Anyone has favorite tofu recipes to share?

[pakin]

DH and I would like to cut down on our meat consumption due to many reasons.
Last week I made a tofu stir-fry dish from a recipe in the new Food Network magazine and really liked it. Does anyone has good tofu recipes to share?

Thank you so much.

Pakin

DS 4/2001
DD 6/2005

[poppy]

I like pan fried tofu with sauce (more of a side dish)--you can just do soy sauce, if you want simplicity. Or sometimes I just fry it and add a little salt while cooking, and it has a nutty taste, and there's no need for sauce. I eat it with rice, and some soup.

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/2-tofu-side-dishes

http://aeriskitchen.com/?s=tofu

If you go to the Korean market they also have sauces and you just add meat and tofu, and serve on rice. It's pretty good.
I also like to add it in certain soups and stews.

[DrSally]

I cut it into cubes (firm) and put it in a baggie with cornstarch, shake to coat, and put in a pan with some oil. It comes out crispy that way. I'll add it to almost anything.

[turtle12]

i like to pan fry them cubed, and then dip into a pasta sauce.

[lchang25000]

Spicy Mapo Tofu:
I use firm tofu and cut it in small cubes. Brown ground beef/pork/chicken/or turkey. Add in premade/prepackaged Mapo Tofu sauce (found in a box at Asian stores) or spicy bean sauce (in a glass jar also found at Asian stores). Mix in sauce with ground meat and let simmer. Mix in tofu cubes then add chopped green onions. I make this at least every week or two and DH loves it...even DS even though it's kinda spicy. Very, very easy to make with very little ingredients!

[JustMe]

I cut it into cubes (firm) and put it in a baggie with cornstarch, shake to coat, and put in a pan with some oil. It comes out crispy that way. I'll add it to almost anything.

This is pretty much a staple around here. I always freeze and then unfreeze the tofu before cooking. That gives it that chewy consistency you get in some restaurants. I add it to all kinds of veggies, but one of my favorites is stir fried bok choy with soy sauce.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

Ma Po Tofu P.F. Chang's China Bistro
Ma Po Tofu is served at P.F. Chang’s for $6.95. Cook at home cost is $3.25.
Ingredients:
1 small block Tofu, soft or silken (14-16 oz) ($ 1.65)
2 Tbsp. Canola Oil ($ .04)
1 Tbsp. Sichuan pepper-corn oil ($ .17)
2 Tbsp. Sichuan chili bean paste ($ .28)
2 Tbsp. Sichuan Preserved Vegetable ($ .12)
1 Tbsp. fermented Black Beans ($ ,05)
1 tsp. Ground Sichuan Chilies ($ .11)
1 cup Vegetable Stock ($ .55)
2 tsp. granulated Sugar ($ .03)
2 tsp. Soy Sauce ($ .05)
2 each chopped Scallions ($ .18)
4 Tbsp. Cornstarch ($ .02)
6 Tbsp. Water
Cook tofu in simmering salted water for a minimum of 3 minutes, then strain well and reserve. Tofu is also known as soybean curd or bean curd. Small blocks, packed in water, can be found in some supermarkets and most Asian Markets. Tofu has a texture that is soft and silky yet it’s firm enough to slice. One inch diced cubes are best for this recipe. Next use a hot wok to heat both oils and chili bean paste. Cook over med heat for 30 seconds, then add preserved vegetable, black beans and ground chilies. Cook for an additional 20 seconds. These Sichuan items can be purchased from an Asian market. Here are some suggestions if you wish to substitute the Sichuan items. Canola oil can be used in place of the pepper-corn oil. Miso and chili paste can be mixed together to form a Chili bean paste and kosher dills are a good substitute for Sichuan vegetable. Next add the stock, sugar, soy sauce and tofu and simmer for 5 minutes. Add Scallions and simmer an additional 30 seconds. Mix together the cornstarch and water, then add to the mixture in the wok one small bit at a time until it reaches desired thickness.

[mommylamb]

We buy the bottled yellow or red curry sauces from trader joes and stir fry tofu in those. It's excellent.

ETA: I also have a good recipe for vegetarian lasagna that includes tofu mixed with ricotta (cuts back on how much ricotta you have to use, so fewer calories). If you want it, I will pull it out.

[hellokitty]

It's also very easy to make miso soup. Buy the miso paste that has dashi in it, boil some water, whisk in some of the miso paste. Taste it to see if it is enough (add more if needed, if too salty, add more water). Cut tofu (the medium to firm works best for this) into cubes and add to the soup. You can also add some mushroom or seaweed too if you want that.

[infomama]

I am not a huge tofu fan but I do love using it in my smoothies. I take 1/3 bar of silken tofu and put that in a blender with about 4-5 large unsweetened whole frozen strawberries, a banana and some pineapple juice. Blend until smooth. The tofu adds a little creamy-ness to it.

[clb]

Stir-Fried Snow Peas with Soba eta: I omit the hot pepper so DS can eat it. DH adds his on the side.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/health/nutrition/01recipehealth.html

An old dinner stand by was tofu with stir fried broccoli.
Cut extra firm tofu into 10 or 12 chunks and pan fry.
Stir fry broccoli with garlic. Add a little rice wine vinegar. Add a little oyster sauce when done.

One of the old Cooking Light Recipe books had an excellent tofu curry recipe. I can't find it. It was yellow curry, red pepper flakes, mint and oil. Marinate over night. Drain marinate, towel dry tofu and pan fry. Tasted great. Haven't made since DS came along.

[pakin]

ETA: I also have a good recipe for vegetarian lasagna that includes tofu mixed with ricotta (cuts back on how much ricotta you have to use, so fewer calories). If you want it, I will pull it out.

Both DH and I are lactose intolerant (imagine that!) We found that ricotta cheese is too much for us to handle even with the Lactaid pills. Thank you for your offer anyway.

Pakin

DS 4/2001
DD 6/2005

[mommylamb]

Both DH and I are lactose intolerant (imagine that!) We found that ricotta cheese is too much for us to handle even with the Lactaid pills. Thank you for your offer anyway.

Pakin

DS 4/2001
DD 6/2005

You could probably replace all of the ricotta with the tofu. Not sure how it would taste, but you could check it out.

[lizzywednesday]

You could probably replace all of the ricotta with the tofu. Not sure how it would taste, but you could check it out.

It's not a taste thing, but a texture thing with tofu ... tofu pretty much takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with, so you could totally replace all ricotta with a silken tofu blend.

If you're concerned about flavor, add fresh herbs. In my regular lasagna (recipe from the back of the Barilla no-boil box) I add fresh herbs and a few grates of nutmeg with the salt & pepper.

[Andi98989]

Definitely not a main dish, but I love this tofu chocolate mousse from Cooking Light.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1571507

Also, for lasagna, I use small curd cottage cheese instead of ricotta. I'm lactose intolerant, too, and that works fine for me.

DH loves the tofu that we get in his burritos at Moe's (http://www.moes.com/Menu.php#Burritos); I need to find a way to make that.

[SpaceGal]

I learned this tofu dish from my MIL, it's a bit labor intensive but sooooo yummy the kids love it.

I cube up the tofu and pan fry to give it a crispy outer shell.

Then I cut up a small onion and mince a bit og garlic, and fry that up, add in a can of crushed tomatoes, then throw in the crispy tofu pieces. Add salt, pepper, a little soy sauce, and a pinch of sugar.

Really yummy over rice. I could eat it almost everyday! Makes a yummy leftover too.

[Tondi G]

I don't know if you like enchiladas but Trader Joes sells black bean and corn enchiladas that are made with no cheese and inside it's a mix of corn, zucchini and tiny little cubes of tofu... rolled into a corn tortilla and then topped with enchilada sauce. I love them!

http://heateatreview.com/2006/05/10/trader-joes-black-bean-and-corn-enchiladas-2/

[pakin]

It's not a taste thing, but a texture thing with tofu ... tofu pretty much takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with, so you could totally replace all ricotta with a silken tofu blend.

If you're concerned about flavor, add fresh herbs. In my regular lasagna (recipe from the back of the Barilla no-boil box) I add fresh herbs and a few grates of nutmeg with the salt & pepper.

Hmm.. I've never thought of doing that. Now I have to try it. Thanks.

Pakin

DS 4/2001
DD 6/2005

[Pepper]

I prefer tofu when it's braised, as opposed to fried. I usually buy the firm or extra firm and make something like this:
http://neighborhood-dish.blogspot.com/2009/02/tofu-and-broccoli-in-black-bean-sauce.html

or use it in a Korean-style stew like this:
http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/12/kimchi-soup-%ea%b9%80%ec%b9%98-%ec%b0%8c%ea%b0%9ckimchi-jjigae/

Aeri also just posted a recipe for a tofu side-dish, if you prefer the firmer texture of fried tofu then give it a try:
http://aeriskitchen.com/2010/02/fried-tofu-side-dish-%eb%91%90%eb%b6%80-%ec%a1%b0%eb%a6%bcdobu-jorim/

[pakin]

Thank you very much for your suggestions and recipes. I can't wait to try them all.

Pakin

DS 4/2001
DD 6/2005