How to cook tofu - Asian Barbecue Style!

Here's a favourite family recipe I'm going to share with you, and then I'll talk a little about tofu, and how to store it properly.

Give this recipe a try, and you'll be wondering where tofu was all your life!

Asian Barbecued Tofu - Yummy!

Ingredients:

• 300 grams / 10 oz. firm tofu
  
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil (approximately)
  
• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce (approximately).
  
  We choose to use tamari in all our Asian cooking. The tamari we use is wheat free, and suitable for the gluten-free diet that my young son is on. But either soy or tamari works well. (Note that not all tamari brands are gluten-free, it pays to check if this is important to you).
  
  Method:
  
• Slice the tofu into long thin slices, a bit less than a centimeter (1/3 inch) in width.
  
• Lay the tofu in a non-stick pan, and cook at a medium heat until very lightly browned, turning regularly so both sides lightly brown.
  
• When very lightly browned, drizzle sesame oil over the slices, turn over to coat on both sides, then cover in tamari (soy sauce). The slices will sizzle and brown quickly! You'll need your windows open, and it might get smoky!
  
  
  Drizzled with tamari and sesame oil, you're almost done!
  
• Remove from heat, and place on serving platter. You're done!
  

Delicious, asian barbecue tofu, served with salad!

Serves 3-4.

This recipe is a great option to serve to vegetarians at barbecues, because it is so easy. It's also quick!

At home, we cook our tofu, then serve it on a bed of fresh mixed lettuce, with a tossed salad. Delicious!

Why tofu?

Meat alternative: Tofu is a vegetarian mainstay. It can be used instead of any meat. The wonderful thing about tofu is it will easily take on the flavours of any sauces you add to it. It also cooks through well, and is easily digested. Because it is so easily digested, tofu is great for elderly people with such illnesses as Crohn's Disease.

Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan: Tofu is a gluten-free, vegan food that has been consumed by people for thousands of years, served in thousands of ways. Yummy!

Bad tofu, man!: If you've had a "bad experience" with tofu, blame the cook! They simply didn't know how to prepare it properly. A lot of people don't know what to do with it, as it is new to the Western world.

I went to one music camp where it was served to the vegetarians among us plain and raw in wobbly, cold chunks. I wouldn't want to eat cold, wobbly, raw chicken either! Ugh!

Which tofu? We mainly use firm tofu at home, and usually buy ours from the local Farmer's Market in bulk. Other types exist, such as silken tofu, which is great for scrambles, cakes and smoothies.

Home made tofu!: You can actually make tofu really easily and cheaply, and I'll explain how to do this (with photos) in another post. Tofu is just soy beans that have been ground with water, then have had a natural coagulant added. Tofu can easily be made from most types of beans, but soy is preferred, because of the cost (they're cheap) and high protein content.

Is tofu dangerous? No, unless you're allergic to soy. People have been eating tofu for thousands of years, and no-one has died from it yet. In fact, soy foods are a vital component of many societies' traditional diets, and continue to increase in popularity.

The US Food and Drug Administration claims that eating tofu (and other soy foods) may reduce cholesterol and the risk of heart disease, which is good. But I'd argue that it is the sum of your diet that decided these issues, rather than one particular food. Eating healthily is, as it has always been, about balance. We tend to eat tofu about once a week.

Needless to say, soy is a healthy food, and has been judged as such by various health authorities all over the world. Eat it in moderation (yes please!), and get most of your calories from fresh fruit and veggies!

Storing tofu: To store fresh tofu, take it out of its packaging, and cover it with fresh, cold water. Change the water daily. It will store like this for several days in an air-tight container in the fridge, or a cool cupboard.

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