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Originally Posted by Bryank  I didn't really have an particular idea in mind, I was just wondering about the different ways of preparing tofu. Does anyone know what simmering tofu in water or broth would do to it's texture? Would it make it firmer? |
Not exactly, no. If you do it long enough to make any noticeable difference, it starts to sort of honeycomb. Try it with the very firm Chinese-style tofu. Poach a whole big block gently for an hour in light, mildly salted broth. Remove, drain on angled plate for a minute or so (don't press!), and then cut into cubes and serve in the same broth or in a light soup.
If you want to fool around, buy the silkiest Japanese tofu you can find. Press it gently in the usual way to extract some of the water. Then freeze it solid, but make sure you can get it loose while it's frozen -- so wrap it in plastic wrap or something. Put the frozen block in a bowl or jar or something just a little bigger than the block, cover the jar opening with a piece of cheesecloth or paper towel held on with a rubber band, and then leave it in the freezer for, oh, two or three MONTHS. The tofu has to breathe, which is what the cheesecloth is for. Eventually all the liquid will evaporate and the tofu will be shrunken and hard. Reconstitute it in broth, cut in cubes, and eat it. Now THAT is a major texture difference! (Of course, if your freezer has weird smells, the tofu will have them too....)
Do you know about turning silken tofu into sauce? Roast some sesame seeds -- about 1/4-1/2 by volume compared to the quantity of tofu -- and chuck them in a blender to grind fine. Add the tofu when the seeds are ground, and puree the bejeepers out of it. Add a small splash of soy, a dab of rice vinegar, salt, and a small pinch of sugar, and puree some more. Scrape it around and puree again. Turn on the motor and add water until the texture is like a thin mayonnaise. Now poach some veggies until just tender, shock in ice water, drain and chill, and then toss them with the tofu-sesame sauce.
I live in Kyoto, which is tofu central. There's an old Tokyo joke, that in Kyoto the tofu costs more than the fish. It's only occasionally true.
