New to Tofu

[GuitarIsLove]

Hi, I've been a vegetarian for almost a week, yes I'm a noob. I still eat dairy and I'm debating on the whole egg thing... but that's not what I'm asking about.
I've been eating a lot of fruits and veggies and rice. And a lot of PBJ sandwiches, but thats more because I love them then out of necessity. Anyways, I've never eaten, made, or looked at tofu. I want to try using it in something, something really simple and preferably cheap because my food budget is running low before my next check. (Still going to be low afterwards.) ^_^ Any ideas on what to make?
Thanks for any help!

-Jenny,
(guitar playing fiend)

:hamster: Pay no attention to the jumping smiley. I just think its cute

[virgo]

Tofu scramble is great throw in whatever you want i usally brown in olive oil onions,garlic a potato,carrots kale ,peppers,mushrooms and tofu and wrap in a tortilla with some salsa .so good .TLT sandwich (tofu,lettuce,tomato) bake or brown up tofu seasoned with soy sauce and garlic toast ww bread spread vegan mayo or whatever you have super lunch.

good luck.

[gknee]

Any ideas on what to make?


I would suggest starting with something familiar and adding the tofu. I started with a veggie stirfry and added the tofu. You hardly even notice it. Try it a few times and then branch out from there.

[sleepydvdr]

I have been on a tofu kick for about 3 weeks. It started with prepackaged "baked" tofu - very dense and the outside is chewy. Now I've taken regular tofu, fried it for like 30 min (it takes a while to get it crispy) and make a dipping sauce out of hoisin, peanut butter, and soy sauce. Also, I have had flavored tofu (Thai ginger peanut, Italian herb, smoked, etc). And in case you ever wondered, tempeh is just tofu that has rice mixed throughout it.

[New England Vegan]

Hi "Guitar" and welcome. I like tofu when it's in Thai food but that's about it. I just don't like it (out of the package square block of tofu "stuff". I've tried it in a million different ways, but to me, it's just not really for me. I only posted this here because being that your a new "veggie" I didn't want you to think your doomed if you find you don't like it much. I've been a vegetarian for just over a year and a half and haven't eaten tofu more than a hand full of times in the last year. When I first went "veggie" I really tried to eat it a lot, but realized I didnt' have to. At the time I thought eating a bunch of tofu was a part of being a vegetarian. There are a lot of "meatless" substitute things out there instead. But hey, if you find you like tofu, go for it. It's good for you!

[Tempeh-Tantrums]

And in case you ever wondered, tempeh is just tofu that has rice mixed throughout it.

No.... it's not. :wall:

[PlaybackGuru]

No.... it's not. :wall:

+1 it's fermented soybeans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh)

[Eclipse27]

This is what you must make:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8769.0

General Tao's Tofu. This specific recipe is relatively legendary amongst the vegans who post online.

[Guinevere]

I love tofu.

Thanks for the link :)

[MrFalafel]

Easiest and tastiest way to make tofu:

1) buy a carton of fresh, firm or extra firm tofu from the refridgerated section of your store. Don't buy 'silken' tofu.
2) Buy an onion, a green bell pepper, a little bit of vegetable oil, some bread rolls and some BBQ sauce (read the ingredients to make sure its vegetarian)
3) Open the tofu package and rinse the tofu in some running water in the sink.
4) Cut the tofu into cubes the roughly the size of Monopoly dice.
5) Peel the onion and chop finely
6) Cut the top off of the bell pepper and remove seeds and then cut into small squares.
7) heat a tbsp of oil in a frying pan over medium heat
8) add the onion and saute for 3 minutes or until the edges get a bit brown and the onion turns translucent
9) Then add the bell pepper and tofu cubes and saute for another 2 minutes.
10) Add about a cup of BBQ sauce and stir. Cook another 2 minutes.
11) turn off heat
12) Spoon BBQ tofu mix into bread rolls and serve as sloppy joe sandwiches. Or, you can spoon BBQ tofu onto flour tortillas and roll up.

[GuitarIsLove]

Thanks everyone! I threw some in a veggie/rice thing I make and it was.. interesting? I don't know if Tofu is my thing. The person I was eating it with barely noticed it; unfortunately I did. I'm kinda picky about eating new things, but i'm going to try the General Tao's Tofu recipe. (So thanks!)
I noticed a lot of recipes seem to include soy sauce, which hasn't been a favorite of mine since the soy sauce incident of '99 (trust me, don't ask), but I guess I will have to retry it. ^_^
Thanks for the awesome recipes everybody!

Oh and MrFalafel that is my next tofu recipe to try! That sounds delicious, I love bell peppers. Plus, the absence of soy sauce makes me happy. And anything monopoly dice sized must be delicious, or at least that's what I've always believed. :b

[codemonkey]

I've found that the key to great tofu is cooking it for a long time so it gets brown and crispy on the outside and really firm on the inside. After it's cooked, it's good with any kind of flavorful sauce (sweet and sour sauce, peanut sauce, mushroom gravy, etc.)

[arcane]

Did you properly prepare the tofu? Pressing it? The first time I made tofu I didn't even know I was supposed to press it. I still don't eat a lot of it, but I prefer tofu that has been frozen, the texture is just more pleaseing to me (I'm a very picky eater). You may also want to try it that way too.

[Tempeh-Tantrums]

Tofu doesn't *have* to be pressed. It's good that way but not necessary.

[jenni-anti-fur]

hi there

I have been a veggie for 18 years and have just began to eat tofu...before i just couldnt stand it...the look..feel...taste....icky and ewww....but not its a little better and eat it a bit more...thanx for sharing the recipes and such everyone it really helps:)