How to make tofu taste DELICIOUS. A guide to cooking tofu

Tofu is one of those foods that can be really hard to get right, it can very easily end up soggy and unflavourful. This puts a lot of people off tofu, which is a shame as when it is cooked well it can taste absolutely amazing! It can be used in curries, stir fries, rice dishes, scrambled tofu and desserts, making it a very versatile ingredient! There are also many health benefits from consuming tofu: it is a source of protein, all 9 essential amino acids, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B1 and more! Evidence shows that regularly eating tofu can protect you against diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers- making it a truly essential part of your diet. But if it's not delicious you won't want to eat it so here is my guide to making tofu taste amazing!

how to cook tofu and make it delicious...

1. The tofu comes in packaging with lots of water and often absorbs a lot of it (which is why it often tastes soggy) so first of all we want to remove that. I wrap my block of tofu in a clean tea towel, place it on a plate and then place another plate on top of it. To increase the pressure, so all the liquid gets squeezed out, I also place a heavy book on top. If this sounds a bit complicated and fiddly you can also buy a tofu press (which I might get soon) that will make the job easier. Leave it for around an hour if you have time but if you are in a rush 15 minutes also does a pretty good job.

2. After your tofu has soaked cut it into small cubes. I usually cut mine into cubes of about 2cm each way as if it's too chunky it retains lots of moisture once cooked.

3. Next, to get all the good flavour into the tofu I marinate mine in a sauce. Depending on what I'm cooking this will vary but it can be soy sauce, spices and tomato puree etc. You can find loads of tofu marinade recipes online. I really like soy sauce and garlic granules for mine. Leave the tofu in the marinade for around half an hour.

4. The next step is to cook your tofu, this can either be in the oven or on the hob. For extra crispy tofu I cook mine in the oven, but this doesn't work for all recipes or you might be in a rush so then the hob is a great option. To cook in the oven, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, put the tofu on a baking tray with a drizzle of oil. Once the oven is hot enough, put the tofu in for around 30 minutes until crispy and golden, turning occasionally. To cook on the hob, heat some oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat, once hot add your tofu. Fry for 5-10 minutes stirring regularly until the tofu is nice and crispy.

5. The fifth and final step is to pair it with a delicious meal, maybe a curry or stir fry, and enjoy! In the cooking class at the virtual retreat, Mimie's Delicacies taught an amazing mango and chickpea curry cooking class, the curry was delicious and also had tofu in. To watch the class click here. All you have to do is sign up to become a member, which is totally free!

In my opinion, this way of cooking tofu creates the crispiest and most tasty tofu that everyone will love. As I said above, it doesn't work for every recipe and not under a short amount of time but you can definitely give some of it a try next time you cook tofu. Soon everyone wil be in love with it!

I hope you found this helpful and if you give it a try please let me know in the comments or send me a picture at concentratedsunshine2@gmail.com! Happy cooking!

Megan x

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