I recently bought a nice little wooden tofu box, it was a little
pricey but it's so easy to make when you have a soymilk maker. Just
"curdle" the hot soymilk with nigari or warmed epsom salts in water,
and then put into the tofu box that's been lined with cheesecloth, and
put a big water bottle on top for some weight. I leave mine in the
sink. It's a really easy way to make tofu.
The thing is....I'm really not all that used to making things with
tofu. Whenever I try to stir fry it, it just falls apart, even when
I've tried to get most of the water out with the weight on top. I like
things to be firm and substantial. I have some I've frozen, some
people tell me that's the answer, but I haven't tried making anything
with it yet.
I do like the taste of baked tofu, but haven't tried making that.
Anyway....I guess I just haven't found lots of appetizing ways to
prepare tofu, so it's like I have an easy way to make the fresh tofu,
but don't know what to do with it! I want to make things with a lot of
flavor.
Suggestions, anyone?

Kal
San Diego

"<<<<SquidLips>>>>>" > wrote:
> I'm really not all that used to making things with tofu. Whenever I
> try to stir fry it, it just falls apart, even when I've tried to get
> most of the water out with the weight on top. [...] I have some
> I've frozen, some people tell me that's the answer, but I haven't
> tried making anything with it yet.

The frozen stuff will definitely be firmer and hold together better.
The longer you leave it frozen, the more pronounced these effects will
be. Also, you can fry the tofu pieces *gently* in a bit of oil,
turning the pieces only when a crust has formed (this takes a while)
and add them to your stirfry only once they're crusted on all sides.

> I do like the taste of baked tofu, but haven't tried making that.

Baking the tofu will also make it firmer. You can use baked tofu in
other recipes in place of fresh. Here's one method of baking it:
http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/re...fu-kebabs.html

Kake

"<<<<SquidLips>>>>>" > wrote:
> I'm really not all that used to making things with tofu. Whenever I
> try to stir fry it, it just falls apart, even when I've tried to get
> most of the water out with the weight on top. [...] I have some
> I've frozen, some people tell me that's the answer, but I haven't
> tried making anything with it yet.

The frozen stuff will definitely be firmer and hold together better.
The longer you leave it frozen, the more pronounced these effects will
be. Also, you can fry the tofu pieces *gently* in a bit of oil,
turning the pieces only when a crust has formed (this takes a while)
and add them to your stirfry only once they're crusted on all sides.

> I do like the taste of baked tofu, but haven't tried making that.

Baking the tofu will also make it firmer. You can use baked tofu in
other recipes in place of fresh. Here's one method of baking it:
http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/re...fu-kebabs.html

Kake

<<<<SquidLips>>>>> wrote:

<Mod snipe>

> I do like the taste of baked tofu, but haven't tried making that.
> Anyway....I guess I just haven't found lots of appetizing ways to
> prepare tofu, so it's like I have an easy way to make the fresh tofu,
> but don't know what to do with it! I want to make things with a lot
> of flavor.
> Suggestions, anyone?

My suggestion is to get as much liquid as possible out of the tofu and
freeze it for 24 hours and defrost. When you stir fry it, it will not
fall apart and will be "chewy". As far as the fresh tofu- I'd bake it.
Let it marinate in a mixture of soy sauce, fresh garlic and ginger,
some orange or pineapple juice, splash of maple syrup, and anything
else your heart desires. Watch it while it bakes so that the marinade
doesn't all dry up- keep adding water. Then you can throw the baked
tofu into all kinds of salads, pasta, rice. Look online, there are
TONS of recipes. Good luck.

I used to make scrambled tofu frequently until the Chinese food shop
near here closed down.

With the tofu I bought, it was necessary to cook it well so that it
would become more chewy and not fall apart. Possibly the problem that
you're having could be solved if you cooked it differently.

In my case I did the following... I would start cooking some onions in
some margarine. I would then take the tofu, and squeeze it in my hands
so that it came out throught the gaps between my fingers. I'd then add
salt, pepper, herbs, and some tumeric for colour. I'd then cook it. A
fair amount of water would come out of the tofu as I fried it, and I'd
remove it. When it was properly cooked the "squidged" (for want of a
better word) tofu would start firming up considerably, matching the
texture of cooked scrambled egg quite well.

Hoping this is something vaguely approximating useful information.
Cheers,

Ross-c