Does anyone know of any good marinades to use with tofu?

Question

I am starting to eat healthier and I am by no means a vegetarian but would love to try tofu.

Answer 1

As danielle_vyas has already given you nice advices on how to prepare tofu (to make it not so waterly) or how to fry tofu, I would not repeat the process here but to post some easy recipes for your refrence.

Here are some simple Tofu recipes for you to try.

<<<<<<<< Tofu Salad >>>>>>>>> (Japanese Style)

1 pack of Tofu (firm one)
Lettuce (3 different kinds), leaves
cherry tomatoes
cucumber (sliced)
toasted almond or wallnut (chopped)

1) Put tofu on top of the green + tomato into a salad bowl
2) Pour the dressing on the salad, sprinkle the almond on top
3) Serve immediately

(dressing : olive oil + rice vinegar + fresh lemon juice + soy sauce + sugar + sesame oil)

<<<<<<<< Sweet Corn Tofu Soup >>>>> (Chinese style)

1 can Cream of Sweet Corn Soup (Del Monte)
1/2 pack of tofu (cut into cubes)
2 eggs (beat)
1 cup of water
salt to taste
2 teaspoon corn starch (disolve with a bit of water)

1) Heat the Sweet Corn Soup with water in a pot, when boiled, add tofu into the soup, stir for a while
2) add the corn starch to thicken the soup
3) beat the eggs and add into the soup, stir quickly to make egg drops, then turn off the heat. Add salt to taste

<<<<<< Mango Tofu Smoothy >>>>> (Fusion)

50g tofu
1 big fresh mango (or 2 medium one) sliced
150 cc soya milk (or skimmed milk)
2 - 3 ice cubes

<<<<<<< Mix Berries Tofu Smoothy >>>>>> (Fusion)

50 g tofu
200g Strawberries + Blueberries + Rasberries (Frozen)
150 cc Freshly sequeezed orange juice

<<<< Sauteed mushrooms with Oyster sauce with Tofu >>>>> (Chinese)

100 g of button mushrooms (sliced into thin slices)
50 g of dried shitake mushroom (soaked with water overnight)
1 pack of firmTofu
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
1 slice of fresh ginger (crushed)
4 -5 tablespoon of cooking oil

Oyster Sauce:
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
garlic power
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1 tablespoon of cooking wine

1) Mix the oyster sauce ingredients into a bowl, set aside
2) Heat a frying pan with strong heat, add cooking oil and salt and ginger, when you smell the fragrance, tofu in the pan and crush it into big pieces and fry till the tofu turned golden brown. Remove and drain. Set aside (fry the tofu as what danielle said)
3) Clean the frying pan, heat the pan with strong heat, add cooking oil and garlic, stir fry the mushroom quickly for 1 or 2 minute, add cooking wine to make a fame, stir quickly, then add oyster sauce into the pan, stir fry for 1 minute or till the mushrooms are cooked. Turn off the heat and add a few drops of sesame oil to make the mushroom sauce shiney.
4) Pour the mushroom sauce on the tofu. Serve with steamed rice

Answer 2

Quick Tofu Marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce (preferably kikkoman)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large garlic cloves peeled and smashed
2 teaspoons sugar
basil
crushed red pepper
black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Combine all ingredients and adjust to taste. Add tofu and allow to
sit for at least 30 minutes. Stir fry or bake tofu.




Minted Grapefruit and Honey Marinade
Marinade makes 1 1/2 cups

1 tablespoon grated grapefruit zest (colored part of the rind)
1 cup fresh grapefruit juice
3 tablespoons vodka, optional
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced, optional

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients. Use as a
marinade for tofu cutlets.

Marinate just 1 to 2 hours because the acid in the grapefruit juice
will change the texture of the tofu, Remove from marinade

and grill or broil until cooked through.

Answer 3

Anything that's teriyaki flavored is really good, especially if you're using extra firm tofu for grilling.

Here's one that I especially love for tofu:

1/2 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup sherry (real sherry, not cooking wine)
2 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 tsp garlic powder
pinch of ground or minced ginger *optional

Be careful marinating tofu w/this recipe. Depending on the firmness of tofu, the acids in the recipe can break it down. Check it periodically but the ideal time may be from 2-12 hours. Tofu also soaks up flavors and it can be strong if left to soak too long.

Mix ingredients, place sliced or cubed tofu in marinade. Marinade to your likeness. Grill outside or on an indoor grill.

Answer 4

Cooking tofu can be tricky, it took me a while to get it right.
There are many varieties of marinade that will work for tofu. I would suggest cutting the block of tofu in half lengthwise and then cubes wrap tightly in paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible. I use the firm style and if it is frozen gives a very nice texture (you defrost at room temp). Once the tofu is somewhat dry then marinade asian flavors are nice but also bbq watered down to prevent burning.
Cooking it is a bit tricky. Hot pan well oiled at least an inch covering bottom of pan. Try not to mess with it too much you need to have them brown for them to hold up. Remove and drain. Then I prepare a stir fry of veggies and reintroduce the tofu at the last minute.

Good Luck and if at first you don't succeed try try again.

Answer 5

Hi lorena, looks like you've got plenty of help! Tofu is so universal, it's like a pallet just waiting for a painter. Tofu absorbs the flavors its with. Marinades aren't always necessary, if you plan to break up the tofu into smaller pieces during cooking it will allow it to absorb it's surroundings. For examlpe making a meat sauce for pasta. If the recipe calls for 1lb ground beef you can use 1/2 lb beef & 1/2 lb tofu. If you need tofu recipes just messanger me and I'll attach them to this answer, ok.

Answer 6

Try this recipe. It might seem like a process but it is worth it!

1 (19 ounce) block of firm tofu
2 Tbs. of sherry vineger
2 Tbs. of Worcestershire sauce
Few dashes of hot sauce (if preferred)
Conal oil to cover pane about 1/8 inch
2 eggs
1/2 C. all-purpose flour

Slice the block of tofu into 4 equal portions. Place the slices on paper towels and fold the towels over in both directions to cover the tofu. Place a baking sheet on top of the tofu and weigh down with a 28 ouce can of tomatoes for 1 hr. (Yes, weird, but it makes the tofu thin)

Combine the sherry vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and place tofu in marinade. Marinade for 15 minutes on each side.

Place flour into a shallow dish and eggs into another. Lightly beat the eggs.

Heat the canola oil in the skillet over medium-high heat.

Remove tofu from marinade and drain in paper towels to remove excess marinade.

Lightly dredge the tofu in the flour then knock off any excess flour and slide into the egss until completely, but thinly, coated on both sides.

Slide tofu into the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes until golden brown. Flip tofu over using tongs, and cook for another 2 minutes. Put on plate, then eat and enjoy, DELICIOUS!

Answer 7

To Fu is rather bland (there are many kinds but the ones that people usually eat are almost like tasteless pudding). My favorite to-fu dish is made with hot peppers, chopped green onions, a bit of sesame oil and though it is hot, it is delicious....if interested, email me...I'll give you the recipe.

Answer 8

Try cutting it into cubes and stir-frying it with veggies in a teriyaki sauce. That is yummy.

Answer 9

Mix soy sauce with light or fat free mayo.

Answer 10

Soy, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper...