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I DON'T know why everyone is so crabby about tofu. I hear people say it's too jiggly or too bland. I hear them say it doesn't taste enough like beef, which is like complaining that green beans don't taste like chocolate ice cream.
Come on, people — tofu isn't even trying to be beef, so give it a break.
Perhaps it's because my mother fed me chunks of raw tofu as a snack when I was a child but to me, tofu is a wondrous, changeable, not to mention nutritious, food. You can marinate it, whirl it into a smoothie, deep fry it and even make a cake out of it. I have a recipe for Tofu and Mushroom Stroganoff that will knock your socks off, I swear.
So when I announced my dream to make my own tofu — to scoop luscious beany curds out of a pan and lovingly squish them into a cube of solid soy — I was a little surprised when I was met with silence. Dead silence.
"Why do you want to make tofu? You can just buy it," said my roommate as we stood over a bowl of soaking daizu (soybeans).
"Well, I don't know, because I like it and it looks like fun," I replied. "Plus, it's supposed to taste better than the store-bought stuff."
"Are you sure?" she said, sniffing suspiciously.
"That's what the Internet says," I snapped.
Give beans a chance
To prove to my tofu-hating roommate that it is truly the ultimate food, I did some quick research. Tofu was first used in China about 2,000 years ago, and since then, it has become a staple in several Asian cuisines, including Japanese, Korean and Thai. Japanese Kento priests who went to China to study Buddhism during the Nara era (around 710-794), adopted tofu as a high-protein part of a vegetarian diet.
"Not killing animals is one of the rules for Buddhist teaching," says Chat Mingkwan, an East Bay cooking teacher and author of a new cookbook, "Buddha's Table: Thai Feasting Vegetarian Style" (Book Publishing Company, $14.95). "Tofu happens to have a lot of protein, and it's become something that is very inexpensive, while meat has become very expensive. Because the taste of it is so neutral, you can add any sauce to make it taste good, or to make it taste like meat."
In America, the San Francisco-based Hirata & Co. was one of the first companies to mass-produce tofu back in 1895.
Among Caucasians, the white stuff has gotten a reputation as a new-age health food and a meat substitute. But in Korea and
China, tofu is often served with meat. The spicy Korean tofu stew, "soon dubu chigae," often includes pork or seafood and the popular Sichuan standard, "ma-po tofu," is a fiery combination of tofu, ground pork, chilies and fermented black beans.
Soft or silken tofu is best used for steaming, in soups or in smoothies, while firm and extra firm tofu holds up well to stir-frying, grilling and broiling.
From scratch
But what would homemade tofu be like? Would it be firm or squishy? Would it taste like a sweet, heavenly bean custard or a boring block of goo? I had to find out.
Searches for "homemade tofu" and "making tofu" on the Internet bring up a wide range of methods and recipes. Some methods require only purchased soy milk, some cheesecloth and a colander, while others call for building your own tofu press and hand grinding and squeezing the beans.
Aiming for a process somewhere in the middle, I ask Mingkwan for advice.
"I make my own most of the time because I can get the texture the way that I want," he says. "If you want it nice and silky, you blend it a little more and use a finer cheesecloth. If you want it chunky, you use a coarser cloth."
Mingkwan uses both soybeans and mung beans to make tofu, though soybeans are traditional. He says one of the advantages of homemade tofu is that flavors and seasonings can be added or adjusted.
"If you like seasoning, you can add five-spice or cumin or coriander," he says. "You can really personalize your soy."
Ready to give it a try, I start with a pound of tiny yellow daizu and soak them overnight. Then I forget about them and leave them for another night. After work on the third day, I rush home and sniff my pot of soybeans, hmmm, they're a little musky. But I throw caution to the wind and give them a good rinse before proceeding with the recipe.
I throw a couple of handfuls of soaked beans into the blender along with some water and whirl it up into a chunky soybean smoothie. I pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a stockpot and then move on to what I will refer to as the "art of squeezing." I twist and squeeze and scrape the sides of the cheesecloth, trying my best to get every ounce of liquid out of the bundle. The resulting soymilk is rich, foamy and creamy looking and tastes like, well, bean juice. I throw the leftover bean puree, which now looks a lot like wet cornmeal, into the trash.
Great, only seven more bundles to go.
After the art of squeezing, I heat the soymilk to a boil, recalling Mingkwan's warning:
"If you make it very fine it will burn on the bottom, so stir often."
Once it's boiled, I take it off the heat to cool for about 10 minutes while I try to come up with something that will act as a tofu mold. I opt for a couple of disposable plastic containers with the bottoms cut out and line them with lengthy layers of clean cheesecloth.
The way to curdle
Then I'm ready to curdle the soymilk. Nigari, a food-grade magnesium chloride derived from sea salt, is optimum, but I couldn't find it in the store. As an alternative, I opt for magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts). I stir in the Epsom salts and the soy milk immediately curdles, not unlike milk does when exposed to an acid like lemon juice or vinegar.
Excited, I stir and stir, half expecting giant chunks of tofu to start floating to the top. But they don't.
Instead I ladle the coagulated soymilk into my makeshift tofu molds, doing a little squeezing and prodding, before weighing them down with cans and jars from my pantry.
Now all I have to do is wait. About 15 minutes to be exact. I lift the weights at about the eight-minute mark, just to check, and find that my tofu is still a soft, creamy paste which is slowly being misshapen by my weight method. Clearly I should have used something other than cans, and I definitely shouldn't have twisted up the cheesecloth around it so much. But I put the weight back on and wait for another 10 minutes.
Finally, my tofu is ready.
Peeling off the cheesecloth, I inadvertently break the misshapen blobs into irregular chunks — my tofu is crumbly and soft with a slightly buttery hue.
But it tastes just like tofu should — beany, fresh and good.
It's not the ethereal pillow of cloud-like softness I imagined, but it's definitely edible and I stuff chunks of it into my mouth while putting away the dishes.
I set my container of homemade tofu (filled with clean water to keep it fresh, of course) next to a block of store-bought stuff and feel proud. I have conquered the bean and made a batch of not great, but passable tofu. Now if only my roommate would come home...
Homemade Tofu (Tao Hu)
From "Buddha's Table," by Chat Mingkwan.
1 pound dried soybeans or yellow mung beans
1/2 gallon hot water
Flavorings
or spices, such as salt, soy sauce or Chinese five-spice (optional)
1 tablespoon magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) or calcium sulfate (gypsum), (optional; see notes)
Soak the beans in hot water to cover for 2-3 hours or until the beans have swelled and fully absorbed the water.
Combine one-third of the beans with some of the soaking water in a blender and process until the beans are well pureed. Place a strainer on top of a medium pot and line the strainer with fine cheesecloth. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth and pull the cloth's edges together. Squeeze as much soymilk out of the mixture as possible and discard the solids. Continue processing the remainder of the soaked beans in a similar fashion.
Put the pot over medium heat and bring the soymilk to a boil. Boil for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add any optional flavorings at this point. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes or until lukewarm. Slowly stir in the optional magnesium or calcium sulfate to help the soybean curds congeal. Let the tofu sit undisturbed for 5-7 minutes or until lightly firm.
Place a rack on a baking sheet and place four 4x4x2-inch or 3x5x2-inch frames over the rack (see notes). Line the frames with 8x8-inch or 6x10-inch fine cheesecloth. Alternatively, place several large cookie cutters or homemade frames made from aluminum cans or milk cartons on the rack and line with oversized fine cheesecloth. Scoop the tofu into the cheesecloth to overfill the frames and fold the edges of the cheesecloth to completely wrap the tofu. Place flat heavy objects (such as a piece of brick in a zippered bag) on top of the tofu for 10-15 minutes (or until it is your desired firmness) to squeeze out more water and make the tofu firmer. Steam the wrapped tofu on a rack over boiling water until it is completely heated through, about 5 minutes. Let cool and unwrap the tofu for further use. Store the tofu by submerging it in cold water. It will keep refrigerated for up to five days (be sure to change the water daily). Serves 6
Notes: Square or rectangular wooden or plastic frames are used in commercial tofu-making to form the tofu. For homemade tofu, large, round cookie cutters, empty aluminum cans cut open at both ends, or small, square milk cartons cut open at both ends can be used as the frames.
Mingkwan says that tofu can be made without the use of a coagulant, with a softer result. But for
a firmer texture, a little bit of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts), calcium sulfate (gypsum) or natural nigari (magnesium chloride), which is available at many Asian markets, will make the curds form more quickly and easily.
Nutrition information could not be calculated.
Stir-Fried Tofu with Basil
(Pad Kee Mow)
From "Buddha's Table," by Chat Mingkwan.
1/4 cup vegetable oil, or more as needed
1 bunch holy basil (see note), leaves only (about 2 cups)
2 cups julienned firm tofu
1/4 cup finely minced shallots
3 tablespoons finely minced garlic
3 tablespoons finely minced Thai chiles, more or less to taste
2 cups sliced long beans or green beans, in 11/2-inch lengths
2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetarian or mushroom stir-fry sauce (see notes)
1 tablespoon vegetable base, or 1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 cup roasted cashews
1/2 cup julienned bell peppers (red, orange or yellow), for garnish
Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. When hot, add half of the basil leaves (reserve the other half) and fry 2-4 minutes or until crispy. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Set aside for garnish.
With the same oil, fry the julienned tofu for 3-5 minutes or until light brown. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
Heat a little oil in the same wok over high heat. Stir in the shallots, garlic and chiles. Cook 3-5 minutes or until fragrant. Add the tofu, long beans, sugar, light soy sauce, stir-fry sauce and vegetable base. Stir fry 3-5 minutes longer until well mixed.
Stir in the remaining fresh basil leaves and the roasted cashews. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the bell peppers and fried basil leaves.
Note: Holy Basil (Bai kaprow or Ocimum sanctum) has a distinctive light violet-reddish hue on both its leaves and stems. It imparts a mint-like zesty and spicy flavor and is used for stir-fries such as Pad Kaprow. Holy basil is hard to find and is mostly available during the midsummer months, when it thrives. Ordinary basil or Thai Sweet Basil can be substituted if you can't find Holy Basil, but the flavors will be different. Serves 6.
Stir-fry sauce is a dark, savory sauce which can be found in many Asian markets or in the international foods aisle of many major supermarkets.
Per Serving:
321 Calories; 24g Fat; 12g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 549mg Sodium.
Mushroom Stroganoff with Tofu
Adapted from a recipe at www.cooks.com.
Sauce:
8 ounces tofu
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
1 teaspoon chopped ginger root
Stroganoff:
1/2 onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon oil
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 ounces tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon slivered almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until very smooth making sure lemon rind, ginger root and garlic are not left in chunks. Set aside or refrigerate to use later. Flavor improves on standing. Sauce will keep up to one week.
Sauté onion and garlic in oil; add mushrooms and saut until moisture has evaporated. Push aside and add tofu cubes to brown slightly. Pour on sauce (see above) and heat through, stirring. Blend in optional sour cream and oregano. Serve over cooked brown rice or egg noodles and sprinkle with toasted almonds and parsley.
Serves 4.
Per Serving: 151 Calories; 9g Fat; 10g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 3mg Cholesterol; 530mg Sodium.
You can e-mail Jenny Slafkosky at jslafkosky@angnewspapers.com or call (925) 416-4856.
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