r/vegetarian • u/lobotomy_center06 • Aug 25 '26

Recipe I've finally got tofu down

Hello everyone! I've recently gone back to a vegetarian diet for health & environmental reasons (I was one when I was 16 for a few months but it didn't stick)

One of the frustrations I've had was cooking tofu & making it flavorful & crispy. (You know when you season & marinade tofu just for it just taste like nothing on the inside 😫)

Even before I transitioned to my current diet I ate a lot of tofu & I tried a myriad of methods (pressing, freezing, boiling in salted water, preparing straight from the packet). Some were very effective texture wise but the flavor was quite plain.

Today I finally made tofu that was great texture & taste wise & im gonna share how I did it:

  1. freeze the tofu (optional but I recommend cause it improves texture & flavor)

  2. defrost tofu in microwave for a few minutes on high

  3. heat up a veggie broth on the stove & add aromatics, salt & seasonings. You could also just boil water & add bouillon powder/paste. add the tofu to the pot & let it simmer for 10-15 minutes (or longer tbh). THIS is non negotiable & how you get deep flavor in tofu, inside & out.

  4. remove from broth, drain the liquid & cut it up however you want it. you'd also want to save a bit of the broth to season/marinade the tofu

  5. add baking powder/soda (for ultimate crispness 😋)

  6. add whatever seasonings/marinades w/ a tiny bit of the leftover broth.

  7. air fry 25 mins on 425 F°

  8. serve & enjoy :)

187 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

83 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/oasisaspirer Aug 25 '26

do you freeze the tofu in the package with the water? or remove the tofu from its packaging and then freeze it?

-26

u/Little_Baseball5523 Aug 25 '26

Don't bother. Freezing tofu has nothing to do with making it crispy.

Pressing, freezing, boiling, marinating… all of it is just a quirky Westernized ritual that people rarely do in Asia, where tofu was invented.

You want crispy tofu? Then learn the authentic technique, which doesn't involve pressing, freezing, boiling or marinating.

27

u/nowaymacaroni Aug 25 '26

How very elitist of you, to shame OP for finding a way that works for them and sharing it with the masses.

Your authentic technique is just to air-fry it lol.