Yesterday, the new, updated Canada food guide came out. Likely the biggest change is the government’s advice to eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat and dairy. Lentils, beans and tofu are good for you as it turns out. The government cites lower instances of cardiovascular disease, colon cancer and type 2 diabetes among those that eat a plant based diet. Nice to see that the establishment has finally come around.
The CBC’s panel of experts generally agreed with the new guide, but mostly felt that the vegetarian diet lacked variety. When my wife and I became vegetarians 20 odd years ago we found quite the opposite. Eating a plant based diet opened up a whole new world of flavours. Foods from the Far East, Mexico and beyond are exciting and fresh. Frankly compared to chicken and beef I find the notion a little bit ridiculous.
One of the many “unbland” plant based proteins that has become a favourite is tofu. For the first 10 years of our veggie lifestyle I couldn’t stand tofu. Like many people the texture and colour just wasn’t appetizing. As it turns out, the problem was not tofu, the problem is that not that many people seem to know how to prepare it.
The way I see it, there are three decent ways to prepare tofu… buy it, dry it or fry it.
Buy It
The first option is kind of cheating but still a good way to introduce yourself to the joys of bean curd. Ready for it… go out and buy “puffy” tofu (Dou Pao) from your favourite asian market. What makes this tofu different from the ordinary block is that it is deep fried in bite sized peices. The process of deep frying, fluffs up the tofu to a light texture. These golden sponges soak up whatever sauce you are cooking, resulting in airy blobs of flavourful goodness. The downside is that you really have no idea of where the tofu came from. and because they are deep fried they can have a slightly oily taste. Long and short of it is, if you’re new to tofu or in a hurry Dou Pao is a decent choice.
Dry it
The second method is uses no oil and therefore has no extra calories. This method is essentially dry frying the tofu to get rid of the moisture. To do this preheat a large frying pan on low heat. Take a 1/2 block of extra firm tofu (I typically use 1/2 a block in a recipe so one full block will make two dinners) and cut it into cubes about 2cm x 1cm x 1cm. Lay out the tofu in rows in the pan and warm for about 5 minutes on each of the four largest sides. You’ll be able to tell when it is done as the tofu turns golden brown and becomes more firm. The texture will now be more chewy. By getting rid of all the moisture, each piece is ready to rehydrate in whatever sauce you are cooking. The texture is far more pleasing than tofu right out of the pack. Also that promise you hear vegetarians making about how tofu takes on the flavour of your sauce, is finally realized.
Fry it
Method number three is my favourite. I suppose if there is any downside, it is that the tofu is fried in a little oil so you get a bump in calories. This option is similar in method to number two but with a twist. This time pre heat the frying pan on medium low with a couple of mm of oil in the bottom. Cut the 1/2 block of tofu into cubes as per method two. Fill a bowl with four table spoons of corn starch. Toss the cubes of tofu in the corn starch making sure each peice is coated. Again lay out the tofu in the frying pan in rows and cook each side until golden brown. Remove the tofu from the pan and set it aside, adding it to your dish just before you’re ready to serve. The tofu will have a satisfying crunch on the outside and a gorgeous texture on the inside. I find this a particularly good method to use in asian dishes or buddha bowls.
There you have it then. The Canadian governement wants you to eat more tofu, and with these three yummy preparation methods in your cooking arsenal you can look forward to adding bean curd to your diet.
Update
Since we wrote this we have discovered another great way to prepare tofu using the convection setting on your oven and a handy convection basket.