Slow-Baked Tofu With Stir-Fry | Recipes | Dr. Weil's Healthy Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What type of tofu is best for stir-fry? ›

For tofu stir-fries, buy extra-firm tofu (or if you can't find that, buy firm tofu). Grace Young, wok guru and author of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, says that for the best texture, “You want to remove as much liquid as possible before you stir-fry, so start with extra-firm.

Pan-fried tofu gets a nice crisp texture outside, but stays soft inside," she says. Gently press the tofu, marinate, and coat in cornstarch (see above). Add to a wok or pan preheated with cooking oil and let fry for one to two minutes so it crisps on the bottom. Flip and let cook for another one to two minutes.

Tofu can be eaten raw, and so cooking it is completely optional and is mostly done for texture or to bind the sauce to the tofu. You can pan-sear the sides and add it to a colorful stir-fry or deep-fry it and coat it in a savory and sweet sauce.

3 Ways to Cook Tofu

Toss with olive oil, flour or cornstarch, garlic powder and salt. Bake: Bake at 450 F for 25-30 mins, flipping once half way through. Pan-fry: Heat a cast iron pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook tofu over medium heat for 15 minutes, flipping every couple of minutes to cook all sides.

What to not serve with tofu? According to studies, a high volume consumption of tofu and spinach together can increase your risk of kidney stones. Tofu and spinach contain calcium and oxalic acid respectively and the combined can form kidney stones.

But at Chinese restaurants, the most commonly used tofu is silken tofu or egg tofu. They also use cornstarch or potato starch to lightly coat the tofu before putting it in the wok or fryer to fry.

Cornstarch: This is the magic ingredient that helps make tofu (as well as many other foods) extra-crispy in the oven. Seasonings: I typically just use a mixture of garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper to season my tofu. (This mixture goes well with just about any recipe.) But see below for other seasonings ideas.

Low calorie density: Tofu is a low calorie food, with around 70-90 calories per 100 grams, making it a good option for those who are trying to lose weight. This is because foods with low calorie density help you feel full with fewer calories, which can help you consume fewer total calories throughout the day.

Marinate it: Tofu can be marinated in a variety of flavorful sauces or spices. You can use soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and other seasonings to make a simple marinade. Let the tofu marinate for at least 30 minutes (or up to a few hours) before cooking or grilling.

In a mixing bowl or measuring cup with a spout, whisk together the marinade: soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, ginger, and Sriracha. Drizzle over the tofu. If any pieces look bare, turn them over in the marinade a few times so all of the sides are coated.

What are the pros and cons of tofu? ›

Incorporating tofu into your daily meals and snacks can bring several health benefits. Those benefits include brain health promotion, ease of menopause symptoms, and heart disease prevention. However, eating tofu has some risks, as it might lead to digestive issues or interact with certain medications like MAOIs.

Much of tofu's early use in East Asia was as a vegetarian substitute for meat and fish by Buddhist monks, especially those following Zen Buddhism. The earliest Japanese document concerning tofu refers to the dish being served as an offering at the Kasuga Shrine in Nara in 1183.

Here's the thing: even though tofu might be labeled firm or extra-firm, it contains a lot of water. This excess water can cause the tofu to crumble when you cook it, and it will also have a hard time crisping up. But when you press tofu, you remove the excess moisture.

How to safely eat raw tofu. While tofu comes in a variety of textures — silken, firm, and extra firm — technically any of them can be eaten raw. Before enjoying raw tofu, drain off any excess liquid from the packaging. It's also important to store tofu properly to prevent germs from growing on any unused portions.

Boiling extracts some of water somehow, making it easier to fry, but it does it without compressing the tofu, so you get delightful spongey insides instead of dense tofu bricks. It also extracts the water more evenly than squeezing it out, especially if you squeeze precubulation. Plus, the salted water seasons them.

Extra-firm tofu has less water than firm tofu, which you notice in the difference in texture. The culinary possibilities of firm and extra-firm are almost the same, but extra-firm tofu doesn't absorb marinades as well. On the other hand, extra-firm is easier to pan-fry, stir-fry or deep-fry.

When pan-frying tofu, choose firm or extra-firm tofu. The former may take a little longer to pan-fry because it has more moisture, but pan-fried firm tofu absorbs flavors well simply because it's not as dense as extra-firm tofu.

Make sure you select the right texture.

In grocery stores, it ranges from silken to extra-firm. Soft silken tofu would be my choice for blending into desserts or slicing into miso soup, but if you're serving it as a main dish or topping it onto bowls, extra-firm is what you'll need.

Firm and extra-firm tofu are most commonly used in Western recipes, as the mostly solid texture is easy to cut, easy to fry, easy to grill and easy to eat.