I am trying to recreate a kung pao tofu I had at a restaraunt and it
is pretty close except that the tofu cubes are still not the same as
the leathery/chewy ones in the restaraunt dish. Any advice would be
appreciated

On Jul 27, 4:35 pm, pamjd > wrote:
> I am trying to recreate a kung pao tofu I had at a restaraunt and it
> is pretty close except that the tofu cubes are still not the same as
> the leathery/chewy ones in the restaraunt dish. Any advice would be
> appreciated

Spicy tofu dishes do not have to feature leathery/chewy tofu, but if
you like it that way, start with firm tofu and turn the heat up higher
to fry it harder. -aem

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:18:09 -0700, aem > wrote:

>On Jul 27, 4:35 pm, pamjd > wrote:
>> I am trying to recreate a kung pao tofu I had at a restaraunt and it
>> is pretty close except that the tofu cubes are still not the same as
>> the leathery/chewy ones in the restaraunt dish. Any advice would be
>> appreciated
>
>Spicy tofu dishes do not have to feature leathery/chewy tofu, but if
>you like it that way, start with firm tofu and turn the heat up higher
>to fry it harder. -aem

Try fried tofu (available at many supermarkets and organic grocery
stores) or wrap the extra firm tofu in cheesecloth, place it in a
colander, and weight it down with a cast iron skillet or something
else heavy to force out the moisture.

There is also something like sun-dried tofu but I have only seen that
in Japan.

pamjd wrote:
> I am trying to recreate a kung pao tofu I had at a restaraunt and it
> is pretty close except that the tofu cubes are still not the same as
> the leathery/chewy ones in the restaraunt dish. Any advice would be
> appreciated.


Drain the water from the tofu.
Wrap in plastic.
Place in freezer.
Freeze.
Thaw in refrigerator.
Unwrap.
Squeeze out excess water.
Now use it your recipe.
Texture is now leathery.
Try it before you doubt me.
It works.


--Lia

> Now use it your recipe.
> Texture is now leathery.
> Try it before you doubt me.
> It works.
>
> --Lia

Thanks for the advice everyone

Steve Wertz wrote:
>
> On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 01:35:39 GMT, Steve Wertz wrote:
>
> > It's deep fired tofu. Toss with a little cornstarch and deep fry
> > to get that texture. Or you can buy pre-fried tofu at any Asian
> > grocer.
>
> Addendum: You do need to weight the tofu down to press out most
> of the loose water before deep-frying.

ACK! Now you tell me! The whole stove is covered
with drops of oil and I've got several small burns
in sensitive places!

And you forgot to mention WEAR CLOTHES!

or of course you could use actual bits of leather.

"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
news
> pamjd wrote:
>> I am trying to recreate a kung pao tofu I had at a restaraunt and it
>> is pretty close except that the tofu cubes are still not the same as
>> the leathery/chewy ones in the restaraunt dish. Any advice would be
>> appreciated.
>
>
> Drain the water from the tofu.
> Wrap in plastic.
> Place in freezer.
> Freeze.
> Thaw in refrigerator.
> Unwrap.
> Squeeze out excess water.
> Now use it your recipe.
> Texture is now leathery.
> Try it before you doubt me.
> It works.
>
>
> --Lia


Yep. That's what I do, and it does indeed work.

deja.blues wrote:
> "Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message

>>Drain the water from the tofu.
>>Wrap in plastic.
>>Place in freezer.
>>Freeze.
>>Thaw in refrigerator.
>>Unwrap.
>>Squeeze out excess water.
>>Now use in your recipe.
>>Texture is now leathery.
>>Try it before you doubt me.
>>It works.
>>
>
> Yep. That's what I do, and it does indeed work.


Thanks. I was starting to feel like I was out on another planet here.


--Lia