Don't be afraid of Tofu

Tofu is a soybean based food. I used to tell my students "tofu is to soybeans as cottage cheese is to milk". Contrary to popular opinion tofu is a wonderful food, easy to work with and fun to eat. Anyone who has eaten in a Chinese restaurant or gotten Chinese carry-out has eaten tofu. Asians use tofu in just about everything. It is available in just about every grocery store in the US and in multiple forms: crumbled, soft, firm, extra firm. Which one to get depends on in what it will be used.

In recipes, tofu acts like a sponge and has the ability to soak up any flavor that is added to it. Crumble it into a pot of spicy chili sauce and it tastes like chili. Blend it with cocoa and sweetener and it becomes a double for chocolate cream pie filling. Cubes of firm tofu can be added to any casserole or soup. My favorite is hot and sour soup from my favorite chinese take out.

Three types of tofu are available in American grocery stores. Firm tofu is dense and solid and holds up well in stir-fry, soups or even on the grill... anywhere that you want the tofu to maintain its shape. Firm tofu also is higher in protein, fat and calcium than other forms of tofu (firmer=less water).

Soft tofu is a good choice for recipes that call for blended tofu or soups. Silken tofu, the third form available, is a creamy, custard-like product. It works well in pureed or blended dishes. In Japan, the natives enjoy it as is with a little soy sauce and chopped scallions added.

Try some of these ideas for introducing tofu to your repetoire:

• add small pieces or chunks of firm tofu to soup and stew
• mix crumbled tofu into a meatloaf or any ground meat mixture (hamburger, salmon patty)
• mash tofu with cottage cheese and seasoning to make sandwich spread
• marinate in barbeque sauce and grill then serve on crusty bread
• add a package of taco seasoning to pan-fried crumbled tofu or mixture of tofu and ground beef for tacos
• blend dried onion soup mix into soft or silken tofu for onion dip
• stir silken tofu into sour cream for a lower fat baked potato topper
• blend dofu with melted chocolate chips and sweetener to make chocolate pudding mixture
• add silken tofu to cream based soups and cut back on cream
• substitute pureed silken tofu for part of mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese or ricotta cheese in recipe and use in dips or creamy salad dressing

Experiment and expand your culinary offerings. Try it you'll like it!

Happy Healthy Eating

Marcia