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Ask the Expert: Maggie Gilbert
What is tofu? – UHC TV
I got a question from someone who said their doctor is trying to get them to eat more plant-based protein and specifically, tofu. So, what is tofu anyway? Tofu is a soy-based protein. I call it kind of a cheese; it’s not cheese, but it’s made from soybeans where the beans are made into a soymilk. The milk has curds and whey – kind of like cheese would. Then the whey is crushed down to make the tofu. It’s a block that’s springy.
Tofu comes in a number of varieties – from very soft, which is often called “silken.” If you’ve seen that word on a package of tofu, it means softer. You could use it in scrambled eggs, for example. I’ve seen people use it as scrambled eggs if they’re vegan, for example, where they don’t eat any eggs. You can put a little mustard and salt and pepper and actually scramble it in a pan, and you get scrambled eggs without eggs. You could put it in a smoothie. There’s lots of other uses for it.
By the way, I should mention that tofu is very high in protein, which is why it makes a very nice substitute for meat. There are those who don’t want to think of it as a substitute for anything. It’s something to eat in and of itself.
It takes a little getting used to if you haven’t tried it, but it’s a really cool thing to play around with. I’ve talked about the soft. The other version of tofu is firm, and you can get firm and you can get extra firm.
I have some of the extra firm here. When you open a package of tofu, it might have a lot of liquid. I’ve already drained that off. I just poured it into my sink because you really don’t want to use the liquid particularly.
The block was a little bigger but I’ve already sliced it. I took the block out and I just patted it dry with paper towels so it will be nice and firm – the firmer the better. There are even little gizmos you can get that press your tofu to get it really, really dry so that all the liquid’s out. With the liquid in there it’s harder to cook and brown, just like a lot of other things. You want it dried off as much as possible.
You can see this is really firm. It’s a little springy in texture, and there’s lots and lots of interesting ways to cook it. One way that’s really easy, and I’m just going to show you how easy this is to slice. It just slices beautifully.
You slice a couple like that (holds up 1/2-inch slabs). Then you can marinade it. A really fun one is just a little bit of oil and soy sauce, and maybe a little pepper and other kinds of seasoning. Using rice wine vinegar would be a fun one. You can do that – make sure it has a little oil on it.
The way I cooked it is, I have a grill pan, which looks like this. It has these ridges on it. It’s great for obviously chicken and burgers and stuff like that too. This worked really great for the tofu. You certainly don’t have to run out and buy a grill pan if you want to cook tofu. It would work just fine in a regular skillet – that’s no problem.
I did it that way so you’ll see. This is what it looked like after it was sautéed. You can see it has these little grill marks on it. I put a little oil and soy sauce on this one.
I would serve this over a salad. Here, I have greens that I would toss in a little dressing. Or I would serve it over rice, with maybe some vegetables – kind of an Asian-inspired thing.
You could also cube tofu and put it in a stir fry instead of chicken, beef, or shrimp. You can also do it that way.
A friend gave me a really great idea. After you’ve sauté it and it looks like this (holds up sautéed tofu slices), add barbecue sauce and it’s just amazing. You put in the barbecue sauce, let it simmer for a minute and mingle all the flavors, and you have a really delicious dinner.
The thing about tofu is that it really takes on the flavor that you give it. It doesn’t have much flavor at all by itself. Whatever you’re adding is going to do wonders for tofu. Whether you’re doing Asian-inspired things or this barbecue sauce idea, I think it’s just awesome. It’s great.
The texture might take a little getting used to, but it’s very nutritious, very high in protein. It’s a great thing to work into your diet if you want to or feel you want to try it. You can buy it soft. You can buy it firm – lots of fun recipes out there to try. I’d say, give it a shot and see what you think!
Ask the Expert
How to Use Tofu
Question: My doctor says I should eat more plant protein like tofu. How do I use tofu?
Answer from: Maggie Gilbert, cooking expert
Tofu -- a good substitute for meat -- is anything but bland if you know how to handle it. Cooking expert Maggie Gilbert shares secrets to making tofu a great-tasting healthy addition to any diet.
The content of these videos is for information only and is not intended to be medical advice. Refer to your health plan benefit guide for coverage details, and consult with your doctor to determine what is best for you.
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