Baked Tofu - posted in Files

[Guest guest]

> Evening, everyone. I tried to make baked tofu today. I wasn't

> successful. I thought I read somewhere to freeze it first. I did

> this. But the recipe in the Vegan Planet and the recipe posted in the

> files don't mention freezing it first. Is this where I went wrong?

 

 

Jenn - probably not, unless you didn't drain it first. Another

possibility - what kind did you use? I've found baking works better

for Chinese style tofu (the kind in water in a tub) rather than the

Japanese style silken. Hopefully someone else will have moe ideas for

you as I've got toget back to sorting & packing....

 

 

*tofuloverhugs*

AMy/

[Guest guest]

On Wed Aug 24, 2005 Jenn " <jj_73molly wrote:

 

> Evening, everyone. I tried to make baked tofu today. I wasn't

> successful. I thought I read somewhere to freeze it first. I did

> this. But the recipe in the Vegan Planet and the recipe posted in the

> files don't mention freezing it first. Is this where I went wrong?

 

It might be helpful to know the way the two types of tofu are made, in order to

understand which will work better for different dishes. I used to make both

kinds for years before it was available in grocery stores (yeah, I'm really that

old ).

 

Soymilk, like dairy milk, will curdle. When the curds and whey are completely

separated, the curds are ladled into a pressing box and weighted down until a

firm cake is formed, and the whey drained off. This is Chinese-style tofu, and

is stored in cold water.

 

Japanese tofu, a.k.a. kinugoshi, (the boxed kind, eg. Mori-Nu) is essentially

jelled soymilk. No curd/whey separation takes place; the thick soymilk is

poured into a container, the coagulating agent added, and it sits undisturbed,

until it's firmed.

 

When you put your Japanese tofu in the oven or freezer, you're simply freezing

or baking whole soymilk.

 

The Chinese kind is great for frying, baking and freezing. The Japanese kind is

better for dressings, smoothies and vegan 'cheeses' (although the softer Chinese

kind can be used this way too). That said, there are recipes for stir-fries

using the Mori-nu, but it requires delicate handling.

 

hth,

Nancy

[Guest guest]

ahhhh Thank you Nancy.

-

Nancy

Thursday, August 25, 2005 1:34 PM

Baked Tofu - posted in Files

 

 

On Wed Aug 24, 2005 Jenn " <jj_73molly wrote:

 

> Evening, everyone. I tried to make baked tofu today. I wasn't

> successful. I thought I read somewhere to freeze it first. I did

> this. But the recipe in the Vegan Planet and the recipe posted in the

> files don't mention freezing it first. Is this where I went wrong?

 

It might be helpful to know the way the two types of tofu are made, in order

to understand which will work better for different dishes. I used to make both

kinds for years before it was available in grocery stores (yeah, I'm really that

old ).

 

Soymilk, like dairy milk, will curdle. When the curds and whey are completely

separated, the curds are ladled into a pressing box and weighted down until a

firm cake is formed, and the whey drained off. This is Chinese-style tofu, and

is stored in cold water.

 

Japanese tofu, a.k.a. kinugoshi, (the boxed kind, eg. Mori-Nu) is essentially

jelled soymilk. No curd/whey separation takes place; the thick soymilk is

poured into a container, the coagulating agent added, and it sits undisturbed,

until it's firmed.

 

When you put your Japanese tofu in the oven or freezer, you're simply freezing

or baking whole soymilk.

 

The Chinese kind is great for frying, baking and freezing. The Japanese kind

is better for dressings, smoothies and vegan 'cheeses' (although the softer

Chinese kind can be used this way too). That said, there are recipes for

stir-fries using the Mori-nu, but it requires delicate handling.

 

hth,

Nancy

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

HI Jenn:

 

When I make baked tofu I buy the Chinese style firm or extra firm tofu and I

freeze it.

I though it and press it.

To press tofu take out of package squeeze out as much liquid as I can then I

take the tofu and wrap it in paper towels, place it in a low pan with sides

and cover it with a cutting board, then I take a couple of my daughters text

books and place them on top of the cutting board.

High School text books are nice and heavy. I leave it like this for 30 to

45 minutes.

The unwrap the tofu and I slice it the long way about a 1/4 inch thick.

Now you can marinate it.

I usually take some soy sauce and a touch of oil a little water, some ground

ginger, chile powder, cumin, pepper, and cinnamon and pour it over the tofu

let it marinate for 30 minutes or so and then bake it. I bake it in a 300

to 350 degree oven it probably takes 45 minutes or so but I check it

periodically as you don't want it to be soggy. It should be firm when it is

done.

 

 

 

Gayle