“You cannot afford to be grossed out by tofu”

Tofu science, recipes, and devotion

Jun 27, 2024

This is a love letter to tofu. Please don’t be upset.

I have been making tofu “bacon” almost every week as of late, and I want the world to know about it*. It’s so incredibly easy and I love it as a “B”LT on some toast. Eating it makes me feel oddly proud. I also pluck pieces out of the container, straight from the fridge. No accoutrements necessary. It’s just tasty.

I haven’t had bacon in decades, but I can say with certainty that this tofu “bacon” doesn’t taste like bacon at all. That’s so fine with me. It is salty and wonderfully textured and when combined with a ripe summer tomato slice and a bit of mayo? Chef’s kiss, as they say. Mwa.

This iteration has mayo, hunky tomatoes, arugula, grainy bread, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

*I make a version based off this recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken. I don’t use liquid smoke because I don’t have it. I like to bake it in the oven.

I’ve been meaning to write this tofu dedication for a while now. I was inspired by a video where the host introduces her recipe by saying, “You cannot afford to be grossed out by tofu.” I felt that so much. I wrote down the quote but now I can’t find the video. I’m so sorry about that. More people should be eating tofu — for their health, for their wallet, for the environment, for the cutie animals of the world — I believe it in my bones.

Tofu is affordable! You can make tofu from scratch, which ends up being really cheap. I am not making it from scratch, but you can. One block at the grocery store, which can easily feed a family of four, costs less than $3. I’m not going to calculate the savings when comparing tofu to other proteins.

I won’t bore you with the environmental benefits, either, but here’s a chart that can:

Never mind all that.

The point of this writing is to tell you that tofu is the fucking best. Tofu is as versatile as can be. It just wants to be loved. You don’t have to consider it a meat substitute. Just think of it as another food to be enjoyed. It’s simply a bonus that it can take the place of meat in so many recipes. You can barbecue it?!

You think you know tofu’s texture, but actually, you don’t. Freezing, boiling, microwaving, shredding, and blending tofu all change its mouthfeel, and isn’t that so cool? Tofu lends itself to a lot of science in the kitchen (I’ve shared some recipes at the bottom of this post if you’re tofu science curious).

I’ve gotten much more experimental and playful with tofu in recent years. I used to prepare it in one or two ways: Baked crispy and then glazed with a thick peanut sauce. I still do this, and it’s excellent. I also toss it into stir-fry to make The Easiest Meal On Earth.

But lend me your attention for a moment, won’t you? Out of tofu, you can make a totally creamy ricotta. (Recipe inspo here. Feel free to take liberties with it — and add lots of lemon juice.) It shocks (and delights) me every time. I’ve made baked ziti with it, lasagna roll ups, a zucchini pie type thing. I’ve dolloped this shit over white beans and tomato sauce. My daughter has scooped it out of a Tupperware with her bare hands and hardly came up for air.

And I love that for her: Tofu is protein packed and I won’t bore you with its nutrition information because you have Google, but I know when I make something with this ricotta — or tofu in general — my family is going to be satisfied.

Oh, something else? You can grate tofu into a meat crumble-type shape. It’s just crazy. I take my cheese grater — really! — and rub a block of tofu through it, and all of a sudden I’ve got shredded tofu. You don’t even have to press your tofu when you do this. Then you just bake it with whatever sauce you want: I’ve used it as taco meat, dressed it up like a spicy bulgogi, been lazy and dumped some teriyaki sauce on it. It has never failed me. I am so impressed with tofu.

One last trick worth mentioning: Add a block of silken tofu to your pesto or your mac and cheese sauce. Hello?! This bulks up your recipe. It adds a creaminess. It’s basically like adding a protein powder but better because most protein powders, in my humble experience, are repulsive. I’ve served many people pasta dishes with sauce + tofu, and I usually don’t tell them about it and no one bats an eye or gags. Isn’t that cool/deceptive?

Below, I’m sharing a bunch of the most inspiring tofu recipes I’ve collected over the last couple of years. Some I’ve tried, some I haven’t. But I want you to feel the excitement that I do when thinking about tofu’s great potential. Hopefully this is a start.

Quinoa crusted tofu parm (so genius imho)

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