Latest news with #tofu
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Spiced aubergines and chicken lettuce cups: Millie Tsukagoshi Lagares' recipes for Japanese-style midweek meals
Anyone who's spent time in Japan will know the hold that Kewpie roasted sesame dressing has on local palates. Creamy, slightly tangy, savoury, full of roasted flavours and a little sweet, it's the ideal dressing for absolutely anything. It comes in squeezy bottles and is now widely available in larger supermarkets, but I've created my own version here in case you can't find it. These lettuce cups make a fresh and crunchy snack that serves as a vessel for tender chicken and whatever herbs you have in the fridge. But first, a Japanified rendition of the Chinese dish mapo tofu, only more savoury and salty, and with a slightly thicker sauce. It's a strong contender for weekly dinner rotations, depending on what you have in your fridge, of course. I love the combination of pork mince and aubergine, but this also works well with tofu. You can even make it vegetarian or vegan by omitting the meat and using tofu or vegan mince and substituting vegetable stock powder. It's a little spicy, very savoury and super-saucy, so is perfect for topping steamed rice and eating with a spoon. Negi is a type of Japanese spring onion – if you can find them, use them instead of the spring onion. Doubanjiang, also called fermented chilli bean paste or spicy bean paste, is a fiery, savoury paste made from fermented broad beans. You can find it in Asian food stores and in many supermarkets. Prep 15 min Cook 35 min Serves 4 1 tbsp neutral oil, such as rapeseed or sunflower, plus extra as needed100g pork mince 4 small aubergines, or 100g firm tofu, cut into cubes1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated2cm fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated½ spring onion, or ½ negi, finely sliced1 tsp cornflour1 tsp toasted sesame oil Steamed rice, to serve For the sauce1 tbsp brown miso 1½ tbsp doubanjiang 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp powdered chicken stock, or vegetable stock For the sauce, put the miso, doubanjiang, soy sauce, sugar and stock powder in a bowl, add 200ml water, mix well and set aside. Put the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and, once it's hot, add the pork mince and cook, stirring to break it up, for about five minutes, until the fat has rendered out and the meat is browned and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a plate, leaving the oil behind in the pan. Add the aubergine to the pan (and a touch more oil, if need be) and cook gently, turning often, for six to eight minutes, until browned all over and meltingly tender. Return the pork to the pan, add the garlic and ginger, then cook, stirring gently so as not to break up the aubergines, for two to three minutes, until fragrant. Stir in the sauce mixture, leave to simmer for two to three minutes, then add the spring onion and cook for five minutes more, until the sauce has reduced. Mix the cornflour with two tablespoons of water and tip into the pan, mixing gently. Simmer for two to three minutes, until the sauce thickens, then stir in the sesame oil. Serve immediately alongside a pile of steamed rice. For the chicken, I've used a microwave for speed – you'll be surprised at just how much moisture the meat retains when it's cooked this way, and that it cooks in mere minutes. For those without a microwave, poach it instead, or use leftover roast or rotisserie chicken. Prep 10 min Cook 20 min Serves 2 as a snack 100g chicken breast Pinch of salt 1 tbsp sake ½ cucumber, julienned1 tbsp gari (pickled ginger), or peeled and very finely sliced fresh root ginger1 butterhead lettuce For the dressing2 tbsp mayonnaise 1½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds, plus extra to serve 1 tsp neutral oil, such as rapeseed or sunflower1 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp water To serve (all optional)1 handful fresh coriander leaves, or other herbs, roughly chopped2 spring onions, finely sliced Slice the chicken lengthways into two long strips and put these on a microwave-safe plate. Season with the salt and sake, then cover with clingfilm and microwave at 160W for two and a half to three minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the microwave and, once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it with a fork. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk. (This will make more dressing than you need here, but it keeps well in the fridge for a few days, so enjoy the rest with just about any salad.) Mix the shredded chicken with three to four tablespoons of the dressing, the cucumber and ginger. Separate the lettuce into leaves to make cups and fill them with the chicken mixture. Serve topped with coriander, spring onions and extra toasted sesame seeds, if you like. These recipes are edited extracts from Umai: Recipes From a Japanese Home Kitchen, by Millie Tsukagoshi Lagares, published by Quadrille at £27. To order a copy for £24.30, go to
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Tofu is an affordable, high-protein food that can bring down your grocery bill. Here's how to cook it, according to a recipe developer
Tofu was a mystery for Carleigh Bodrug the first time she ate it. She'd already been making the swap to a plant-based diet, but it wasn't the first ingredient she added to her day-to-day recipes. "Tofu took me a while to like or even try. I was so intimidated and almost scared of it because it just looks like, you know, a slab of white nothingness," the Barrie, Ont.-based recipe developer and New York Times bestselling cookbook author remembers. "Really, that's where I think that a lot of people get intimidated with tofu." She made do that first meal: "I just cut up the tofu and put it in a stir-fry or something," she tells Yahoo Canada. Still, she knew making the most out of a block of tofu would take a bit more finesse. After that first underwhelming stir-fry, Bodrug tried again — and again — until she figured out ways to make tofu shine, paving the way for her devoted online fanbase to ditch any dusty stereotypes about tofu being a vegetarian oddity in the process. Her dedication stemmed from the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet, but she's quick to add that building meals around tofu also helped her budget. After you start experimenting, there's just so many amazing ways to prepare it and make it taste amazing. So it really went from this food that I was scared to eat to now something that I have in my diet probably every single Bodrug For those looking to stretch their grocery dollars without sacrificing their protein goals, Bodrug says reaching for tofu is a foolproof move. Luckily, she's here to share tips and tricks so those new to the ingredient don't have to make the same mistakes she did. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carleigh Bodrug (@plantyou) Originating in China more than 2,000 years ago, tofu is a protein-dense food made from the curds of coagulated soy milk. Sometimes called "bean curd" (most often in vintage vegetarian recipes or Asian products translated to English), tofu typically comes packed in water and can be found in most grocery store produce sections. Other times, vacuum-packed varieties that are shelf-stable can be found in the natural foods section, but the uses and nutritional profile for either is nearly identical. A traditional food in many East and Southeast Asian cuisines, tofu is low in calories and carbs, but rich in protein, calcium and vitamins. It comes in a few standard varieties, ranging from extra-firm, firm, medium and soft or silken. Extra-firm tofu has a texture somewhat reminiscent of feta cheese fresh out of the package, while soft or silken tofu is more custard-like in texture. Pressing the water out of tofu will improve its texture and flavour. Tofu can be added to bases like rice noodles to create flavourful dishes such as pad Thai or a noodle-based stir-fry. Then there's smoked tofu, a precooked, ready-to-eat product that has a similar texture to chicken and, you guessed it, a smoky flavour profile. Try it on top of summer salads or over your favourite noodle dishes, either quickly reheated or cold from the package, instead of a possibly-pricier rotisserie chicken. The amount of water — a natural part of the production process — that remains in the final product determines which variety tofu will become: Soft tofu contains more water than extra-firm, creating the former's soft-set, pudding-y texture. Bodrug mentions that soft tofu is an easy candidate for dairy-free desserts. Tofu doesn't necessarily have to stay in its block-shape form — try crumbling it to resemble ground meat You can also blend tofu to replace feta cheese in pasta or even use it to create an Alfredo sauce Consider using it in desserts like pudding or cheesecake, or even reach for tofu as an egg replacement "It took a while for me to learn that you have to visualize tofu as a vehicle for flavour, much like somebody who eats animal products wouldn't just eat a plain, unseasoned chicken breast," says Bodrug. She adds tofu is a waiting-in-the-wings ingredient ready to replace a roster of costly items on your grocery list. Bodrug has a vegan take on the TikTok-viral feta pasta where tofu takes the starring role. She also explains tofu and sunflower seeds blended with nutritional yeast, garlic and spices can stand in for higher-ticket dairy items to make an Alfredo sauce or the Béchamel layer of lasagna. More dairy dupes can come from soft tofu, which is the base of many vegan pudding recipes, blended with things like cocoa powder and maple syrup. It can also replace eggs in many baking recipes, provided the egg is used for moisture and binding (think quick breads or brownies). Bodrug adds soft tofu makes the perfect base for a cheaper, dairy-free cheesecake, too. For comparison, buying enough name-brand cream cheese to make a traditional cheesecake could cost as much as $18 versus spending around $9 on a tofu-based cheesecake. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carleigh Bodrug (@plantyou) And as eggs continue to be an online shorthand for the rising cost of living, Bodrug is quick to add tofu can be called upon for a different type of morning scramble: "We'll often make a tofu scramble in place of scrambled eggs. So that just involves literally scrambling your tofu with the back of the fork, ... adding it to a pan with some nutritional yeast, a pinch of turmeric, salt, veggies and cooking that up. It makes a great breakfast replacement if you're looking to replace scrambled eggs," she suggests. If you season tofu similar to how you prepare meat, you can tofu-ify pretty much any dish For instance, grating tofu into shreds can replace the ground meat that's used in many recipes Throwing cubes of tofu into an air fryer with oil and seasonings can also be a quick protein topper for salad or noodles "I always tell people to think about what they love about their favourite meat dishes. I used to be a huge fan of barbecue wings or barbecue chicken and ground meat in pasta sauce," says Bodrug. "When you think about it, what you actually like about those things is typically the flavourings, which is the spices, the seasonings and the sauces. So when you think about tofu, you can season, sauce and make it so flavourful using those same seasonings that you already love." Bodrug says cooking tofu is the key to unlocking its potential, so skip eating it raw from the package. She also often cubes it up, throws it in the air fryer with some oil and then slathers it in sauce. "If you grate tofu, it mimics almost a ground meat consistency," Bodrug advises, explaining she loves swapping ground beef for tofu on taco night with her favourite taco kit. Below, try a recipe to learn more about how she does it. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carleigh Bodrug (@plantyou) Pre-heat the oven to 375°F Grate a block of extra-firm tofu on the wide holes of a box grater, or crumble the tofu into a form similar to ground meat Combine a couple tablespoons of oil and the taco kit spice mix in a large bowl Add the shredded tofu to the large bowl and toss until the shreds are evenly coated Spread the now-coated shredded tofu onto a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes Fill tacos and top as desired Now the only question: Hard or soft tortillas? "Tofu is a fabulous budget item. It packs in a lot of protein," adds Bodrug. "I'd say the average cost at a grocery store for a block of extra for a tofu might be $3.50: You're just getting a big bang for your buck, a lot of protein in there for a much-reduced cost in comparison to animal products. "I would tell people to don't be afraid to get experimental in the kitchen with tofu, because I can guarantee that you're going to come upon a recipe or a texture or type of tofu that you like, because there's so many different ways to prepare it."
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
How Zuhaymee's hunt for halal tofu sparked soybean biz
Mie Soya Enterprise owner Zuhaymee Mustapa and wife Nor Aza Jais with a selection of products made at their factory in Sikamat, Seremban. (Bernama pic) SEREMBAN : When he experienced difficulty obtaining halal soy-based products, one former soldier decided to start producing them himself 30 years ago. Zuhaymee Mustapa, 56, said his concerns over the hygiene and preparation of commercially sold products inspired him to come up with a trusted option for consumers, especially Muslims. 'Back then, it was quite hard to find soy products made by Muslims. I thought it would be great to start something that focused on quality, so the products would have a unique taste and texture, and most importantly be halal. 'For example, it used to be hard to get halal white tofu and puffed tofu made by Bumiputeras. That's what drove me to start my business and keep going. I want to make sure our products stay on the market,' said Zuhaymee, who retired from the armed forces in 2001. The owner of Mie Soya Enterprise said his three workers have also been taught to maintain cleanliness and start work by reciting verses from the Quran as a way of seeking blessings in the business. The father of three also assures consumers that every product from his company has been halal-certified by the Islamic development department. Check out this beautiful slab of tofu, sliced and ready for packaging and distribution. (Bernama pic) Recalling the early days, Zuhaymee said he started by selling soymilk and tau foo fa on a small scale in 1995, delivering them door to door on a tricycle and at night markets. Determined to expand his business, he set up a factory in Taman Jujur, Sikamat, in 2006 to process soy-based products including white tofu, fried tofu, tempeh (fermented soybeans), and puffed tofu. 'Before my factory, I used to make all the products at home. I received RM20,000 in assistance from the Seremban district agriculture department and a grant from the finance ministry, which helped me grow the business,' he said. The Kedah native admitted that breaking into the market was challenging, especially given that soy products are commonly linked to the Chinese community. But through hard work and a commitment to quality, he has won over many customers. 'Alhamdulillah, our products are now known not just in Negeri Sembilan but in almost every state except Sabah and Sarawak, because of the long distance and the risk of damage during shipping,' he explained. Soybeans being weighed before they are placed in a grinder at Zuhaymee's factory, which is open to visitors daily except on Sundays. (Bernama pic) According to Zuhaymee, they produce 6,000 pieces of tempeh, 2,000 pieces of white tofu, 8,000 pieces of puffed tofu and 2,000 pieces of fried tofu for retailers, including restaurants, daily. The soybeans are imported from Canada and the United States. Zuhaymee, who is assisted by his wife Nor Aza Jais, 50, recalled that they once lost thousands of ringgit when a power outage spoiled 60 litres of soymilk. 'We take it as a lesson that keeps us prepared for whatever might come, and we try to stay positive. I hope we can continue making halal products,' he said. He also invites visitors to his factory, which is open daily from 8.30am to 1pm except on Sundays. Mie Soya Enterprise 271, Jalan Jujur Kanan, Taman Jujur, Sikamat, 70400 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan For more information, visit Mie Soya Enterprise's website and Facebook profile.
