Hi, all,
I saved this communication on my computer since this question comes up fairly
often. If it looks familiar, it's because I've posted it before.
These are the tofu recipes that I use most often (and one I've never tried).
I don't use it as the focus of the meal because even lite tofu is pretty high
in fat by itself. Most of these are from Veggies Unite! which is often *not*
fat free. My SAD kids loved the bacon recipe the first time I made it but
after that it somehow didn't come out the same. Oh, well. I generally blend
silken tofu with a hand blender for creamy sauces or soup, and also throw
diced or slivered tofu in random recipes which have a lot of flavor for the
tofu to soak up (like indian or mexican), and substitute mashed tofu mixed
with spinach and a little nutmeg for ricotta/cottage cheese in lasagna
recipes. I hope you enjoy some or all of these.
From gph@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Paul Houtz)
Vegan Bacon
1 lb firm Tofu, cut into strips shaped like bacon
(if using lite tofu, maybe freeze it in the pkg first and then thaw and drain
before cutting as above)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons tamari/shoyu
1 teaspoon Wright's (or other brand) liquid smoke.
1 tablespoon oil (something neutral, not olive or sesame) (I just sprayed)
Fry tofu strips on low or medium heat until they are crispy on the outside.
The best way to do this is to lay them in the pan in the oil and let them sit
for at least 10 minutes, simmering. They should turn easily after that. Turn
them and give them another 10 minutes on the other side.
Mix the tamari/shoyu soy sauce with the liquid smoke first, then take the pan
off the heat. Pour the liquid smoke/tamari into the pan and stir the tofu so
all sides are coated, then sprinkle the yeast over all, stir some more, over
the heat, until the liquid is gone and the tofu is covered with sticky yeast.
Try it. It tastes EXACTLY like bacon.
Rich and Creamy Vegan Alfredo
2 pkg. lite silken tofu
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2t your favorite seasoning mix
1t onion powder (if not included in above)
1/2C soy parmesan or nutritional yeast
2T or more butter flavoring
Blend all ingredients in blender, food processor or with hand blender. Heat
and serve sparingly over your pasta of choice.
The first mutation was when I used V8 juice instead of broth for a tomato
version. My SAD son pronounced it a keeper. Then I tried it with a single
package of tofu and a defrosted package of frozen broccoli. Yum!
Next, I tried a spinach version and it eventually became...
Spinach Soup/Dip/Sauce
1 pkg. lite silken tofu
2T Italian herbs
1t garlic powder
1/4t black pepper
1/2C nutritional yeast
2T butter flavoring
10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and undrained
Blend all ingredients with your favorite appliance except spinach until
smooth, adding spinach juice as necessary. Stir in spinach and heat either
for soup or sauce for pasta, veggies or whatever, or chill for a lovely
veggie/bread dip.
My next idea is to eliminate the herbs and maybe the yeast and substitute
some mustard powder to go over broccoli rabe. There was a recipe in a recent
Prevention magazine that inspired me there.
These two I got (eliminated the oil they had added) from the Veggies Unite!
(www.vegweb.com) site July 1998 (the notes belong to the authors):
From christine jschall@xxxxxxx
Sister's Potatoes
4-5 potatoes peeled and chopped into chunks
1 med onion , chopped
5oz firm tofu, crumbled up
a big handful of chopped fresh cilantro
some dried basil,and some dried oregano
1 large tomato, chopped
salt and pepper
garlic, I use 1 good size clove, minced
In a sprayed fry pan, add basil and oregano, then garlic and onions and fresh
cilantro. Saute for a few mins or so with a bit of added water. Next add
potato chunks and tofu. Cover until potatoes are fork tender. Add tomato,
salt and pepper to taste, cover back up for a few more mins. Sometimes I top
with soy cheddar. This is one of my favorites for breakfast.
Serves: 2 or so
Preparation time: 30 mins
From Sally
Heavenly Tofu
1 block of tofu (approx 300gm)
3 cups of cooked brown or white rice (1 cup uncooked)
1 bunch of fresh English spinach
half bunch of fresh coriander
A dusting of turmeric
2 tbsp soy sauce (or more to taste)
1 cup of water
Rinse and chop coriander. Slice tofu into cubes. Begin to cook rice (10 min
in microwave 600w, let stand for another 5).
Heat sprayed saucepan, add coriander and turmeric and cook on low heat for a
minute, using a little water if too dry. Add the cup of water, the soy sauce
and the cubed tofu. Cover and simmer for the time it takes for the rice to
cook. Check every now and then in case more water needs to be added. The tofu
should be plump and there should be a "broth" simmering.
Rinse, de-stalk and roughly chop spinach (rinse well otherwise bits of grit
end up in the dinner!) and a couple of minutes before rice is ready, add the
chopped spinach to the saucepan. Cover and simmer until spinach is just
cooked.
Serve rice in bowls, heap on the tofu/spinach mix and add a generous serving
of the "broth".
This is a favourite with our 5 year old son. Can be adapted with crushed
chilli for a spicier version. We find it quite addictive.
Serves: 3-4
Preparation time: 25 min
Hope you find these useful. Please do let me know.