Long before tofu was the poster child for veganism and healthy eating, I was eating it in all its glorious slurping beauty. Me and thousands of Australian kids with Asian heritage probably had tofu in one form or another in their school lunch box, not to mention the billions of people in parts of Asia who cook with it every night. Suffice to say, tofu has a loyal following.
I remember visiting Taiwan's Hualien region and meeting a family who made tofu from just two ingredients: soybeans and water from a volcano. Rather than using synthetic coagulates, the natural minerals from the volcanic water produced firm tofu when left to rest overnight. It was fabulous. This concoction definitely puts other organic food products to shame.
Frying, stewing, braising and steaming are all excellent ways to enjoy tofu, but the simplest way to truly prove whether you're a tofu addict or just a tofu groupie is to open a carton of fresh tofu, drizzle soy sauce and sesame oil liberally over the jiggly bean curd and eat it.
No pressing. No cooking. Just pure unadulterated pleasure served up in a matter of seconds.
I remember when the tofu boom happened in the early 2000s. Home cooks and second-gen kids with Asian roots began eating tofu in the US, UK and Australia. We read tofu recipes in well-respected food magazines that told us to press the tofu because apparently that's how you draw out moisture, or to soak it in a brine to supposedly make tofu more flavourful or reduce its bland reputation. These directions are actually unnecessary when it comes to tofu and I'm sure many Asian cooks would agree.
If you want less moisture, just buy extra firm tofu in the Chinese grocery store and if you want tofu to take on flavour, braise it in soy sauce — et voila!
There are more than just firm and silken varieties of tofu out there. On a quick trip to your local Chinese grocer you will discover tofu varieties in varying textures: silken (for soups), soft (for stews), firm (for mapo tofu) to very firm (for stir-fries) and let's not forget tofu skin is best used for braises in Cantonese cooking or with rice in Japan.
You can include tofu in almost anything, like this banana blossom salad. Source: Chris Middleton
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Mapo tofu with chilli oil
But let me introduce you to the wonderful world of fermented tofu. This tofu is usually stored in jars and is salty, punchy and full of flavour, so use sparingly or enjoy with a base like congee.
While I'm slightly protective of traditional tofu recipes, the way hipsters and other home cooks have embraced soybean-based products over the the last decade has led to some great inventions too, like .
Other dessert possibilities include stuffing crepes with sweetened mashed tofu or making a tofu chocolate mousse, although it's hard to pass up my own favourite of such as that found in yum cha restaurants around town.
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Dear tofu, you deserve to be a doughnut
Memorable tofu recipes don't try and mask the fact that you're eating something healthy and that works like a blank canvas.
If you want crunch, fry some and make a traditional street food snack from Indonesia or perhaps kick start your metabolism this weekend with a fiery . And, what even is or without tofu?
There is a bounty of ideas to sink your teeth into.
