Foods

And where do you find it?

Do they sell it in regular grocery store???  What section??

Do you cook it?

Too many questions???? LOL
~H~

Its processed soybeans.

 

You can usually get it somewhere in the produce section of a regular store, or else in the ethnic section.

You can eat it raw, put it in shakes, scramble it with eggs.... there are about a thousand ways to cook it.

 

Here are some great beginner tips and recipe ideas:

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-rec ipes/basic-tofu.php

Always in the produce section.
You can eat it uncooked, grilled, baked, in soup, in stir fry... possibilities are endless.

what sort of packaging?  Is it refrigerated?  Sorry i've never seen it before.

~H~

It comes refrigerated and in a shelf-stable variety. Usually you see it in a little plastic tub with a clear-plastic top.

 

like this:

http://seaotter.phys.tohoku.ac.jp/private/pho to/tofu.JPG

It's made from fermented soybeans, or in a process similar to cheese-making. Sounds wierd, but tastes pretty darn good. Make sure you get the organic tofu since most others contain GMO soybeans.

Almost every single store I've been to has SOME kind of tofu. There are shelf-stable varieties (usually silken tofu) and refrigerated ones as well (firm, extra-firm, etc. - I like these best). Look in your store's natural foods section if there is one.

You CAN cook it, but I actually eat it raw as well. It's pretty good served chilled with some soy sauce and bean sprouts as a Japanese-style appetizer, or used in nori rolls for sushi instead of raw fish. Silken tofu is used in smoothies, sauces, dips, puddings, and can also work as an egg replacer. Firm and extra firm tofu is the only kind I'd reccommend for grilling, sauteeing, frying, and baking though. Tofu is very versatile.

Just don't buy tofu from China. There are some weird chemicals or something in it. It's probably not an issue in the States like it is here in Korea.

Just think of it as soymilk in semi-solid form. Soymilk is to Tofu (soy bean curd) as milk is to cheese.

 

Yet they are also as varied as cheese can be, and different varieties are each suited to a different cooking method. The firmer ones are good to fry or even bake, and softer ones for soup et al. But there are also a bunch of "in-betweens", so it really depends on your experience and judgment.

For anyone who's ever eaten any Asian food, tofu is actually in more of the dishes than one can ever imagine.

It can be a dish all by itself, as zebulancherry mentioned, chilled, topped with some soy sauce. Great for the sizzling summer days. A little sesame oil wouldn't hurt, too.

It is also an essential part of hot pot (Chinese fondue), terrific for the freezing winter time.

Hot pot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot

Oh, God, I so want to eat it for dinner tonight. *drooling terribly*

As for what alibuch mentioned, I don't know much about what happened to tofu from China, but you can always buy the ones from Taiwan/Japan/Korea if you feel like playing safe.

Try the Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu - Only 40 calories per serving, but a great punch for protein!

What I've been making lately is two slices of multigrain toast with garlic hummus, with a couple slices of Tofu, lettuce and tomato - delicious high energy sandwich!

Also for a snack try it with some balsamic, chopped tomatos and fresh basil... mmm!

It is made in a process similar to cheese, fermenting (soybeans). Tofu has virtually no taste when plain, so you can pair it with anything (I saw it in a Vegan cheesecake once xD) and it takes on the taste of what you cooked it in.

I like to get it from Noodles and Co. They sautee it in garlic and a bit of oil, so it tastes all garlicky and good.

Always buy organic tofu though. Regular tofu is likely to have pesticides or chemicals.