/vietnamese-pork-stuffed-tofu-with-tomato-sauce/
You can just dip in soy sauce mixed with a bit of rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar in a pinch).
My hopes have just been dashed….
Read on Judith. I’m starting to wonder if tofu might be redeemed yet. I’ve got a response down below.
I laughed when I saw the “hot mess” remark!! And this on the day I started to both try tofu (extra firm) and the theory that bacon makes everything better!
I had to (yes HAD to) share you post on my own blog!!
If I find a way to like this stuff I will let you know — ok??
(hmm it might take a few pints of porter……)
Oh Jenn -
It’s not just you. I have no deep, burning affection for tofu either. I once read a passage from a Nutritionist that said something to the effect that the foods we don’t like are most likely the ones we don’t need. Food allergies are easily ferreted out by watching what you avoid. Perhaps tofu is it for you? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.
I know generations of folks have lived on the stuff, but there are schools of thought that all that soy isn’t necessarily good for women. Pick your mentors and follow them, I guess is what I’m saying.
Thanks Liz. Having so many food allergies, I can definitely understand the idea behind what you’ve mentioned. It’s an idea that I’ve wondered about myself.
In my instance, I’m not always so sure if it is a food allergy as it is an underdeveloped palate. I had a huge amount of food allergies as a child, and soy based products were what I could have, especially soy milk. I still use it to cook with mainly. I know I’m not allergic to it, but don’t have a taste for it. Or so I think.
I agree with you on picking your mentors. I just sometimes think I’m still trying to find mine! LOL!
Tofu is one of my favorite foods, so I have to chime in here. Silken tofu (the kind in the aseptic packaging pictured in your post) is not really meant to be eaten plain IMO. I use it for making vegan french toast and lemon bars (both are delicious, btw!) I have tried to use it in a tofu scramble and it was awful!
If you’re up for giving it another try, I would recommend the extra firm variety. It comes in a vacuum-sealed package (not packed in water) and is in the dairy section of places like Whole Foods– usually near the yogurt, and other soy products like tempeh and soy cheese. Please do give it another shot since it doesn’t sound like you’ve been eating the real thing. Wildwood is a brand that I like (just be sure to get the vacuum-sealed extra firm) and it even comes in a teeny tiny package, if you’re not convinced you’ll like it enough to get the big brick. Again, just be sure it’s the super firm vacuum sealed pack, not the kind that comes in the plastic tub packed in water.
See I don’t like tofu either, but I do like the tofu bag thingies for inari sushi. Go figure???
*whispers* That’s cuz it’s deep fried LOL
errrmmmmm, ok then
And anything deep fried is good. Padma Lakshmi said on Top Chef one season “You could fry my big toe and it would taste good.”
yeah, the shelf-stable tofu in a box is kinda awful. if you ever feel the need to try again, go for the stuff in water from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Or the baked, seasoned, vacuum sealed kind from the same section.
I want to thank everyone who has taken the time out to either comment on this post or contact me directly regarding this post. I have had several of you state that the Mori-Nu Silken Tofu that I used in last night’s unsuccessful tofu adventure is most likely the culprit of my problem.
Kim gave me a link to a Good Eats episode which I watched (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7TVQewNy3c). It definitely explained a few things to me about tofu. I know understand what all of you seem to be telling me: “Don’t buy the Silken Tofu for what I’m looking for.”
What I’m looking for is something with a more solid consistency. I’ve been told that is a different type of tofu. I’m going to admit publicly right here that I will look for it this week at the grocery store. And if I can find it, I will buy it. And I will try it. And if that still doesn’t work out for me, I will then say No Tofu. Because if that doesn’t work, it means I’m just hopeless on the tofu front.
You may have already seen this, but Maki over at Just Bento/Just Hungry has some excellent, informative, short articles on tofu and using it in bento. They are here: http://www.justhungry.com/looking-tofu (for a breakdown of the different types of tofu) and here: http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics/quick-tip-using-tofu-bento-friendly-recipes (for prepping and using tofu in bento). I love her microwave tofu draining tip. I use it all the time, because I’m always too forgetful to remember to wrap it in towels and let it sit ahead of time.
I watch a show called “Christina Cooks” and the hostess uses Tempeh a lot, frying it in a bit of olive oil. I haven’t tried it yet, but it appears more appetizing than tofu, which I have tried many times at Whole Foods. If I try it anytime soon, I’ll send you an email and let you know how it tastes. If you get a chance to watch the “Christina Cooks” show, it’s interesting, because she cooks vegan meals. Now if I can just figure out why the show annoys me so much, even though I learn from it, lol!
Stand your ground! You have permission to omit it from your pantry completely guilt-free regardless of it’s standard as a vegetarian staple. You are right. Tofu sucks. I don’t think I realized it before. Reading your thoughts on it was hilarious!
–cathy
I know how you feel. The same thing happened to me, and then I found out I was using the wrong kind of tofu for the wrong kinds of dishes. I found that I simply love firm tofu if it is made as a part of (but not the main ingredient) a very flavorful dish.
My favorite way to eat it is actually not vegetarian at all, in a dish called Mabo dofu (I’m in the middle of writing a post on it as we speak). This is a dish with beef, tofu and onion, with a sauce of miso, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic among other things. This gives tofu a chance to shine for what it is – a sponge for flavors. I’ve never really liked it when it is used to “sub” for other proteins.
Good luck!