Too Good To Be Tofu: The Beauty Of Being A Blank Canvas

This plant-based protein may be the main character of many dishes, but it can be met behind the scenes, too. Let’s check out what a blank canvas like tofu can turn into.

One underappreciated protein that’s plant-based? Tofu. Be it my shortlist of greens, or its quiet presence—like that extra character you forget to name, yet remembers by feeling. As if by design, it’s such character that has my heart just as how tofu has my hunger. Something about this bland block awakens my otherwise blasé interest, and here I am, about to strain out what beauty of being a blank canvas is. It’s simply too good to be tofu.

Becoming tofu

According to the ancient process to producing this blank canvas, first, dry your soybeans upon wash. Soak them in water—overnight, preferably, as it softens them for processing. Then off to a wet grind with water for a slurry consistency. The important bit here is to boil it. It separates the mixture into soy milk and soy pulp, or okara, in this case. Cheesecloth or fine-mesh filter is the ticket to strain while separating your soy milk from the okara—which can be used in other recipes.

Coagulant should be added to the warm soy milk so as to make it curdle. Though you do have to keep an eye on which or what coagulant to cast, for the different types affect the nutritional content, not to mention the final texture of your tofu. Leave the mixture to set after the agent.

Carefully transfer the curd into a cloth-lined mould, this is where the heavy weight strides in. Exercised to press out the excess whey, strengthening your curds into a soft block. The longer it’s pressed, the tougher the result. It’s both why and where silken tofu’s moisture is stored as it needs none of this training.

Once set, cool your tofu in water to solidify before tucking it away to case and chill.

Meet tofu, why I keep coming back to it

Tofu isn’t uncommon, in fact, it’s everywhere. Soups, stews, stirs, and even salads; when I said that tofu is underappreciated—it’s less about its quiet existence, more about the quiet it’s met with. This soy sidekick has always played the main character spotlit on a plate. Think stir-fries where it holds its post against crisp greens, or in a steaming session under the lid, composed as ever. In kitchens across Asia, tofu isn’t really one to stay, nor does it demand attention. Moving from table to table, it’s a wanderer who takes that one encounter, to leave warmth in its wake.

For all its starring roles and quiet stealth, even tofu can tire of its calm simplicity. Perhaps there ferments a muted spark for something brilliant while unseen by the spotlight. This is where the blank canvas becomes its own art.

As a base—creamy, binding, calm

Silken tofu, with its smooth, custard-like body, slips delicately as a dairy substitute. Stepping in where yogurt or milk couldn’t, silken tofu dresses fruit and ice in something sleek, while soft in structure. Out of that blend, and you have a smoothy or shake lush in texture, locked in protein. Its makeup compasses as tofu mayonnaise as well. On which blending vinegar, mustard, and oil altogether with the soft square, there you have a soy whip to spread.

Sinking into soups—the ever so hearty sauna to indulge in. Slip in the soft stuff, whether it spicy sundubu-jjigae or mirthful miso, it’s warmth embraced by steadying spoonful. Folded to bind as a base, tofu acts as the gentle darling in desserts, too. Its custard-like body yields to lush sweets like cheesecake, pudding, and mousses; with sugar alongside vanilla, tofu turns into a base blanketing your vegan pastry.

For shape, softness, and structure

Dough you know? Tofu bread is a thing in Japan and Taiwan, where one might use butter or milk, tofu slips in to hold the crumb without weighing it down. Pancakes and or waffles, tofu too, plays its part in weaving moisture through the mix. Packing your hotcakes with protein, tofu presses a chew to the fluff. Plus, tofu aerates. Folding the blank canvas in tempura batter, it crispens the edges while leaving the crumb supple.

Erupting as a natural emulsifier, mapo tofu with minced meat is one of the many Chinese wok wonders. Tofu absorbs the flavours just as it amplifies the protein with your minced meats. Stirring wrinkled firm tofu with mushrooms or chives or any fillings you fancy draws out a juiciness that’s light to bite, but mouthful to imbibe.

The last curd

Tofu, when treated as an ingredient rather than a main act, behaves similarly to a language. Flowing like a filler, firm as a base, while silken to shake up and swirl. Sitting as the reason to why chefs utilising this bean block in tasting menus to carry the scents, and a consistency control. It’s truly the perfect blank canvas to create one’s own gustation art with.