Karen Barnaby: Change it up for summer with these chilled tofu dishes
Credit to Author: Tracey Tufnail| Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2019 18:00:07 +0000
Tofu is a mildly polarizing food. It doesn’t come close to the polarizing palate bomb of cilantro, and its detractors usually cite lack of flavour and texture as the hurdle.
One of the traps that people fall into is thinking tofu is a substitute for something else. It will never resemble cheese — though fermented tofu preparations come close — or meat. To really enjoy it, you have to learn to explore what it has to offer as tofu.
If you’re using it in place of cream cheese, for example, it won’t have the same taste or texture as cream cheese. It doesn’t mean that tofu has failed, it’s you who has to shift your expectations.
I’m not a snooty tofu purist; I’ve used it in desserts, made falafels and hummus with it, ground it up with chicken and pesto for burgers, and stuffed fried tofu puffs with spinach and ricotta and baked them in tomato sauce. In these instances, tofu had either the right textural or nutritional qualities that I needed to get what I was making to the finish line.
I’ve been fortunate to eat exquisite tofu in Kyoto, Japan, where the creation, cooking and enjoyment of tofu is refined and cherished. Swooning with pleasure accurately describes my experience of Kyoto tofu with textures ranging from what I imagine it would be like to eat clouds, to blocks simmered in a kombu broth that changed texture by the second. There was silky tofu skin, and tofu with the texture of solid cream. The flavour was a creamy, mildly sweet and rich presence without the vegetal notes of soy. It was a tofu lover’s paradise.
All this brings me to tofu in, perhaps, its most elegant form. Many tofu dishes in Kyoto were served chilled. Adorned with savoury flavours and punctuated with meat, fish and vegetables, it was one of the best ways to experience it. The tofu becomes a soft and delicious contrast and carrier for the seasonings. Chilled tofu has a following in Asia, and it’s greatly appreciated in the summer — it is easy to make, inexpensive, and doesn’t need to be cooked.
I’m showing remarkable restraint with these tofu dishes because the canvas of tofu just begs to have all sorts of yummy stuff applied to it. I will leave that to your capable hands and imaginations.
• Soft or silken tofu is preferred, but smooth tofu can also be use though it’s firmer in texture
• To get soft tofu out of the container, remove the plastic and turn the container over on a plate. Take a tiny snip from the bottom corners with scissors. It will slip right out.
1 300 g package soft or silken tofu
1 tbsp (15 mL) soy sauce
1 tbsp (15 mL) spicy bean paste (douban jiang) or spicy chili crisp
1 tsp (5 mL) roasted sesame oil
2 tsp (10 mL) Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) sugar
2 cloves garlic minced
1 large green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup (60 mL) cilantro, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) lengths
1 tbsp (15 mL) coarsely crushed peanuts
1 tsp (5 mL) roasted sesame seeds
1/4 English cucumber
Carefully remove the tofu from the package and on paper towels or absorbent material to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Combine soy sauce, bean paste, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar and garlic together. Taste and add more vinegar or sugar to balance it to your taste.
Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and chop into irregular pieces. Spread on a plate. Slice the tofu crosswise into 8 slices and lay on the cucumbers. Top with the sauce and garnish with onion, cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings
All the vegetables have been left raw in this, but feel free to cook them if you like.
1 300 g package soft or silken tofu
4 tbsp (60 mL) white miso (shiro miso)
1 tbsp (15 mL) sugar
2 tbsp (30 mL) Dijon mustard
1/4 cup (60 mL) plain rice vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) grated fresh ginger
4 asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
1/2 cup (125 mL) raw corn kernels
4 red radishes, trimmed and quartered
1 large green onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp (5 mL) roasted sesame seeds
Carefully remove the tofu from the package and on paper towels or absorbent material to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Stir the miso, sugar and mustard together until smooth. Slowly stir in the vinegar, then ginger. Taste and add more vinegar or sugar to balance it to your taste.
Place the vegetables in a bowl. Cut tofu into 8 cubes and place over the vegetables. Top with the miso dressing, green onion and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings
2 tbsp (30 mL) unhulled raw sesame seeds
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) sea salt
1 300 g package soft or silken tofu
1 ripe Haas avocado
2 tbsp (30 mL) soy sauce
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) lemon zest
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) water
1 tsp (5 mL) roasted sesame oil
2 cups (500 mL) pea sprouts
1 large green onion, thinly sliced
Carefully remove the tofu from the package and on paper towels or absorbent material to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
For the gomasio, in a small dry frying pan over medium-low heat, roast the sesame seeds and salt, stirring frequently, until they are edging into burnt territory. Taste frequently to check. Remove to a plate to cool. Grind coarsely, leaving 1/4 of the sesame seeds whole.
Mix the soy sauce, lemon juice, zest, water, sugar and sesame oil. Tear the tofu into rough cubes. Peel and pit the avocado and cut into cubes. Spread the pea sprouts on a plate and top with the avocado and tofu. Drizzle with the dressing, sprinkle with the green onions, and half the gomasio. Serve the rest on the side.
Makes 2 servings
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