For those who cook and eat tofu a lot, this may be common information. Pressing the tofu makes it compressed. It also squeezes out the extra moisture left in it, thus making tofu drier and firmer. The result of this is a densely close-grained interior with a crisp exterior. It is important to know how to press tofu when you make some dishes that require broiling or sautéing tofu.
How to Cook Tofu
This entails pressing the tofu block for quite some time. This means that you make the tofu really dry for it to cook quickly under a hot broiler. Its edges are crisp and chewy. They are also sweet and caramelized.
Pressing may help a lot if you are planning to make a tofu scramble. It’s important to avoid having excess water in the pan, which may cause browning. But you will notice the magic of pressing when it comes to frying the tofu.
Manual Tofu Pressing
It’s possible that you already own a mix of various kitchen and household items that will help you prepare tofu for cooking. You may start with an extra firm block of tofu. Anything soft is great for desserts or as egg substitutes.
You only need two flat objects to accomplish the most basic task of tofu pressing. This can be a chopping board, a cookie sheet, or just two plates. You will also need something that will soak up moisture like a kitchen towel along with a couple of heavy weights that will help distribute pressure evenly.
Once you know how to press tofu, it gets easier over time. The first step is to choose an even surface to place the flat object you use. Then wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel or a paper towel, and then set this on the flat object. Balance the second object you chose on top of the tofu. Weight this down a can of tomatoes, a hardbound book, or anything heavy. The weighted objects will allow excess water to be squeezed out of the tofu onto the flat surface. Make sure to drain this water 30 to 45 minutes before pressing.
Tofu Presses
Tofu pressing when done manually can be cumbersome and tiring. It’s a good thing that you can find several gadgets that can make tofu pressing smooth-sailing and convenient. All you have to do with a tofu presser is to put the tofu in the see-through plastic box. Its spring-loaded top plate will begin to add pressure to the tofu. After a half hour of this, the water rises to the top of the presser, ready for pouring down.
