it may not seem important now and some tofluencers’ recipes may say you don’t need to do this, but press your tofu!
If you have to, sandwich it between plates and put a heavy pot full of water or a stack of books on top for at least 15 minutes (though more time only helps, albeit with diminishing returns).
More water you squeeze out in the pressing stage => more room for flavors to soak into the tofu when marinading/cooking/resting and also less water to sog/stop the crisping when you cook it
It can be a bit of a pain in that it’s spread out over time, but compared to pressed, marinated, and seared tofu, seitan made from vital wheat gluten (and not from flour) takes about the same amount of inactive time with maybe 15-20 minutes of additional active time per loaf
I will say it took me nearly 10 weeks of making seitan twice/week before I really liked what I was making. There was a lot of trial and many chewy glutenous errors. Both require a decent amount of patience to really learn and get right imo
Yeah for the first few months I had to make it as a side project kind of item so I really only made it when the other protein was a pot of beans. Every iteration was edible and nutritious, but quite a few were way too chewy, some were not chewy enough. A few were essentially flavorless because I didn’t realize on the first two just how much garlic and other powdery spices the dough can take before they start being evident in the final product. On the last few I’ve been experimenting with mixing into the dough a handful of whatever beans are in the pot from earlier that week and the results have been
Thanks, looks like I can do a tofu twist on my favorite beef tacos.
ALSO
it may not seem important now and some tofluencers’ recipes may say you don’t need to do this, but press your tofu! If you have to, sandwich it between plates and put a heavy pot full of water or a stack of books on top for at least 15 minutes (though more time only helps, albeit with diminishing returns).
More water you squeeze out in the pressing stage => more room for flavors to soak into the tofu when marinading/cooking/resting and also less water to sog/stop the crisping when you cook it
tofu tacos are incredibly easy:
tofu in pan -> mush around -> add spice mix -> mush around -> add to shells -> done
add more steps where you feel the need, like adding lettuce or cheese or whatever
That’s my way of preparing fast tacos anyway with beef
With the added benefit that you won’t have diarrhea if it’s not cooked right.
Certainly. If you ever feel like tofu doesn’t quite have the protein density you need, seitan is amazing (and very meaty in texture)
It can be a bit of a pain in that it’s spread out over time, but compared to pressed, marinated, and seared tofu, seitan made from vital wheat gluten (and not from flour) takes about the same amount of inactive time with maybe 15-20 minutes of additional active time per loaf
I will say it took me nearly 10 weeks of making seitan twice/week before I really liked what I was making. There was a lot of trial and many chewy glutenous errors. Both require a decent amount of patience to really learn and get right imo
My family is probably too fussy to deal with my mid seitan for weeks before I get gud lol
Yeah for the first few months I had to make it as a side project kind of item so I really only made it when the other protein was a pot of beans. Every iteration was edible and nutritious, but quite a few were way too chewy, some were not chewy enough. A few were essentially flavorless because I didn’t realize on the first two just how much garlic and other powdery spices the dough can take before they start being evident in the final product. On the last few I’ve been experimenting with mixing into the dough a handful of whatever beans are in the pot from earlier that week and the results have been