Tofu - getting the texture right

The early 20's. At the time I was weighing pros and cons. My brother had gone veggie a little before but I hadn't thought much about it. I was pretty thick (and remain so these days.... ooooppppsss,) and had recently been pretty disgusted by the fact I was able to pound through multiple triple cheeseburgers at McDonalds. 

I'm not entirely sure why I chose to go vegetarian, but whatever the reason, it has not been a struggle to remain one.

However, one of the original selling points was the one could easily mimic “meat” tastes and textures with different ingredients, specifically tofu. So I tried... and I tried... and tried. Nope... didn’t happen.

Cooking tofu was one of my super frustrations when I was younger, and those frustrations gave way to a lot of Morningstar, Boca, etc.

A year or two back, Kams suggested freezing the tofu for a few days then defrosting it before you cook with it. This, along with a good press, eliminated the texture problems I had when it came to cooking tofu. While I generally prefer seitan to tofu, I have been having great success recently with most recipes for which I use extra-firm tofu. Here are some quick steps and a pic or two detailing freezing and pressing tofu. If you're a texture person, this is important stuff.

Ingredients/ Materials Needed:

1 lb. Package of extra firm tofu

1 large book

2 plates

1 fairly large piece of cheese cloth or paper towel

Process:

1. After purchasing tofu (the refrigerated kind,) pop it in the freezer for 2-3 days (longer if you don't need it right away.)
2. Defrost overnight for use the next day.
3. Slice open package and drain out liquid over a sink. Give it a firm squeeze, while still in the package, to get most of the water out.
4. Remove tofu from package, wrap in a cheese cloth. Place on a plate. Cover on top with another plate and rest a large, heavy, book and leave to rest for about 20 – 25 minutes.
5. Unwrap tofu and slice, crumble for whatever recipe you will use.

1. Tofu fresh from the freezer.

2. The great press.