Tantalisingly Tasty Tofu! YES really!!! & FREE show tickets!

Tantalisingly Tasty Tofu!

I know! 😛 Some of you hate tofu! It’s bland. It has the texture of congealed custard. It just isn’t something you eat! I know! 🙂 That was me about two years ago! I’ve been vegetarian for over twenty years, but tofu… nope! I just didn’t get it! Let me tell you a tofu secret! Tofu is a sponge in disguise! 😛 When you buy (firm) tofu it is usually stored in water – therefore its whole life, this ‘sponge’ has been soaking up…water! What does water taste of??? Well… there you go! That’s why you think tofu doesn’t taste of anything!

If you had a sponge in a bucket of water and that was all you had to dry your dogs muddy feet before walking onto your friends cream carpet what would you do? Hopefully you would be sensible enough to wring it out (not just put your dogs feet in the bucket)! You would squeeze all of the water out, then use it! If you then needed to use the same sponge to get bird poop off your windscreen, you’d put it back in the bucket and swirl it around a bit until it was (clean and) full of water again. Yes?

So. Tofu. It’s a sponge! It has been stored in water. Squeeze it! Press it! Wrap it! Do whatever you can (be careful if you’re balancing books and cans on it)! to get out all of that water. Then squeeze it just a little bit more, just to make sure it’s as dry as you can get it. Oh! It’s shrunk! You might notice now that your tofu has considerably changed size! 🙂

Good! NOW, and only now are you ready to use it! Slice it. Dice it. Cube it. THEN, drench it in something delicious (see below). Marinade it. Slather it. Dunk it. Spice it. LEAVE it to absorb all the flavours – half an hour minimum but the longer the better with overnight being great. Finally your tofu is ready to be cooked! Bake it. Roast it. Fry it. Try it!!! 😀

If you follow these simple steps for firm tofu (the most common type available) – extract as much water as possible, flavour with spices or marinade and leave to soak before cooking, your tofu will be delicious (unless of course you choose to marinate in something you don’t like!!!) 😛 Tofu comes in silk (think cheesecake), firm (most readily available) and extra firm (shouldn’t need pressing but very difficult to find)!

Why should you give tofu a try? Well, tofu is a fantastic protein, gives you a healthy dose of calcium and iron, is low fat (no cholesterol), low calorie, low carbohydrate, low sodium and also contains magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium and copper! What’s not to like! 😀 Oh and I have this quick and easy super-delicious recipe for you! 😀

Tantalisingly Tasty Tofu (vegan & Free-From)

  • Servings: 1-2
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Gather

  • Firm tofu (1 x 400g block)
  • 1 teaspoon peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1/2 -1 teaspoon chili flakes
  • Salt to taste (I use pink Himalayan)

Prepare

  1. Press the firm tofu until no water remains. Cut into chunks or slices. Place in a shallow dish.
  2. Mix all of the other ingredients together well then pour over the tofu. Turn the pieces over to coat. Leave to marinate for at least half an hour. If leaving overnight, cover and refrigerate.
  3. Shallow fry or oven bake at Gas Mark 5 (375f / 190c) until golden and crisp. (10-15 minutes in the oven).
  4. Enjoy!

Serve & Store

  • Serve with your favourite grain.
  • Add to a salad.
  • Eat hot or cold.
  • Pile into your favourite bread (try these).
  • Store in the fridge for up to three days.

Sharing this with Deborah at the Plant Based Potluck Party 🙂 and Angie at Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Suzanne @ apuginthekitchen and Jess @ Cooking Is My Sport.

I’m off to the (Allergy &) Free-From show at Olympia (London) this weekend… which is also home to the Just V Show (for plant based lifestyles vegans & vegetarians) AND the Love Natural Show! I’m SO excited! Save yourself £10 and Grab your free tickets here! 😀

23 Comments

  • Tantalisingly Tasty Tofu! YES really!!! | My Meals are on Wheels 6th July 2016 at 22:52

    […] Source: Tantalisingly Tasty Tofu! YES really!!! […]

    Reply
  • MaryEllen@VNutrition 10th July 2016 at 21:59

    You have totally made me hungry for tofu tonight! This looks great!

    “Dogs muddy feet” made me laugh! 🙂

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 10th July 2016 at 23:43

      Awww?Thanks Mary Ellen. Glad the “muddy feet” made you laugh- I almost deleted that whole paragraph! Hope you managed to have tofu tonight! ?

      Reply
  • apuginthekitchen 11th July 2016 at 14:34

    Great tofu recipe, I am afraid I am not very good at making tofu really tasty. The tofu must be so tasty with that great marinade. Thanks so much for bringing to Fiesta Friday.

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 11th July 2016 at 16:39

      Hello Suzanne 🙂 If you follow the instructions and get as much liquid out of it as possible… then you will instantly be able to transform the taste of the tofu with anything you add to it 😀 I hope you give it a try! 🙂 Hope you’re having fun co-hosting 🙂

      Reply
  • elskenewman 13th July 2016 at 09:26

    Trying this today! Can’t wait to taste it! I don’t have liquid smoke though, I assume I can just make it without?

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 13th July 2016 at 10:06

      Ooo exciting 🙂 You could add a spoon of something like barbecue sauce instead (I really most post that recipe)! We should catch up sometime? coffee? 🙂

      Reply
      • elskenewman 13th July 2016 at 10:43

        Ah yes, good plan. Coffee sounds good, Raima has my number ?

        Reply
  • petra08 13th July 2016 at 22:45

    I love tofu but I know it isn’t for everyone. A brilliant recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 13th July 2016 at 23:16

      🙂 Thank you… I keep ‘converting’ tofu haters with this recipe! 😀

      Reply
  • Deborah Smikle-Davis (@debsmikdav1) 14th July 2016 at 04:24

    I love to try new tofu recipes! With yummy ingredients like these, who can resist this dish! Thanks for sharing your healthy and delectable Tantalisingly Tasty Tofu recipe with us on the Plant-Based Potluck Party Link Up. I’m pinning and sharing.

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 18th July 2016 at 15:22

      Thank you 🙂 Yumyum… how many tofu converts can you get with this recipe! 😛

      Reply
  • Sophie33 14th July 2016 at 08:31

    I also love tofu marinated. I happen to have liquid smoke & rarely use it so thanks for this lovely recipe.
    I will make it this evening! Yummm!

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 18th July 2016 at 15:52

      Me too! It took me ages to find liquid smoke then it sat in my fridge! Absolutely love this recipe… including the cold leftovers too yumyum! xxx

      Reply
      • Sophie33 18th July 2016 at 21:49

        I made it, loved it & made it again today! xx

        Reply
        • Life Diet Health 18th July 2016 at 23:41

          Woohoo! Thanks Sophie 🙂 I need to buy some more tofu! 😛 I might barbecue the next lot! 😀 x

          Reply
          • Sophie33 19th July 2016 at 09:34

            That sounds very lovely & delicious!

  • Angie | Fiesta Friday 15th July 2016 at 12:48

    My daughter and I love tofu but the husband and son wouldn’t go near it. Have I told you I don’t understand my own husband and son?! 😀 😀

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 15th July 2016 at 12:58

      Oh Angle that made me giggle! ? I used to be the only one who ate it at home… unless of course it was disguised as a chocolate mousse! Everyone eats it now… Hooray! Maybe you should make this one and try and pass it off as something else!?

      Reply

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