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Got An Air Fryer For Christmas? Delish editors handpick every product we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page. Tofu gets a bad rap for being flavorless, boring, and at times undesirably rubbery—but the hate is undeserved. Avoid thinking of it as a meat substitute, let it exist on its own terms, as its own thing, and be surprised by what it has to offer.
Treat it kindly and you’ll be rewarded with a versatile protein that can play the field as a sweet or savory ingredient. Also known as bean curd, tofu is made from minimally processed soy milk that has been cooked and pressed into a block—essentially a vegan cheese. Depending on how much it’s drained and pressed, tofu texture can vary from very soft, fragile “silken” to extra firm. Each type is suitable for different kinds of dishes. Let’s address the most popular complaint about tofu: its blandness. Just like a fresh cheese—think ricotta, cottage cheese, paneer, fresh mozzarella—it is mild in flavor.
Add to the fact that it’s made from relatively low-fat soybeans rather than rich, creamy cow’s milk, it’s a lot less indulgent-tasting straight out of the package. Produced and packaged with only very small quantities of salt, tofu needs to have the right background singers before its potential can truly shine. If you don’t want to go through too many extra steps to get flavor into your tofu, you can simply use an assertive sauce or dressing that coats and clings to the cooked tofu. This recipe uses a slightly spicy sesame-ginger marinade that gets brushed on as a glaze for a double dose of flavor.
Should I drain or press tofu? Our primer on how to cook tofu recommends pressing tofu with a weighted drainage set-up for at least an hour to eliminate extra moisture in the tofu. Truth is, pressing tofu isn’t always necessary for every occasion and is only preferred if the recipe calls for it. In developing this recipe, I tested all four ways of tofu treatment to see which yielded the best results: pressing under cast iron pans for 1 hour, cubing then soaking in boiling salted water, freezing then defrosting, and drained and dabbed by hand. The winning method was also the simplest and quickest: dabbing the tofu by hand with four paper towels over two minutes got out just enough moisture. The runner-up was the frozen tofu: this version absorbed the marinade the best and took on the most flavor.
It also had a very interesting texture that reminded me of a mildly aged cheese, like a ricotta salata—a bit crumbly, a bit chewy, in a good way. Use baking powder if you want crispy baked tofu! Cornstarch alone will not do the job. Because your tofu is still moist, cornstarch will gel into a slurry once it comes in contact with each piece, and this slurry will create only a soft crust during the bake. Baking powder, on the other hand, will react with heat in the oven and moisture in the slurry to create tiny bubbles that will crisp up this crust. 4 teaspoon here—mix together your cornstarch and baking powder well in a small bowl before adding to your tofu. And for a touch of extra crunch, toss your slurry-coated tofu in another tablespoon of sesame oil to approximate a little fry action in the oven!
If you’ve made this recipe, please leave us a comment and rating down below to let us know how you liked your tofu! This ingredient shopping module is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content on their web site. Carefully pat tofu dry: On a cutting board, sandwich tofu between doubled layers of paper towels and press down slowly to remove moisture without cracking the block. Remove paper towels and cut tofu into 32 equal pieces: halve tofu laterally across, then cut the block into a 4×4 grid.