The Greatest Tofu Recipes to Make, In line with Eater Workers

Kat Thompson is the affiliate editor of Eater at Dwelling, masking dwelling cooking and baking, cookbooks, and kitchen devices. Her favourite kind of tofu is silken, though she eats agency tofu probably the most steadily.

Tofu is a shapeshifter. These pressed soy curds could be agency and crumbly, simply taking over the identification of floor meat or scrambled eggs, or silky like custard. Tofu could be whipped right into a high-protein chocolate mousse or fried into crispy cubes harking back to popcorn rooster. Their spongy texture is ideal for absorbing sauces — whether or not it’s a balsamic soy glaze, a Korean gochugaru and sesame oil marinade, or a sticky Vietnamese-style black pepper sauce. There are such a lot of methods tofu could be reworked, and these are just a few that Eater workers flip to time and time once more.

Sophie Waplington

As an at-home pescatarian who tries to eat plant-based as a lot as attainable, I’m all the time looking out for enjoyable methods to boost tofu whereas nonetheless getting as a lot protein as I’d get from a hunk of fish. This dish greater than matches the invoice, with the sneaky protein addition of soba including to its extremely vibrant flavors. The recent strips of cucumber and ridiculously crispy tofu crumble, plus non-compulsory herbs, offer you a satisfying mixture of textures as nicely. Very agency tofu is finest for this, and I’m a fan of the one offered by Dealer Joe’s (which can also be tremendous excessive in protein). The tofu topping may also be made with a wide range of completely different seasonings and used on soups, curry, and leafy salads. — Emily Venezky, affiliate editor

Andrea Nguyen, Vietnamese Meals Any Day

I like tofu, however it isn’t precisely my husband’s go-to dinner protein, although he’ll actually eat it. However one in all his “menu kryptonite” dishes (i.e. one you’re completely compelled to order in case you see it) is the shaking beef at one of many many Vietnamese eating places we frequent in our city of Falls Church, Virginia, the DC space’s Vietnamese capital. So I used to be naturally intrigued by Andrea Nyguen’s tofu-focused spin on the dish. Nyguen’s recipes by no means let me down, and this one is a superb mixture of minimal effort and main taste. It’s grow to be the number-one cause for me to splurge on delicate watercress on the farmers market when it’s in season. — Missy Frederick, cities director

Elle Hong, Cookerru

When it’s summer time and the very last thing I wish to do is stand over a burner, I flip to this recipe. As its identify suggests, it takes a mere 5 minutes to arrange, and but there’s a lot taste: umami from the soy sauce, warmth from the gochugaru, nuttiness from sesame oil and sesame seeds, and a freshness from the inexperienced onions. The silken tofu acts as the proper clean canvas for the sauce, and the tofu’s custard-like texture is so enjoyable to eat. I’ve paired this with steamed white rice and chilly soba noodles, but when I’ve neither available I’ll simply eat it straight (and slurp the remaining sauce, too). — Kat Thompson, affiliate editor

Ali Francis, Bon Appétit

I’ve by no means been to Salt Lake Metropolis, however I’m very glad that this Bon Appétit author went and “begged” for this marinated tofu recipe from Carlucci’s Bakery. I’ve tried marinating and cooking tofu in some ways, however this one — soaking tofu chunks in balsamic French dressing, soy sauce, and grated garlic earlier than baking it within the oven — gives probably the most flavorful and pleasingly textured tofu I’ve ever made. The zippy flavors of the marinade let tofu be the star protein of my salads, and baking it gives a springy chunk with a touch of crunch because of the dressings’ sugars. I’d like to strive Carlucci’s Bakery’s sandwich model sometime, however for now I’m grateful to have the recipe. — Terri Ciccone, affiliate director of viewers and operations

Hetty McKinnon, Tenderheart

I by no means wish to fall into depicting tofu (or actually something) as a “well being meals,” however this deceptively easy dish is, as McKinnon writes, excellent for these days if you’re craving one thing mild and restorative. I attempted it for the primary time after every week of consuming out virtually each night time, and my physique simply couldn’t deal with any extra butter. However don’t mistake an absence of fats for an absence of taste. The crunch of the broccoli, creaminess of the beans and tofu, the zing of the recent ginger and the wealthy earthiness of sesame all come collectively for a deeply comforting meal. — Jaya Saxena, correspondent

Maangchi

As a lot as I get pleasure from multi-day cooking initiatives that occupy each nook of my mind, one thing that takes me a complete of 10 minutes and just a few {dollars} to arrange is usually somewhat extra practical. On a weeknight the place I’ve utterly misplaced observe of time however nonetheless must make a plan for dinner, this pan-fried tofu is my go to low-cost, high-protein, extraordinarily high-satisfaction meal. All you actually need to make it occur is a block of tofu, gochugaru, garlic, and toasted sesame oil (which you must have in your pantry anyhow.) I additionally regrow my scallion from the stems, so I all the time have some available. The pan-fried tofu is the proper base to take in the salty and spicy sauce, and your complete block is gone earlier than you realize it. — Rebecca Roland, affiliate editor

Mark Bittman, NYT Cooking

I like chocolate pudding, however on account of its spectacular dairy content material it doesn’t all the time love me again. So when I discovered Mark Bittman’s recipe for chocolate mousse made with tofu I used to be each intrigued and skeptical. I’ve performed with tofu as a dessert dairy substitute earlier than, to typically regrettable ends. However intrigue gained out, and this recipe gained me over. It’s extremely straightforward: you make a easy syrup after which plop it in a blender with silken tofu, melted bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and a little bit of chile powder, although I omitted the latter as a result of I don’t love warmth in my chocolate. You mix every part, chill it, and eat it, and hold consuming it as a result of it’s actually laborious to not. The tofu is current solely in texture — there’s not one of the bizarre beany taste that may afflict tofu-enriched desserts — so what you get is a silken reservoir of chocolate with the tiniest trace of cinnamon, a beautiful fever dream larger than the sum of its elements. — Rebecca Flint Marx, Eater at Dwelling editor

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