How to Cook Tofu

tofu is an awesome plant-based protein but when it comes to cooking it it can be a little mystifying the truth is it only takes a few steps to turn that mysterious white rectangle into an amazingly delicious meal today we are going to walk you through our favorite ways to cook tofu let's start with the prep line a rimmed baking sheet with a few layers of paper towel and then place your block of drained tofu on top here we're using extra firm tofu place a few more paper towels on top of your block of tofu and then place something heavy on top a cast iron skillet with some canned goods works really well this helps squeeze all of the extra moisture out of your tofu which makes it much easier to cook let this sit for about 30 minutes because tofu comes completely unseasoned it really needs some help from a sauce or a marinade to give it a lot of flavor our go-to sauce is made from soy sauce rice vinegar sesame oil ginger and garlic some nut butter and some chili garlic paste just whisk that up and we're gonna set that aside and that's gonna be our go-to sauce for all of these methods after your tofu is pressed slice it into half-inch thick slices from there you can create a variety of shapes you can take these slices and cut them in half for little squares you can dice them up to make tiny cubes or you can slice them into tiny little triangles which are great for frying now it's time to cook let's start with baked tofu place your tofu in a shallow dish and cover completely with your sauce or marinade now you can use the sauce that we talked about before or really any sauce or marinade that you like cover your tofu and allow it to marinate for at least 30 minutes or longer if you have the time transfer your marinated tofu to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 35 to 45 minutes after that time you'll notice the edges have gotten nice and browned and caramelized and the tofu has taken on a great chewy texture baked tofu is delicious all on its own or you can throw it on top of a rice bowl or a noodle bowl for a great protein option next up is sauteed tofu heat a small amount of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add your tofu cook your tofu for about one to two minutes per side or until it's nice and golden all the way around once your tofu is golden on all the sides add a little bit of sauce to your pan stir and allow the sauce to soak into the tofu and allow the tofu to cook for another about five to seven minutes or until the sauce has begun to caramelize at the edges you'll see these nice crispy bits and that is exactly what you're looking for sauteed tofu is so versatile and can be customized with whatever sauce or seasoning you want add these crispy bites of tofu to lettuce wraps noodle bowls salads or even top a nice bowl of soup next up fried tofu add enough oil to the bottom of a skillet to generously coat and heat over medium-high heat or until the surface of the oil is shimmering carefully add your pieces of tofu and fry on both sides for about three to four minutes or until crispy all over remove your fried tofu and let it drain on a paper towel to remove any excess oil give your fried tofu a nice seasoning of salt when it's still hot to make sure that it is nice and flavorful fried tofu makes a great appetizer or snack try dipping it in a spicy sriracha mayo or tossing it in hot sauce for a really nice vegetarian Buffalo bite now for scrambled tofu add a small amount of oil to a nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat place several slices of tofu in your skillet and use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the slices of tofu into small crumbles add a small amount of your sauce to the pan and give the tofu a really good stir to make sure everything is evenly coated once the tofu is nice and evenly stirred allow it to cook for about 15 to 17 minutes largely undisturbed to allow it to get nice and crispy you'll want to check on it every few minutes and maybe give it a quick stir about four to five minutes in and then another four to five minutes in this will allow the tofu to get evenly crispy all the way around the result are these little crunchy bits of tofu that are full of flavor add this scrambled tofu to crunch wraps or pop it in to burritos or rice bowls this tofu is extremely versatile and can really be put into any thing see tofu doesn't have to be scary now you are armed with all the knowledge you need to go out and cook tofu like a champ happy cooking [Music]

Channel: Pinch of Yum

Views: 2,010,059

Keywords: tofu, how to cook tofu, food tutorial, vegetarian, vegan, plant based, tofu recipe, how to tofu

Id: BHBZccIpm-w

Length: 4min 46sec (286 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 26 2018