Christine wrote:

>>> The best description I ever heard for the tofu is that it tastes like
>>> 2/3 of nothing.
>>
>>IMHO its just 'Yuk'
>
> Try Ma-Po Tofu..
>
> I voted yes to both questions.. And I was a gal that hated tofu the
> first time I tried it. Then I started liking it when I had it in Hot
> and Sour Soup. Then I think I tried it in Ma-Po Tofu and was hooked.
> I then found a recipe in the Moosewood low fat cookbook called
> Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup that calls for tofu. Wonderful stuff.
>
> I have since then gotten a wonderful little book by Deborah Madison
> called "This Can't Be Tofu", and have made some wonderful dishes from
> there, including some curries and stirfries.
>
> Now, I usually have a container of tofu in my fridge and usually have
> it in something at least twice a month or more.
>
> I think the variety of tofu, and how it is treated as far as cooking
> it has a lot to do with how it tastes. I was leary of the
> silken/soft tofu for a bit, but since I have had it in Ma-Po Tofu and
> some other things, I have come to appreciate it's custardy texture.

I agree with what Christine wrote. I've liked Ma-Po Tofu for years. Tofu
makes a good foil for spicy things precisely because of its blandness. I
recently had a coconut-milk-based vegetable curry with tofu that was
fantastic.

Tofu can also take the place of other bland things: You can substitute it
for the paneer in Mattar Paneer. You can substitute it for the eggs in egg
salad (though it requires some additional tweaking -- Google for "Sunny
Eggless Salad"). You can substitute it for the ricotta cheese in lasagna.

So I think tofu BY ITSELF is bland and dull, but it plays very well with
others.

Bob