Dry-Fry Tofu

My first attempt at cooking (and eating) tofu went surprisingly well! I told the kids it was chicken and they ate the whole meal. This recipe is how to prepare the tofu for use in recipes. If you do not do this first it will come out soggy.


Tofu Dry-fry


Ingredients:


1 16 ounce brick of extra-firm tofu for every four people.


Directions:


Drain the tofu and cut it so that your pieces are a half an inch thick. For most recipes, you will want to then cut it into triangles, but some recipes call for strips. I used strips for my stir fry. Put the tofu pieces between two absorbent cloth napkins or woven dish towels (NOT terry cloth) and gently press, enough to get a lot of water out but not hard enough to squish it. 


Use a Teflon or well-seasoned cast-iron pan at medium heat on an electric range, low to medium-low on a gas range. Slow cooking is the key to keeping the tofu from sticking to the Teflon and insures that the water has time to evaporate out before the outside is browned. Do NOT use oil. Place your tofu in the pan leaving room around pieces. You may need to fry a few batches to give it enough room. 


As the tofu cooks, use a spatula to frequently press down on each piece. You will see the water seeping out and sizzling in the pan. Once the bottom sides are very firm and golden in color, flip the tofu pieces and fry the other side, again frequently pressing each piece with a spatula. When they are golden and firm on both sides, they are done.

Voila....finished product. 

This is now ready for any recipe. I used it in the tofu stir fry recipe HERE.