Pressed Tofu and a New Delicious Recipe with Spicy Tomato Peanut Sauce

I’ve been vegetarian for almost 40 years. In all that time you would think that I would have learned to cook tofu properly in the first year or so right?
Nope, just learned how a few weeks ago. As they say, better late than never.
I’m talking about tofu pressing here. I always placed my tofu slices between two plates or cutting boards and squeezed them a little, but all that happened was that the tofu flattened and broke apart.
I could never understand how it could be so good in restaurants, because no matter how I tried, my tofu wasn't as good.
Then I happened upon an article about tofu pressing and learned that you should begin by wiping off excess water from your your tofu-block with a cloth, wrap in another cloth and place under something heavy for at least half an hour.
I tried that and couldn’t believe how much water came out of it, or how it changed the consistency. The tofu was now chewy, dense and delicious. It crisped easier when I cooked it too. A life changing cooking experience!
It worked well placing the tofu under a tray with heavy books over it, but it made my counter full of water; so after this one experience I ordered a tofu press which makes the whole process a lot easier and less messy. This is an investment I really recommend.

I’ll leave you with my first ever official recipe with properly pressed tofu!

Extra firm tofu pressed for at least 30 minutes

Red Onion

Kidney Beans

Tomato Sauce

Natural Peanut Butter

Fresh Cilantro

Spices,

Hot Indian Chili

Cumin

Jalapeno

Salt (I usually salt at the table and not during the cooking process.)

Black Pepper

Begin by rinsing the kidney beans, then place them in a pot with a little water, tomato sauce and spices.
Let this boil up and cook on its own while you prepare the tofu.
Cut your pressed tofu into bite size pieces.
Chop the onion and sauté them in peanut oil until they’re soft and begin to brown just a bit. Then take them out and leave aside for now, add some more peanut oil to your frying pan and add the tofu.
Fry the pieces until they’re slightly browned on each side and then put the onion back in and let this cook together on low to medium heat.

While the tofu and onion cooks, add peanut butter to the pot with the kidney beans and stir it thoroughly. Let it simmer for a few minutes and see how it looks, you should have a saucy mix. Add more tomato sauce if it gets too thick. When you like the consistency, pour it over your tofu and stir.

Serve with a glass of Pino Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.

To compare tofu pressed between plates, check out this recipe and look at the photo. You can actually see the difference in the picture. https://bit.ly/2JmXstd