Comment on 2022 was a bleak year 😢

• salvaria@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  As a non-vegan who has replaced most chicken with tofu, I’d be glad to tell you some of what I’ve learned! Others can definitely chime in because I’m new to this as well and might have better suggestions:

  1. Always use extra firm tofu. Since tofu naturally has a sort of eggy consistency, getting a denser product leads to a more meaty mouth feel.
  2. You need a tofu press. Along with getting water out of the tofu, it helps make the tofu more dense, leading to better texture as well. I’m glad to recommend the one I use if need be :) The longer time you press it, the more dense it gets.
  3. I used an air fryer recipe to start my journey to prepare it. I’ve moved on to making some of my own adjustments as well:

  • in this recipe, they tell you to mix everything together into a paste and then try to fold the tofu pieces in to get them coated. I have had a better time placing the tofu pieces, oil, and soy sauce into a liquid-tight container with a lid, shaking it to coat everything in the liquid, then opening the lid and adding the drys, then closing and shaking again to coat.
  • I add more seasonings like onion powder, paprika and MSG to help it taste more meaty. I’ll also add a little corn starch to help the coating be a little more crispy.

  4. I use the above pieces as a 1:1 replacement for any recipes calling for chicken pieces, like pastas. I really think tofu works best in smaller pieces like this, as the mouth feel seems about the same as small chicken pieces. I do not recommend trying to use tofu the same as an entire chicken breast since the texture and taste differences will be very noticable.
  5. This tofu fajitas recipe is what I used to help transition my SO and I over to eating more tofu.

  Please let me know if I can provide more info!

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  • Allero@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I’m glad to recommend the one I use if need be

    Please do! I never pressed tofu before, only ate it as is, and yes, it isn’t dense enough to my taste indeed.

    Looked up the air fryer recipe, nutritional yeast sounds like an obvious thing I didn’t try! Also, as mentioned in a different response, onion powder is an obvious thing I didn’t add.

    Will also look into fajitas. Thanks!

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    • salvaria@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      For sure! We use the this press. I like it because I can keep it in the fridge for the day while it presses for dinner, and the liquid is contained in the unit.

      Hope this helps! :)

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      • Allero@lemmy.today ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        That’s some serious advertising for a plastic container with extra steps 😄

        Will look into it, though!

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• cloudskater@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  I’ll admit I don’t know how to best make it resemble anything ^^ When I went vegan I came to realize that most of the flavour of meat is in the seasoning, but I never cared if the tofu or whatever actually resembled the meat it was seasoned like.

  Now you may ask how to season it properly, and I’d love to tell you, but I’m such a new cook that I can’t. Names of spices elude me, which is part of the reason I need strict recipes to remember how to do shit. I enjoy cooking, I just can’t remember any of it lmao

  Tldr: I’d love to help you, but you happened to ask the most useless person for that advice hahaha I’m sorry

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  • Allero@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    It’s fine lol, most of the time I use something like the mysterious “chicken spices” or something :D

    But what you did tell me confirms some of my own insights. Thank you!

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• Zoomboingding@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  I cut my tofu into tiny cubes and air fry them. I’ll add them into things like udon or stir fry, which has its own seasoning. I haven’t tried seasoning the tofu directly. But considering you’re non-vegan, you could go with chicken bullion and you’d get most of the way there. Otherwise, a healthy amount of garlic and onion powder will do you well, maybe some beer can chicken spice.

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  • Allero@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Thanks! Didn’t try garlic and onion, despite it being an obvious choice!

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• swampdownloader@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Not a vegan but Butler’s brand soy curls in a stir fry or with pasta or whatever is a very tasty substitution.

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  • Allero@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I’ll see if I can get something of the kind in my area. Thanks!

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