# Tofu or not Tofu, that is the question



## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I just had a tofu taco for lunch at Pancheros. Tonight at my Toastmaster's meeting, I'm responsible to come up with topics for the impromptu speaking part of the meeting. (It's called "Table Topics" for those familiar with Toastmaster's.) 

It reminded me of a meme I saw that basically gave instructions for cooking with Tofu as:

1) Throw the tofu in a wastebasket.

2) Grill some meat.

While I'm not a vegetarian and I struggle making tofu dishes when I cook, I usually like tofu when it is served in a restaurant. The meme in question stimulated some discussion. I apparently appalled half of Facebook by suggesting "tofu schnitzel" as a possible dish.

Do you eat tofu??


----------



## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Hopefully no one will consider this to be a tofulish question.


----------



## ran23 (Dec 11, 2014)

I eat soy products to help with my cholesterol. Tofu is the 'white bread' of the soy world, too overly processed. never eat it.


----------



## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

LOL. Should I ever voice a desire to consume tofu (fixed in any way!), I would ask that any one of my friends shoot me and put me out of my misery. Man was not created to eat tofu, but rather, red meat...lots and lots of red meat! The "meme" to which you refer strikes me as very wise counsel. LOL.


----------



## vpkozel (May 2, 2014)

forsbergacct2000 said:


> Hopefully no one will consider this to be a tofulish question.


Surely you are not going to start this tofulery.


----------



## Langham (Nov 7, 2012)

In view of the epidemic of obesity in the western world it seems clear that many people eat excessive amounts of meat. Or just excessively in fact; vegetarianism should be encouraged. I have never eaten tofu and am not exactly sure what it is - a type of fungus, like mushroom? It is quite possible to live healthily on a diet that is either exclusively vegetarian or that includes meat just occasionally. I like good quality meat but that definition necessarily excludes much of the meat that is sold through supermarkets - it comes from intensively farmed, over-medicated, over-bred animals fed on rubbish. I have heard of one local beef farmer who feeds his herd of cattle (which are kept indoors, in an industrial warehouse) exclusively on a diet of rejected biscuits and other confectionery that he is paid to dispose of.


----------



## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Tofu is also called bean curd. It started in China or Japan; it is processed from soy beans. It is nearly tasteless, but will easily take on the flavor of sauces and spices cooked with it. 

I have not mastered cooking with it, but I usually like it when it is part of a restaurant meal. 

It's a healthy meat substitute, but as you can see from the thread, not popular with everyone.


----------



## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I am not a vegetarian but that kind of diet has influenced my diet. I eat much less red meat than I used to, and I eat more vegetables and fruit. If a restaurant offers an appealing looking tofu-based dish, I will consider it. My wife and I occasionally make tofu-based dishes. 

Tofu can taste good or it can be awful. The secret is all in how it is prepared, of course, and the recipe, etc.


----------



## gaseousclay (Nov 8, 2009)

my mom cooked us tofu dishes regularly while I was a youngster growing up in Japan. I prefer it in foods like Miso soup or Ma Po tofu.


----------



## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

One thing I learned is that you need to press as much water as you can out of a slab of it before cooking. It can be okay, seasoned and mixed with other stuff, but on it's own, _meh!_ is the best I can say.


----------



## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

I live part of the year in Japan, so obviously I eat me some tofu.

It's a fermentation product, and as such is basically "good for you", though I think folks in the US who eat it eat it too often. It's silly to demonize it though (as is trendy).

As others have said, it just depends on what you do with it - it takes on flavors, it can be grilled and fried, and so on.

I'm sparing with it because I'm unsure what effect the fermentation process has on soy phytoestrogens (I just never get around to researching this). It's an excellent food source, though one must get good-quality tofu; in Atlanta, I usually find it at the Asian markets. I would never buy it from, say, Publix or Kroger.

DH


----------



## orange fury (Dec 8, 2013)

I didn't eat tofu for a very long time after having some prepared horribly when I was a kid ( I thought I was eating an eraser at first). It's not bad if prepared well.

i don't eat red meat anymore, my meat intake is limited to very lean ground turkey (99/1) or grilled chicken (I'll eat eggs fairly often too, if you consider that "meat"). I'm at a point now where the bulk of what I eat is vegetables, fruit, or grains- not for ethical reasons or anything, I just really prefer those to meat products. I also try to severely limit bread products (pasta included), just because of the heavy carb load in bread. And I feel sick for several days if I eat fried foods.


----------



## Gurdon (Feb 7, 2005)

I eat tofu in miso soup, and in other Japanese dishes, although I can't think of any at the moment. Otherwise it is not particularly appealing.

I was once served "tofurkey" at a Thanksgiving dinner many years ago. I got even with the perpetrator when I produced an emergency ration can of spam at a trendy vegetarian restaurant where the individual in question was being treated to a birthday lunch. The restaurant was his choice. 

Gurdon


----------



## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

LOL...and a perfect response it must have been.



forsbergacct2000 said:


> Tofu is also called bean curd. It started in China or Japan; it is processed from soy beans. It is nearly tasteless, but will easily take on the flavor of sauces and spices cooked with it.
> 
> I have not mastered cooking with it, but I usually like it when it is part of a restaurant meal.
> 
> It's a healthy meat substitute, but as you can see from the thread, not popular with everyone.


"Bean curd?" Isn't hummus also a form of bean curd? If so, hummus is a much better use of bean curd than Tofu! :devil:


----------



## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Hummus is made from chick peas (also called garbanzo beans). 

I just had some tofu at a Thursday jam session. (The jam is in Portland, MI should the Eagle want to venture up from his roost.) 

They made tofu tacos which were seasoned with a sauce that tastes like what they use for Moo Shu Pork. (I apologize if I misspelled.)

They were excellent.


----------



## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
My friend, you are very talented and your music is excellent...certainly well worth a drive to MI. 
However, LOL, given Tofu's nature to be much like a 'thick skinned lump of bean curd pudding', I am compelled to question your taste in Tacos!


----------



## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

They also have really good shrimp tacos.


----------



## dr.butcher (May 28, 2014)

forsbergacct2000 said:


> Do you eat tofu??


Living in Hong Kong, tofu is everywhere. And there's so many varieties in texture, ranging silken soft to extra firm. It's so versatile. There's also sweet tofu which is a great dessert with some brown sugar and syrup on it, there's beancurd skin which is very tasty and great in soups and numerous other products.

There's so many ways to prepare tofu and the change the taste and texture. One of my favourites is to slice a block of tofu into cubes, then freeze it, then later on boil it. It really gives it a great chewy texture. Anyhow, despite the widespread dislike of tofu, I think it's widely misunderstood, probably more so in Western countries, though I have no evidence to back this up.


----------



## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I'm a fan. I forgot about the tofu that is frozen, and then flavored and served like ice cream. I've enjoyed that before, too.


----------



## sethblack (Sep 17, 2013)

forsbergacct2000 said:


> Do you eat tofu??


I do eat tofu. Actually, I love tofu! :biggrin: I think I probably eat some type of tofu dish every day. There's also another local soybean product called tempeh which I like too. 
I think the mistake a lot of people make is by treating tofu like some kind of meat substitute in meat dishes. They're just too different. Tofu has a very soft texture and it absorbs seasoning and spices very well. I find they taste the best in strong tasting dishes like the above mentioned mabo tofu or in curries.


----------

