How do you tofu?

Starting university can often be a great excuse to try new meals which you might not have at home. Whether you've always been curious about how this white sponge has become so popular, are trying to eat more plant based food, or are simply looking for something a bit different, The Mancunion has compiled a cheat sheet for how to use tofu to get you started.

There are many different brands available when it comes to tofu. The Tofoo brand, which comes in a white box with green markings, is always a safe bet due to its firm texture which makes pressing less important.

If you like your tofu firmer, you can take the tofu out of the packaging as soon as you get home, pour away the water, break into pieces and then freeze it. When you defrost the tofu it will shed more of the water, therefore becoming firmer and absorbing more flavour. Tofu can be frozen as many times as you want so there is no need to worry about refreezing.

However, if you are tumbling your tofu then a supermarket-own brand, which will be softer, is often better as it is easier to squash into crumbled pieces. Freezing a softer brand will also make it firmer when you defrost it and you can also boil pieces of tofu in salted water to draw out some of the water from the tofu. This might sound counterintuitive but it does work! Whilst it won't necessarily add a firmer texture it will make it easier for the tofu to absorb a marinade and take on flavour.

When adding pieces of tofu to a recipe, tossing it generously in cornflour, salt, pepper, and any other spices you may fancy, is highly recommended. Then, lightly coat it in oil and air fry on 200ºc or bake on 180ºc until the desired texture is reached. If you want your tofu crispier, fry with a small amount of oil in a pan, just turning each piece until every side is golden in colour. This tofu can then be tossed in a sauce or added to a curry or stew, etc.

Credit: Olimpia Davies @ Unsplash

Easy Tofu Recipes

One of the ways to use tofu simply day-to-day is by making a cheesy tofu scramble for breakfast or lunch to eat with toast and any leftover vegetables from the fridge.

Crumble your tofu into very small pieces and then cook on the stove on a very high heat with a good glug of plant based milk, about three tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and a teaspoon of garlic salt.If your tofu starts to stick you can simply add more plant based milk or a small amount of plant based butter (Flora plant works well) if you prefer.Simply cook this until it is warmed all of the way through and enough of the milk has evaporated to give you a creamy sauce.

Another easy way to use tofu is to make an easy tofu crumble which can be put on top of salads, soups, and noodles.

Crumble your tofu up into very small pieces and toss it generously in cornflour, salt, and pepper.Then place this in an oven on 180ºc or air fryer on 200ºc until nice and crispy (10-15 mins).Whilst this is cooking, mix up an easy marinade of about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, two tablespoons of Chinese five spice, and a teaspoon of gochujang. Gochujang can be found in most Asian supermarkets and is a Korean spicy red pepper paste. Alternatively, it can be substituted for sriracha or omitted entirely if you don’t enjoy spice.Simply mix the tofu in this when it is cooked. The tofu should absorb all of the marinade and it is then ready to eat!

Finally, one really simple way to begin adding tofu into your daily meals is to use it as the basis for a pasta sauce.

Boil your desired amount of pasta in a pot on the stove and make the tofu sauce whilst this is cooking.Add one block of silken tofu to a blender with three roasted red peppers from a jar, 50g sundried tomatoes, five tablespoons of nutritional yeast, juice of half a lemon, and a handful of almonds. Blend this until smooth and creamy, adding small amounts of plant based milk or the oil from the sundried tomatoes if necessary.Heat this sauce in a pan with the cooked pasta and a small amount of the starchy pasta water.

One of the most important things to remember when using a new ingredient is to have fun with it. Don't be disheartened if you make some mistakes and don't immediately love it, give it a fair try, and The Mancunion will always have some great recipes to support you.