• Herding Llamas@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Tofu alone is not anything great, but it’s also not gross. It’s pretty flat and nutural in flavor which is what makes it great because you can make it taste like most anything. It’s like saying flour is gross. Like I don’t want a spoon full of flour, but I’ll make you a damn fine pancake.

    • BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      My sister always said tofu tastes like nothing and it just tastes like whatever you season it with. Ah yes, unlike the chicken that is so flavorful that you brine it overnight and then rub it with a ton of salt and spices just to not make it bland.

            • humorlessrepost@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              I add flavorful ingredients to other flavorful ingredients all the time. I just want each one to contribute a flavor of its own. Tofu, rice, and pasta all fail to contribute.

              • nomous@lemmy.world
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                6 months ago

                They’re really just good vehicles for other flavors, like bread or potatos.

                • humorlessrepost@lemmy.world
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                  6 months ago

                  They contribute texture, sure. And with enough maillard reaction, potato and bread can pull their own weight. I just hate the idea of filler ingredients. I had to make my food stretch when I was younger, and now I don’t have to (for now), so I’d much rather just have more of the genuinely tasty parts and leave out the bland bulk. Every rice dish is better to me without the rice, for instance. Same flavor, but more of it per bite.

                • humorlessrepost@lemmy.world
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                  6 months ago

                  Temporarily to help things mix, but only with the intent of cooking it down. Soup is what happens when you take perfectly good food, then water it down.

          • zarkanian
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            6 months ago

            That’s like complaining that flour has no flavor. Or rice has no flavor. That’s the point. It’s a blank canvas for the chef to cook on.

    • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      What I like about tofu is precisely that it doesn’t have much of a flavor, and simply takes on whatever you are cooking it in or with. The only time “plain” tofu really does it for me on its own is when it’s nice and salty and fried really crispy…but even then it’s better with some kind of sauce.

      But on its own, definitely not delicious. Just bland.

      • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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        6 months ago

        Well obviously you gotta season it. Nobody says “I love potato crisps” and is talking about unseasoned chips.

      • zarkanian
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        6 months ago

        There are a variety of textures you can get from tofu.

      • RogueBanana@lemmy.zip
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        6 months ago

        Ah I never had tofu myself but paneer is literally my most favourite ingredient. Its pretty massive among vegetarians in India but I can see why some would hate it. I am guessing tofu would be very similar in texture.

        • flying_sheep@lemmy.ml
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          6 months ago

          There’s various textures tofu comes in

          • coarse tofu is like a more spongy, less fatty feta. Not great, but it exists to be pressed, marinated, and fried, which can make it amazing
          • silk tofu is very tender, texture is something between jello and pudding. Great as cubes in soup.
          • you can but deep fried tofu, which is great

          There’s probably more

    • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      It’s not gross. I just never had tofu that had any worthwhile taste. Probably have not had good tofu hut nonetheless.

      • Doxin@pawb.social
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        6 months ago

        I mean tofu by itself tastes pretty much of nothing. You need to like marinade and spice it before it tastes good.

        Personally I also like making sure one side is fried until very crispy.

        • efstajas@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Really pressing all the water out first is key to get it crispy. Soaking it briefly in eggwash (or oil if vegan) and breading it with breadcrumbs or even just flour before frying it hard makes it soooooo good. Can add spices to the eggwash too.

          • Doxin@pawb.social
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            6 months ago

            Oh interesting, I’ve never bothered to do much about the water. Should try that next time.

      • zarkanian
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        6 months ago

        Pressing it helps. It’s hard for it to soak up flavors when it’s waterlogged.

      • flerp@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        I feel the same way about meat, I always put sauces on my meats

        • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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          6 months ago

          I consider myself vegetarian now, but you make a sound point…all proteins are really made by their preparation. I’ve had some damn good tofu and some really bad steaks.

      • efstajas@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        I never got this taste from tofu ever, any chance you maybe just had spoiled tofu…?

        • Ifera@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          From experience, it seems to be like detecting the smell of ants. A genetic trait not present on everyone. To me, tofu smells rank, but sliced thin and after I add a splash of full salt soy sauce, it turns out delicious. My dad says the same happens to him.

          And trust me, I have tried lots of types of tofu in my life, it is a staple in my diet.

      • RogueBanana@lemmy.zip
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        6 months ago

        Oh I never had tofu itself but I eat paneer all the time as a vegetarian in India. But I am guessing the taste is different.

    • iiGxC@slrpnk.netM
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      6 months ago

      Come on I eat at least a kilo of tofu per meal it’s not that hard

      It pairs great with a kilo of cocaine. I call it the 2-kilo meal-o

      • iiGxC@slrpnk.netM
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        6 months ago

        It would’ve fit better on vegancirclejerk, here it’s not the norm to be circlejerking and there tend to be a good amount of carnists that bash on stuff without knowing what they’re talking about. I assumed you were joking based on saying 700 grams of tofu is when you got problems, cause that’s a lot, but it was subtle and I could see it being missed

  • RBWells@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    My very omnivorous kids love tofu, especially with pork - kimchi jigae, ma po tofu, in ramen with pork belly. The youngest loves the soft tofu in miso soup too. We always just treated it like food.

    @[email protected] it’s nothing like paneer though - whole foods makes creamed spinach with coconut milk and tofu instead of cream and paneer and the tofu is vile as a dub for paneer. In about the way you would expect, if you’ve had soy milk - it’s basically soy milk paneer. Very different texture.

  • M0oP0o@mander.xyz
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    6 months ago

    But what if I stuff a turkey’s succulent ass with the amazing flavor sponge that is tofu?

    Really what is with peoples dislike of a bean product? I never got why tofu is seen as gross.

  • merthyr1831@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    salt, pepper, mixed herb, smoked paprika, soy sauce all over a few ripped pieces of extra firm. Fry off in oil until edges are caramelised and golden. brilliant for grilled sandwiches or even on its own imo

  • Ibuthyr@discuss.tchncs.de
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    6 months ago

    I love tofu. Shame that I have to fart so fucking much from it. I get real stomach cramps from tofu for some reason :(

    • SmokedBillionaire
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      6 months ago

      Same, I used to eat it quite a lot as I was trying to move to eating less meat, but it has made me feel like shit the last few times I tried it.