Tofu - does it make sense?

[Sgt. LED]

Re: Things that don't make sense

And eating the congealed body secretions of bovines sounds better?

Cheese always sounds good!
Heck I'll eat tofu till it's gone, I don't care. :shrug: Just one more source of lean protien.

 

[Monocrom]

Re: Things that don't make sense

And eating the congealed body secretions of bovines sounds better?

Those body secretions taste great with some homemade chocolate chip cookies!

 

[Monocrom]

Re: Things that don't make sense

*Double post*

 

[cityevader]

As long as they don't start making Soylent Green I'm happy.

 

[Monocrom]

As long as they don't start making Soylent Green I'm happy.

Well . . . at least that would be made out of actual meat.

 

[Sgt. LED]

Ah the long pork

 

[Kestrel]

The meats I primarily grew up on were moose, salmon, and wild duck (mallard, canvasback, pintail, widgeon, teal, you name it). So that's where I'm coming from...

And my worst tofu experience was frying up some tofu hot dogs like I would have fried real hot dogs - completely unedible.

But my wife can make an excellent lasagna or ravioli from scratch using tofu instead of ricotta cheese (w/ a few other recipe modifications as well). It's just amazing what a talented cook can do with tofu, I would never have believed it.

 

[flashfan]

I grew up with tofu, and hated it as a kid, but love it now.

Can be eaten in many ways, and I'll eat it right out of the tub, but love it cut into cubes, with soy sauce, grated ginger root, green onions, and dried fish flakes...yum. Tofu salad and Mabo Tofu are two other tasty dishes that come to mind.

 

[kaichu dento]

Re: Things that don't make sense

You don't eat tofu as a thing, you eat it as a base for a flavor, like you would eat white rice. It's basically just bulk with enough amino acids to be a decent replacement for meat (especially when the tofu chunks are fried). It just takes whatever flavor the rest of the dish has.

Plain white rice is basically devoid of flavor but serve it with a sauce and some meat and vegetables and spices and nobody's complaining. Same thing with tofu or white flour pasta or couscous or what have you.

Very good explanation but I'd like to note that good rice most definitely has flavour, and one of the best on earth for those of us used to eating properly prepared rice at home. I always liked to eat my first bowl plain so I could enjoy the flavour before adding any toppings on subsequent servings.

There is also Sesame Tofu or Gomadoufu (ゴマ豆腐) which is very flavourful!

Those body secretions taste great with some homemade chocolate chip cookies!

This is my favourite post so far! The way she just cracked the glass got my attention! :huh:

 

[ElectronGuru]

If you're curious to try it, a 'safe' easy way is in Chinese restaurants. Take your favorite dish, anything stir fried, and ask for tofu instead of whatever the base meat is. Like "I would like Kung Pow Chicken, but can I get tofu instead of chicken?" Even places without a vegetarian section will have it.

 

[nisshin]

In Japan, there is a dish called "hiya yakko" '(see this picture from the Japanese Wikipedia site), which is how tofu was introduced to me. It is a tofu block topped with chopped green onions, shaved dried fish, and soy sauce. The best tofu have a slight bitter taste to them.

 

[kramer5150]

LOL!!! Some of the comments in this thread are pretty funny.

We need a "Tofu CPF Review" thread... and then a Tofu "DIY-Mod" thread.

One of my fave ways to eat tofu is to cut it into squares about 1/2" thick. Lightly salt with sea salt. Pan fry it in bacon grease drippings on a teflon pan until light brown on both sides. MMmmm!!!

I have a lot of in-law extended family who are vegetarians. I tried some tofu processed to taste like chicken/beef/fish...:sick2:. It was awfull!!!:thumbsdow. Tofu in its simplest form is the best.

 

[arioch]

Having eaten and enjoyed tofu all of my life, I have never thought of it as a meat substitute, but as its own product. I eat it as a side dish. I have tried various products with tofu/soy as a base claiming to be like meat, and have never confused them.

My favorite preparations are just out of the package (block) cut into squares and served with diced green onions/shallots and shoyu (don't care for ginger), or else cut into rectangles, salted and peppered, patted down with flour, and fried. Fried with flour comes out kind of like fish sticks or chicken fingers, and is served with your favorite dipping sauce (shoyu, sweet sour, bbq, honey mustard, etc.).

I don't eat tofu all the time (meat rules :thumbsup:, and on a budget), but do enjoy it when I can. As far as it raising estrogen levels ... I did cry when watching the end of Titanic ...

As a side note, here on Maui, we have a sherbet like confection called Guri-Guri, that uses soy as a main ingredient. Unique flavor, and just about the best frozen dessert around.

 

[kaichu dento]

LOL!!! Some of the comments in this thread are pretty funny.

We need a "Tofu CPF Review" thread... and then a Tofu "DIY-Mod" thread.

One of my fave ways to eat tofu is to cut it into squares about 1/2" thick. Lightly salt with sea salt. Pan fry it in bacon grease drippings on a teflon pan until light brown on both sides. MMmmm!!!

I have a lot of in-law extended family who are vegetarians. I tried some tofu processed to taste like chicken/beef/fish...:sick2:. It was awfull!!!:thumbsdow. Tofu in its simplest form is the best.

I am going to try that! Sounds so easy and I love deep fried tofu the best.

My first time having deep fried tofu was my second time in Japan. I went to the little village of Takayanagi, near Nagaoka, and they had a nighttime festival where they deep fried a huge piece of tofu that was about 2.5' x 5' x 2". After giving everyone some free sake they gave us candle lanterns and we made a procession starting at dusk along a mountain trail with the tofu carriers in front. I don't know how far it was to the neighbouring village but it took quite a while to get there. Upon arrival they cut up the tofu and let us have as much as we wanted.

Anyone that doesn't like tofu should try it at least once deep fried!

Having eaten and enjoyed tofu all of my life, I have never thought of it as a meat substitute, but as its own product. I eat it as a side dish. I have tried various products with tofu/soy as a base claiming to be like meat, and have never confused them.

My favorite preparations are just out of the package (block) cut into squares and served with diced green onions/shallots and shoyu (don't care for ginger), or else cut into rectangles, salted and peppered, patted down with flour, and fried. Fried with flour comes out kind of like fish sticks or chicken fingers, and is served with your favorite dipping sauce (shoyu, sweet sour, bbq, honey mustard, etc.).

I don't eat tofu all the time (meat rules :thumbsup:, and on a budget), but do enjoy it when I can. As far as it raising estrogen levels ... I did cry when watching the end of Titanic ...

As a side note, here on Maui, we have a sherbet like confection called Guri-Guri, that uses soy as a main ingredient. Unique flavor, and just about the best frozen dessert around.

There's another fried method to try, and with it being so easy to find nowadays I may try that tonight!

Guri-guri is something I've never heard of but if it's anywhere near as good as sherbet of ice cream it's a sure bet I'm going to have some!

 

[hank]

One half-cup serving of raw firm tofu contains 5 grams of fat.
Low fat tofu contains 1.5 grams of fat

They taste the same to me; going with the low-fat form.

This
http://efaeducation.nih.gov/sig/kim.html
is a clunky-interface tool that lets you, after you set it up for yourself, track what's in most foods and see how your total intake looks. It takes a good half hour to figure out and set up, but after that it's straightforward. I use it all the time now.

 

[DM51]

I've heard mention of tofu before, but I didn't know what it was. I guessed it was probably some kind of cheese. By the sound of it, I think I'd sooner eat a rotting badger :green:.

 

[csshih]

awww, it's not that bad!!

 

[jtr1962]

I think I've had a version of gardenburger (meatless burger) that was based on tofu and other soy products, and it really wasn't bad. It actually looked, smelled and tasted pretty much like steak. If it's prepared this way I can see it as a viable alternative for those who need to watch their meat, salt or fat intake.

We tried Boca burgers a few times. Honestly, it was pretty decent and in my opinion an acceptable substitute for anyone trying to reduce their meat intake. The only downside is they cost more than the genuine article. And in my case, my meat consumption is already pretty low ( so low in fact that I had a B12 deficiency 4 years ago ).

 

[PhotonWrangler]

...I am NOT a nutritionist and I may be completely wrong but in my experience (Barista 3 years) there was a strange correlation between Soy Lattes and effeminate men. It was convincing enough for me to end my consumption of Tofu. Not trying to offend anyone just my 2 cents...

Trust me, any correlation is not a result of trace amounts of those substances in the tofu. I've done a lot of reading on this. If it suits youro taste, go ahead and try it.

BTW any food substance taken in excess can have negative effects on one's body.

**Edit** Phytoestrogens are also present in flaxseed, sesame seeds and even beer (from the barley malt). Anyone here ready to give up beer?

 

[PhotonWrangler]

We tried Boca burgers a few times. Honestly, it was pretty decent and in my opinion an acceptable substitute for anyone trying to reduce their meat intake. The only downside is they cost more than the genuine article. And in my case, my meat consumption is already pretty low ( so low in fact that I had a B12 deficiency 4 years ago ).

That was the name! Thank you for jogging my memory, jtr. Yes, they're more expensive than actual meat but they're far healthier, and they seem so close to real meat in taste that I was a little concerned at first wieh I tried it (I'm a vegetarian). I kept asking the server "are you sure this isn't meat?"