Monday, September 23, 2013

VeganMofo Day 23: Tofu 101


This is Day 22 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is an introduction to tofu. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Tofu. Just mentioning tofu can get a negative reaction. I've heard just about all of the bad things that could be possibly brought up about tofu: terrible texture, no flavor, it's just gross, soy is bad for you, etc.

I love tofu.

Blackened is my favorite. Blackened tofu sandwiches are just about my favorite food.

In trying to eat as diverse a diet as possible, I don't eat tofu or soy everyday. That is more about diversity with my food choices than anything else.

Tofu is a great source of protein and can be a main dish or part of a delicious side dish. It can even be used for scrumptious desserts.

One thing to remember about tofu is that it doesn't really have a flavor; it takes on the flavor of whatever you put on it or marinate with it. When I blacken tofu for my sandwiches, plain, flavorless tofu all of sudden becomes filled with flavor because of the blackening spices I use to cook it. The same thing with barbecue tofu; it's all in the sauce. When I make tofu scramble, it's always more flavorful the next day because the tofu has had more time to absorb all of the spices used in the scramble.

Texture is easy. I mainly use extra firm tofu. If I want it more dense I freeze it.

If you want to try tofu without preparing it at home, check out food reviews of a local Thai or Chinese for tofu dishes and go try one. In Denver, Little Ollies serves a mean tofu, especially with their General Tao's tofu. This dish is not on the menu but they will make it for you.

Tofu can be as good and as delicious as you want it to be. Grab a recipe that uses tofu form one of the food blogs on our blog page. Try it. There is an amazing tofu dish for everyone!

Thanks for reading!
vegandude@msn.com

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