Feb 01, 2008 2:04 PM GMT
I bought some tofu and am trying to figure out how to cook it, fixt it and stuff...What are the benefits of tofu?
Tofu...How do you fix it and what are the benefits of it?
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Feb 01, 2008 2:04 PM GMT -
Feb 01, 2008 3:34 PM GMTI regard soy as mediocre quality protein at best, so I'm not the one to ask about its so-called benefits. However, I will point out that tofu is the protein solids that have been coagulated out of soy milk, and soy milk is made from soybeans that have been thoroughly boiled in water. So, tofu is not a raw food in need of cooking. Tofu can be cubed and put in salads, although if you're going to eat tofu without cooking it, make sure the tofu is very fresh and rinsed off well, because the water the tofu is sitting in can harbor all sorts of bacteria. An even safer bet for uncooked tofu is aseptically packaged tofu (like Mori-Nu silken tofu.) -
Feb 01, 2008 5:43 PM GMTI agree totally with Paradox. Tofu and soy are not the best resource for protein. In a Vegan Diet they should make up for less then %30 of your daily protein intake. I personally avoid soy if at all possible, I stick to varieties of beans, nuts and vegetables for my protein intake.
If you are asking for the purpose of trying to make somthing out of a block of tofu you purchased then try this website that I have posted before: recipezaar.com
Type tofu into the search engine and you will come up with thousands of different recipes and ideas in regards to what you can do with it.
Keep in mind, tofu is like a mushroom: it really has no flavor and will soak up all the other flavors from what you cook with it.
Remember to drain as best as possible. I wrap it with a cloth and place a frying pan or something heavy on top for 20 minutes. This squeezes all the access juice out (for firm to xrta firm tofu only.) -
Feb 01, 2008 5:53 PM GMTAs MikeAlva said, tofu will pick up any flavors. So after draining it, you want to give it a quick marinade for 15-20 minutes. And you can use pretty much any type of marinade you want. Asian themed: soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic. Latin themed: use some chili sauce
We'll put it in a veggie soup with some beans. And we typically use the firm style. -
Feb 01, 2008 5:53 PM GMTHere's a great link (note how the nut cases will reach to any length to blame something for 'the rise in homosexuality.' http://acapella.harmony-central.com/archive/index.php/t-1647244.html -
Feb 01, 2008 6:32 PM GMTA nifty tofu trick is to freeze it solid, thaw it out, and crumble it into small pieces. The freezing gives it a chewier, meatier texture that is well suited for chile, sloppy tofu joes, etc. -
Feb 01, 2008 6:35 PM GMTHow to prepare tofu
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tspn salt
1 tspn coarse black pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup cooked brown rice
as much tofu as you have
Combine all the ingredients you have, except for the tofu, in a large mixing bowl. Shape the mixture into a loaf and cook in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Dispose of tofu. -
Feb 01, 2008 7:08 PM GMTHow to prepare Tofu:
You will need
Whole Grain/Multi Grain Roll
1 leaf Lettuce
1 slice large tomato
1 slice Vidalia onion
1/2 c low fat mayo
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c Freshly chopped garlic
1/2 c canola oil
1 c Italian style bread crumbs
3/4 Tsp. Freshly chopped garlic
3/4 Tsp. Parsley
3/4 Tsp. Sage
3/4 Tsp. Tyme
1/2 Tsp. Sweet Basil
1/2 Tsp. Oregano
Leave 1# Tohu on an open plate in the refrigerator for three days, then crumble into large mixing bowl with 3/4 tsp garlic and remaining herbs.
Carefully knead ingredients together and form into 4 - 1/4 # patty's: Grill to taste.
Place finished 'burgwr' on roll with Lettuce, tomato, and vidalia onion.
Mix 1//2 c low fat mayo with lemon juice and 1/4 c fresh garlic for sauce. Place Aeoli sauce on top of 'burger'.
Take entire plate and serve to the cat next door - don't be suprised if cat won't eat it right away - some cats actually have good taste. If cat persists - use small sprig of catnip as lure. When cat dies make sure you have a good alibi.
Go to Wendy's and order double cheese burger with works. Unwrap, enjoy!
Damn, he beat me to it -
Feb 01, 2008 7:35 PM GMTDoes that work for bitchy female neighbors too?! -
Feb 01, 2008 10:44 PM GMTMcGay saidHow to prepare tofu
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tspn salt
1 tspn coarse black pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup cooked brown rice
as much tofu as you have
Combine all the ingredients you have, except for the tofu, in a large mixing bowl. Shape the mixture into a loaf and cook in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Dispose of tofu.
McGay...you are too funny...I am rolling on the floor...LOL -
Feb 02, 2008 2:42 AM GMTI work with this stuff all the time at work... damned stir fry dishes.
Anyway... I dry it out and marinate it over night. Put it on some paper towels after pressing most of the water out of it. Pop it in a fridge for a few hours, and then remove the towels. Put what ever marinade you want to use on it (soy makes it too salty... go for some kind of teriyaki or sweeter sauce. Pasta sauces, watered down a little, work well too.), and leave it in the fridge for a night.
Bake @350 for around 20 minutes to finish it off. Should have the texture of scrambled eggs. -
Feb 02, 2008 1:20 PM GMTVegWeb has a lot of good recipes for tofu.
http://vegweb.com/
As for how good of a protein tofu is? Using the PDCAAS rating for it, it scores a 0.91 (beef scores a 0.92). While PDCAAS is not perfect is considered to be the best method to rank proteins.
The biggest touted health benefits of soy were its ability to lower LDL cholesterol and its cancer fighting properties. Both of these claims have been since been refuted by the American Hear Association after a lengthy study. That said they still say that including soy products in a diet should have a net benefit for cardiovascular health.
You can read the full AHA article here:http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/113/7/1034#top
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Feb 03, 2008 5:07 AM GMTBuy a japanese cookbook ...
I personally love tofu and always like to have it around, it's good for a well balanced diet and any look at the japanese population will tell you that it isn't evil, as most people think. -
Feb 03, 2008 5:12 AM GMTI like the texture of tofu in different things like stir fry or soups like miso. A lady I was sweet on use to make me something like egg salad. It was pretty good. Tofu is pretty much tasteless by itself so you have to favor it somehow. -
Feb 03, 2008 10:02 PM GMTUse tofu as a substitute for mayo or cream and it works fairly well in some recipes. Whip it with some avocado, lime, garlic, and cilantro and you have some delicious guacamole.
I made a cheese cake once where I substituted half the dairy with a block of tofu.
This is not advised. -
Feb 04, 2008 1:42 AM GMTRedbull,
1. Open the tofu wrapper
2. Discard the large white blob in the wrapper.
3. Eat the wrapper the tofu came in. The vegetable ink and polyurethane have more taste than the tofu.
To be serious a minute, tofu takes on the flavor of anything it is cooked with. So just fry up some hamburgers, chicken or steaks and mix the tofu around in the pan with it. It will taste just like what you cooked it with.
You could cut the tofu into French fry like strips and pan fry them in peanut oil and dip them in catsup. Yummy... -
Feb 12, 2008 4:02 AM GMTSoy is great in stir frys. Soy can take on the taste of other foods you are cooking with also.
and
more important
Soy helps reduce the risk of rectal cancer in men.
Benefits of Soy: Heart Health
The cholesterol lowering effect of soy milk and its role of heart disease was widely recognized in the mid 90s when the results of a meta-analysis of 38 clinical studies were published. The results demonstrated that a diet with significant soy protein reduces Total Cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (the "Bad" cholesterol) and Triglycerides.
The average consumption in these studies was 47 grams per day of soy protein, which is a considerable amount. One way to include this is to try a soy protein beverage or powder that may add 20 grams preserving. Soy protein was effective even in people who were already following the American Heart Association's 30 percent-fat diet. Soy protein appears to lower triglyceride levels while preserving HDL cholesterol.
Researchers Erdman & Potter in 1993 reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition a 12 percent drop in cholesterol when 20 to 25 grams of soy protein and fiber were included in the diet. Soy beans contain soluble fiber, which is known to interfere with the absorption and metabolism of cholesterol.
As a result of these findings, in 1999, FDA authorized a health claim about the relationship between soy protein and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) on labelling of foods containing soy protein.
A heart health claim can be found on qualified soy products.
Among all cancers, data on soy and prostate cancer seems to be the most promising; many studies support its role in the prevention and possible treatment of prostate cancer.
http://www.healthcastle.com/herb_soy.shtml -
Feb 12, 2008 6:02 AM GMTblkdevil66 saidSoy helps reduce the risk of rectal cancer in men.
PLEASE don't tell me what you have to do with it to help that situation. -
Mar 11, 2008 11:38 AM GMTWell, let me start by stating the obvious. Namely, tofu isnt meat and it is nothing like meat. You are never going to fix it in a way that will make you think it is--unless you have no sense of taste, smell, sight or touch. Of course, I should also say that tofu does indeed have a taste of its own although it is admittedly not as strong flavored as some other foods (like meat). If you honestly dont think the tofu you bought has any taste, you should switch brands. I have been living in Japan for 6 years and I can tell you that if its well made, tofu is one of the best foods there is.
As far as the quality of protein goes, its obviously not as good as meat. Im not a doctor and dont even play one on TV, but it is probably the best quality vegetable protein youre going to find unless youre adventurous enough to eat it after its been fermented. (If you are it called natto and is really good but smells and looks a little like slimy toe-jam.)
That said, what you do to it depends alot on what you like. In the summer it is really good just cubed and put onto a salad. Ive also got a friend who throws it in the blender with some fruit and makes a breakfast smoothie. I cant say as Ive tried this, but he swears its good. As far as bacterial contamination goes, you wouldnt try to drink the blood that drains from chicken breasts, would you? Besides, thats why we have refrigerators. Keep it cold and eat it by the date on the pack.
As far as cooking goes, I usually dont bother to drain it for myself since Im just too damn hungry. It does turn out a little wetter in the middle, but it doesnt bother me. You could try just splitting it in half to make a couple "tofu steaks" (yes Im serious) and cooking them in a skillet with some mushrooms then making a simple sauce out of soysauce or oyster sauce and some sake (or mirin if you can find it in your neck of the woods). Its also good mashed up and mixed about half and half with scrambled eggs and misc veggies. Im not really much of a beef person, but if you think something just has to die in order to make it a meal, I do like it stir fried with some lamb or oysters and spinach.
Regarding marinading, doesnt that kind of defeat the point of draining it? Ive never tried it, but I think it would be better to flavor the sauce and not the tofu. After all, otherwise youd probably loose all that soybean-deliciousness. Yum, yum.
If you dont like the texture, you might be overcooking it. It really calls for a light hand. Or, you could play around with the different kinds. Basically Chinese is pretty rubbery and Japanese is more silky (well I guess you can tell which one I like). If you can get to a Chinese, Korean or Japanese grocery, they would have the freshest and therefore best quality. If youre lucky enough to find it made that day, get it! Caution: egg-tofu (tamagodofu in Japanese) and sesame-tofu (gomadofu) are not tofu. They are very good, but not the same thing and should be eaten as is, cold.
And I guess that about ends this diatribe. Just remember two things, tofu is a wonderfull thing, open you mind to the joy of soy and dont try to make it into meat. If you really want meat, just eat meat. -
Mar 11, 2008 3:46 PM GMTNatto's great stuff. Personally, I'd much rather eat natto than tofu. -
Mar 12, 2008 8:21 PM GMTNatto is an adventure in a can. Never have I been so frightened to try a new food. But I have to say, after eating it you feel like a million bucks. -
Mar 12, 2008 11:50 PM GMTI agree. If you can find natto, its great, but I think everyones scared to death when they first try it. After all, it gets quite a build up, doesnt it? Personally, I just think of it as the Japanese equivalent of blue cheese: smelly, not too good to look at, you probably dont want to know how it was make, but a luau in you mouth. -
Mar 13, 2008 1:04 AM GMTNatto can usually be found in the freezer section of Asian grocery stores. And, if natto is the blue cheese equivalent, then sufu ("preserved bean curd") is the Limburger.
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Mar 13, 2008 1:10 AM GMTick...how I fix it? I buy it and feed it to the dog.
what are the benfits? well, you won't eat too much of it...bluck!
