recipe: fried tofu
Jul. 13th, 2013 07:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hell yes it's time for some KNOWLEDGE
I want you all to appreciate how much pain I had to endure for these pictures, regardless of the fact they aren't very good :|c
moving on
you'll need:
- extra firm tofu
- oil
- large flat pan
- tongs
- cutting board
- sharp knife
- lots of paper towels
- god willing, a splatter shield
okay.
first off, you NEED extra firm, because otherwise the tofu will literally break down as you're cutting it and be an unfryable mess, and you DON'T WANT THAT. it should come in a little plastic tub, usually in a rectangle shape. this is preferable. if there's a tube and it's not holding it's shape when you open it, start over.
second,
1 tub thing = 1 - 2 people, unless the main protein isn't tofu.
2 tub things = 2 - 4 people
3 tub things = 4 - 6 people
and so on and so forth.
just be reasonable as far as tofu:other food ratios go. if you're making fried rice for six people, you might want only 2 tubs if the rice has a lot of ingredients in it; if you're cutting it small and want people to have a lot you'll probably want 3.
you should preferably be working with a plastic cutting board, because tofu is very liquid heavy and porous; if not, just work fast and don't leave it on the wooden cutting board after you've squeezed it and cut it.
(reasoning: wood is also very porous. porous things like to share flavours.)
oils: any are fine, really, from vegetable to olive to peanut etc, just keep in mind that it'll flavour the tofu slightly. make sure you have enough to put quite a bit in the pan.
1) open the packaging and drain the tofu. cutting a hole in the top and the bottom of the covering on top and leaning it over the sink is the ideal way. then, smack that puppy on your cutting board and get some paper towels.

you're going to want to put towels on the top and bottom and just lean onto it and push. if it starts to come apart under you, you're pushing too hard, but if you push just hard enough to feel it push back, you should be golden (unless u didn't get extra firm. shame on u)
2) cut that baby in half, lengthwise. get some more paper towels, and put them under, in between and on top of the tofu halves.

yeah das hot
make sure that you have it so the outside layer you just squoze on the inside, with the paper towel in the middle. this is important because the outside layer already lost most of the liquid stuck inside it, and it'll be easier to push out stuff bc of SCIENCE
3) cut the tofu into pieces!

I suggest 12 pieces, which'll make some pretty big tofu pieces. for your first fry, it's a good idea to do bigger so you know what to expect; these are pretty large, about two bites for people with mouths half the size of my giant gob.
btw if the knife is not sharp enough, it won't cut it cleanly, so make sure it IS and it's NOT serrated (like a bread knife or butter knife). if the cuts aren't clean, the tofu doesn't fry well, so please keep that in mind :|c
4) getchur pan ready, friend

your pan should be FLAT, not a pot or a wok, and preferably sheer on the bottom - no ridges, bumps, etc - bc the tofu will get stuck to the bottom and literally come apart halfway through your frying it. DON'T INFURIATE YOURSELF MY FRIEND.
pour the oil in, and don't be afraid to put in quite a bit. I usually go for "almost half of what I'm putting in" ie about half up the tofu piece. []- <--
turn the range on B E F O R E you put the tofu in. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT because otherwise 1) you won't be properly frying the first bunch 2) the tofu will stick to the bottom.

make sure that you have it kind of high? like NOT ON HIGH but more than medium.
5) WAIT UNTIL THE OIL IS HOT, BUT NOT BOILING. IT SHOULD NOT BE BUBBLING BEFORE YOU PUT THE TOFU IN, because that's too fucking hot and you'll hurt yourself and ruin your tofu. once the oil is hot enough that hovering your hand above the pan = the sensation of heat, start putting in the tofu.
6) ONLY PUT IN AS MANY AS YOU CAN WITHOUT ANY OF THEM TOUCHING EACH OTHER OR THE SIDES OF THE PAN.

this is important because once everything starts getting hot, the tofu will stick to each other (and sometimes the pan) and then it's INCREDIBLY difficult to flip them.
this is when they'll really start to cook, including hot oil popping and snapping and going EVERYWHERE. if you don't have a screen, you're going to be in a lot of pain and have a lot of cleanup.
(shh it's okay tho this is how I do it so don't feel bad if you do, just prepare yourself. you might want to lay some paper towels down around the range (NOT ON THE RANGE, ON THE COUNTER U SILLY) and don't wear anything nice or remotely ruinable.)
7) slowly the crust will start to come up the side; if you want really crunchy tofu, wait until it's about halfway up the side and flip it over using tongs.
here's a terrible picture of the half crust:

where you can vaguely see the colouration
flip it all and wait; it will fry much faster after the turning, so keep an eye on it.

here's a pic of all of it flipped with the crust showing!
8) when it's finished, put it on a plate with paper towels on it!

enjoyyyyyy
addendums:
==IF YOU'RE MAKING TWO OR MORE TUBS
- CHANGE THE FREAKIN OIL AFTER THE SECOND AT LEAST.
- once the oil gets skunky (and you will notice this; once it's fried for a while, the oil will change colour and start to get murky), stop putting in pieces or they'll start to taste weird.
- find a PREFERABLY CERAMIC coffee cup, something that can stand very hot oil, and CAREFULLY pour it into the cup
- pour in more oil and start again! heat it up until it's warm and you can fry again!
- keep the oil in the cup until it's cool enough to properly dispose of!
==IF YOU WANT TO PUT THE TOFU INTO A DISH (you know instead of eating it straight with sauce mmm finger food)
- fry the tofu
- put the tofu aside
- make whatever else you're making
- add in tofu for a VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, especially if there's a lot of sauce, unless you want to fry it crunchy and then make it soft again anyways??
- serve
==IF YOU WANT TO MAKE FLAVOURED TOFU listen carefully:
- squeeze out the tofu
- put it in a marinade
- leave in marinade for reasonable amount of time in regards to level of flavour and time of cooking
- SQUEEZE OUT AGAIN
the tofu is very porous and will keep the flavour; you DO NOT want all that liquid in the hot oil. (unless you like unbelievable pain and misery? up to you)
if u have any questions let me know
I want you all to appreciate how much pain I had to endure for these pictures, regardless of the fact they aren't very good :|c
moving on
you'll need:
- extra firm tofu
- oil
- large flat pan
- tongs
- cutting board
- sharp knife
- lots of paper towels
- god willing, a splatter shield
okay.
first off, you NEED extra firm, because otherwise the tofu will literally break down as you're cutting it and be an unfryable mess, and you DON'T WANT THAT. it should come in a little plastic tub, usually in a rectangle shape. this is preferable. if there's a tube and it's not holding it's shape when you open it, start over.
second,
1 tub thing = 1 - 2 people, unless the main protein isn't tofu.
2 tub things = 2 - 4 people
3 tub things = 4 - 6 people
and so on and so forth.
just be reasonable as far as tofu:other food ratios go. if you're making fried rice for six people, you might want only 2 tubs if the rice has a lot of ingredients in it; if you're cutting it small and want people to have a lot you'll probably want 3.
you should preferably be working with a plastic cutting board, because tofu is very liquid heavy and porous; if not, just work fast and don't leave it on the wooden cutting board after you've squeezed it and cut it.
(reasoning: wood is also very porous. porous things like to share flavours.)
oils: any are fine, really, from vegetable to olive to peanut etc, just keep in mind that it'll flavour the tofu slightly. make sure you have enough to put quite a bit in the pan.
1) open the packaging and drain the tofu. cutting a hole in the top and the bottom of the covering on top and leaning it over the sink is the ideal way. then, smack that puppy on your cutting board and get some paper towels.

you're going to want to put towels on the top and bottom and just lean onto it and push. if it starts to come apart under you, you're pushing too hard, but if you push just hard enough to feel it push back, you should be golden (unless u didn't get extra firm. shame on u)
2) cut that baby in half, lengthwise. get some more paper towels, and put them under, in between and on top of the tofu halves.

yeah das hot
make sure that you have it so the outside layer you just squoze on the inside, with the paper towel in the middle. this is important because the outside layer already lost most of the liquid stuck inside it, and it'll be easier to push out stuff bc of SCIENCE
3) cut the tofu into pieces!

I suggest 12 pieces, which'll make some pretty big tofu pieces. for your first fry, it's a good idea to do bigger so you know what to expect; these are pretty large, about two bites for people with mouths half the size of my giant gob.
btw if the knife is not sharp enough, it won't cut it cleanly, so make sure it IS and it's NOT serrated (like a bread knife or butter knife). if the cuts aren't clean, the tofu doesn't fry well, so please keep that in mind :|c
4) getchur pan ready, friend

your pan should be FLAT, not a pot or a wok, and preferably sheer on the bottom - no ridges, bumps, etc - bc the tofu will get stuck to the bottom and literally come apart halfway through your frying it. DON'T INFURIATE YOURSELF MY FRIEND.
pour the oil in, and don't be afraid to put in quite a bit. I usually go for "almost half of what I'm putting in" ie about half up the tofu piece. []- <--
turn the range on B E F O R E you put the tofu in. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT because otherwise 1) you won't be properly frying the first bunch 2) the tofu will stick to the bottom.

make sure that you have it kind of high? like NOT ON HIGH but more than medium.
5) WAIT UNTIL THE OIL IS HOT, BUT NOT BOILING. IT SHOULD NOT BE BUBBLING BEFORE YOU PUT THE TOFU IN, because that's too fucking hot and you'll hurt yourself and ruin your tofu. once the oil is hot enough that hovering your hand above the pan = the sensation of heat, start putting in the tofu.
6) ONLY PUT IN AS MANY AS YOU CAN WITHOUT ANY OF THEM TOUCHING EACH OTHER OR THE SIDES OF THE PAN.

this is important because once everything starts getting hot, the tofu will stick to each other (and sometimes the pan) and then it's INCREDIBLY difficult to flip them.
this is when they'll really start to cook, including hot oil popping and snapping and going EVERYWHERE. if you don't have a screen, you're going to be in a lot of pain and have a lot of cleanup.
(shh it's okay tho this is how I do it so don't feel bad if you do, just prepare yourself. you might want to lay some paper towels down around the range (NOT ON THE RANGE, ON THE COUNTER U SILLY) and don't wear anything nice or remotely ruinable.)
7) slowly the crust will start to come up the side; if you want really crunchy tofu, wait until it's about halfway up the side and flip it over using tongs.
here's a terrible picture of the half crust:

where you can vaguely see the colouration
flip it all and wait; it will fry much faster after the turning, so keep an eye on it.

here's a pic of all of it flipped with the crust showing!
8) when it's finished, put it on a plate with paper towels on it!

enjoyyyyyy
addendums:
==IF YOU'RE MAKING TWO OR MORE TUBS
- CHANGE THE FREAKIN OIL AFTER THE SECOND AT LEAST.
- once the oil gets skunky (and you will notice this; once it's fried for a while, the oil will change colour and start to get murky), stop putting in pieces or they'll start to taste weird.
- find a PREFERABLY CERAMIC coffee cup, something that can stand very hot oil, and CAREFULLY pour it into the cup
- pour in more oil and start again! heat it up until it's warm and you can fry again!
- keep the oil in the cup until it's cool enough to properly dispose of!
==IF YOU WANT TO PUT THE TOFU INTO A DISH (you know instead of eating it straight with sauce mmm finger food)
- fry the tofu
- put the tofu aside
- make whatever else you're making
- add in tofu for a VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, especially if there's a lot of sauce, unless you want to fry it crunchy and then make it soft again anyways??
- serve
==IF YOU WANT TO MAKE FLAVOURED TOFU listen carefully:
- squeeze out the tofu
- put it in a marinade
- leave in marinade for reasonable amount of time in regards to level of flavour and time of cooking
- SQUEEZE OUT AGAIN
the tofu is very porous and will keep the flavour; you DO NOT want all that liquid in the hot oil. (unless you like unbelievable pain and misery? up to you)
if u have any questions let me know