How do I make tofu palatable?

I've heard for years that tofu absorbs the taste of whatever it's cooked with. I just tried cooking it for the first time last night, and... well, it tasted like tofu. What can I do to dress it up? I'm vegetarian, so I know I need to help out my protein, but what can I do to make tofu something I want to eat?



Also, how small do you cut the tofu? I made little cubes slightly larger than dice, and it was simply too big.



Thanks for all your help!How do I make tofu palatable?
First off,as long as you're eating food,real food that is,you are getting PLENTY of protein. Protein should never be a worry for you,unless you only eat junk food,water and oil. Possibly,if you even sat around eating dirt,you'd probably still get enough protein.

Some things you can do to have better tasting tofu is to marinate it in things like vinegar and spices. Or you can mash it up and put all kinds of things with it. Or you can grill it. Or you can just buy the flavored kinds of tofu,which is what I do,unless I actually need to use the plain kind in things.I'm sure that,where ever you are,you should be able to get some flavored tofu. I live in Denmark,which is pretty behind in the whole veg*n movement,and they have tofu flavored with things like arame,hazelnuts, smoke,champignon mushrooms. In NYC,I used to buy flavors like Thai seasonings, ginger,peanut,Oriental flavors, Mexican flavors etc. You get the picture. Look around and see if you can find any.

I know that tofu can be bland,but if you use it IN things,it tastes better. I've used the soft silken kind for things like pudding, cakes, in cookies,brownies, for frosting on cakes, smoothies, ice cream etc. You have to be creative with it.

For things like tofu scramble,I use nutritional yeast,Braggs,lime juice, veggie boullion. Even salsa for a spicy scramble that I put on tortillas with some ';refried'; beans,which I make just by cooking beans with 1/2 vegetable broth and then mash with a fork. On top,I add some soy cheese and melt it,top with some soy sour cream or plain soy yogurt and you have tofu Huervos Ransheros!

Buy some cookbooks,preferably vegan. They have so many imaginative ways to use tofu. You can even make tofu burgers and sausages. Also,along with the flavored tofus,you can buy even the plain kind in a pretty ';meaty'; texture,which is great.

Be creative and try not to be too scared of tofu. My husband is still trying to like it. I've been trying new ways to use it whenever we buy it,so he'll like it. I've been getting better,but sometimes,I make something that he's not crazy about.

Oh,here's some recipes and sites to check out to get started.

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishe鈥?/a>

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetaria鈥?/a>

http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/tofu/http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm



This site is about how vegans get their protein,read the whole thing and you'll see how many foods are pretty high in protein.The list if just of foods with the highest amount. If you're ';only'; a vegetarian,meaning you still eat milk and eggs,then you need to worry even less about your protein sources.

http://www.vegparadise.com/protein.html

http://www.theppk.com/

http://www.theppk.com/



Be creative and have fun!

If you find you never find a way to like tofu,don't worry. There's plenty of other foods to eat besides tofu.How do I make tofu palatable?
Tofu is best if served in a flavorful liquid like stew, or beef and vegetable soup. remember it takes a while for the flavor to absorb. so put it in rather early.
You have to freeze and press your tofu. Pressing tofu to get the liquid out makes it easier to absorb flavors.



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