Tofu- The Beauty of Bland

The hubster and I do meatless Mondays. Many of those Mondays include tofu. I know, I know. Tofu. The most dreaded and bland food known to man. I get a ton of questions about how to make tofu tasty (or in some cases how to make it into food). Here's my answer:

1. Press your tofu.  This allows all the water to get out of the tofu. This is important because then it will soak up your marinade in a flash it also increases it's density so it is more meat like.You can do this one of two ways. 
1. Lay out about 3 paper towels on a sheet pan. Take your extra firm tofu out of the package and put on the towels. Toss another pan on top and put a hefty cookbook on top of the pan. Careful to not have the book be too big. It will split your tofu. Sad.  Let it sit there for about an hour. 
2. Cut your tofu into four thick slices. Wrap those in paper towels and then place the sheet pan/book combo on top. Let it sit there for about an hour.
   
2. Marinate it. 
1. Tofu is bland. Like crazy bland. Like if it were a superhero, it would wear a cape and a mask and be called Captain Bland. Add some flavor. Marinate it.
   
3. Make the outside crispy.
1. You can fry it after putting  alight coat of flour and egg on it. In that order: flour THEN egg. Fry in a pan with about a 1/4" of oil in it. 
2. Broil it. 

Honestly, most of the time I wing it. I just toss a bunch of stuff into a bag and throw my pressed tofu in. Embrace your inner-chef. If it tastes terrible, order pizza!  But if you aren't feeling your inner Ratatouille, here are two of my favorite tofu recipes.

Sweet Mustard Glaze-

• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1 large shallot thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 2 Tbs honey
• 1 Tbs dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme (1/4 tsp dried)
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 lemon zested
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
  
• Bring the stock to a boil. Add the garlic and shallot. Boil for about 7 mins or until the veggies are soft. Add the remaining ingredients and boil until it becomes thick and dense. Remove from heat. Brush on the tofu and broil. 
• Great with sauteed collard greens!!

Tandori Spice

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2" piece of ginger peeled and sliced thin
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 lime juiced
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves minced
• 1 Tbs curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt
• Pinch cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
  
• Combine the garlic, ginger, zest, lime juice, cilantro, curry, and cumin in the bowl of a food processor. Process until everything is very fine. Add yogurt process again. Pour into a glass bowl or a plastic zip-top bag.
• Add the tofu and marinate for 15-20 mins. 
• Broil and serve with rice.  

Alton brown did an episode on tofu. I think it's worth a youtube visit. HERE