Pressing Tofu

When I first became a vegetarian it was really difficult.  My meals always felt like they were lacking something, because my primary sources of proteins were beans, dairy products, and peanut butter.  I refused to eat anything made with tofu because I couldn't stand the texture.  Every time I tried preparing tofu I ended up with a mushy, scrambled-eggy mess.  In one of my cookbooks I ran across instructions for pressing tofu to get rid of the excess water.  I already hated the stuff so this couldn't make it any worse, right?  What I learned is how my favorite restaurants serve crisp, pan-seared, firm tofu in stir fry - you just need to press the water out.

If the recipe calls for chunks of tofu, I always stick with firm and extra firm varieties because they are less apt to fall apart into tofu crumbles during cooking.  Now, buying extra firm tofu does not mean you should skip pressing the tofu to remove excess water.  This is a crucial step to having a palate-pleasing final product, and is well worth the extra planning.

To press tofu, start with two clean dishtowels.  Wrap up the tofu between the towels, stack the wrapped tofu between two plates and put these in the refrigerator.  Find some heavy canned goods to stack on the top.  That's it.  If I know I'm cooking tofu for dinner, I'll often press my tofu in the morning and let it sit in my refrigerator all day.  If I'm home early, I'll press my tofu an hour before dinner.

Should you try cooking with tofu?  Absolutely!  It's inexpensive, available everywhere, completely versatile, an excellent source of protein, low in fat and saturated fat, and when prepared properly is totally delicious.  It completely filled the meat-void in my diet, and I very rarely crave meat anymore.  I hope you take a leap of faith and try it in your favorite stir fry instead of meat sometime soon, and I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised.  Enjoy!