Téfou Tofu!

The day is here! i`m making red curry tofu stir fry tonight. I wasn't too sure what I was doing but I was told that tofu should be marinated to take on flavour. So I took the red curry sauce (from a can - not time yet to learn to make it from scratch) and diced the tofu in cubes and put it in the fridge overnight. WELL I might have over marinated and now my tofu will probably be super spicy.

This is what I learned about Tofu:

Marinating

Marinating tofu is one of the many ways of flavoring it. When a recipe instructs you to marinate tofu and it does not tell you the tofu texture or hardness to use, we recommend using a regular firm or extra-firm tofu. If you are marinating for less than one hour, it can be done at room temperature covered with wax paper, paper towels, or a towel. However, for longer periods of time, marinating should be done in a tightly-covered container in the refrigerator to prevent bacterial growth and spoilage.

Frozen and thawed tofu absorbs marinades faster than unfrozen tofu. In fact, if the marinade is thin, you may only need to quickly dip the tofu in the sauce on each side for it to be fully absorbed into the tofu. However, if the marinade is thick, the tofu may still require several hours or even overnight to absorb the marinade fully.

Cooking

Tofu can be mashed, blended, whipped, ground, crumbled, marinated, simmered, steamed, baked, broiled, sautéed, barbecued, fried, or deep-fried. Basically, you can do anything to it. Use your imagination and creativity. Remember, tofu has very little flavor of its own, and it will pick up the flavors of the ingredients it is cooked with. Also remember that tofu can be so soft and creamy that it melts away in the dish, or so firm and leathery that it takes a bit of chewing. Choose your flavors and textures.

Tofu may not only look like a sponge, but in some cases it actually acts like a sponge. If you have gone through some time and effort to remove the water from your tofu (i.e., to make it firmer or to maximize the flavor of a marinade), don't put it back in water or other liquids such as soup stocks. The tofu "sponge" will absorb liquid and drastically dilute the marinade and return the tofu's firmness to its original state.

In a soup or stew, you can "lock-in" the flavor of a marinated tofu by first cooking it with a little oil. Deep frying, pan frying, or covering with a non-stick cooking spray and broiling are all methods that may be used. If this locking-in process is skipped, the tofu's flavors will have a tendency to be leached out by the soup or stew broth.
And this is how i`m going to cook it tonight - taken from a tofu stir fry recipe:

In a wok or deep sided fry pan, heat to medium-hot, 1-2 TBS of good quality oil (canola or olive oil work well).
Remove tofu from marinade and stir-fry for 2 minutes(save marinade for sauce). Remove tofu and set aside.
Stir-fry veggies for 3-4 minutes. . Add marinade and bring liquid to a boil.

Here is a song to enjoy while you read my blog:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjFaenf1T-Y
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home