Tofu: never judge a food by its political reputation
Think outside the white plastic box. Here is a carnivore’s guide to tofu
SUELLA Braverman, Britain’s former home secretary, blamed “Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati” for a protest that closed a bridge. Ted Cruz, a conservative American senator, complained that Democrats want Texas “to be just like California, right down to tofu”.
Across the West, eating tofu is seen as leftist, weak and somehow unmanly. This view is silly, and carnivores who hold it are depriving themselves of a healthy, delicious and adaptable source of protein.
Tofu – rich in calcium, protein and a variety of minerals – remained obscure in the West until counterculture looked east in the 1960s; Asians have eaten it for millennia.
In some Asian languages, the words for “tofu” and “cheese” are similar, and they have strikingly similar production methods. (Animal milk and soy milk are heated, inoculated with a coagulant, pressed and shaped into solid form.)
Just as cheeses differ markedly in taste and texture, tofu takes a variety of forms, from delicate silken tofu – delicious as a dessert when dressed with syrup – to the refrigerated boxed-in-water versions.
To detractors, what all these forms share is blandness and virtue. Tofu is wobbly and tasteless; people eat it only because they feel they should or, having sworn off meat for ideological reasons, they must.
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In a new book, Tofu: A Culinary History, Russell Thomas, a journalist, argues that bean curd deserves better than its worthy reputation. The first step in enjoying it is getting politics out of the kitchen and appreciating its endless versatility. Boosters do tofu no favours by calling it a “meat substitute” – generally, it is not. Nobody will ever mistake pressed bean curd for a seared steak.
But for carnivores who want to reduce their meat consumption, tofu can prove a surprisingly delicious stand-in. Extra-firm tofu, crumbled into a skillet, sautéed until dry and well-seasoned, makes a taco filling reminiscent of Mexican chorizo.
Coated in cornstarch, shallow-fried and sauced, it makes a crisp, light stir-fry. Thawed tofu has a porous resilience that soaks up sauce, making it perfect for stews.
But tofu need not stand in for meat; across Asia, people see no contradiction in eating both meat and tofu, even in the same dish.
In mapo tofu, a Sichuanese favourite, chewy nubs of ground beef or pork swimming in a fiery sauce complement silken tofu’s yielding delicacy. Soft tofu cut in squares makes a bed for a whole steamed fish bathed in chillies and garlic.
Smoked or pressed tofu, with its firm and meaty texture, stir-fried with pork and celery, offers a quick and gentle lunch, served over rice.
And though tofu sticks may look shiny and more like industrial products when packaged and dried, paired with chunks of pork belly in a spiced broth, they make a winter stew hearty and delicious enough to convert the most ardent tofuphobe – and remind you never to judge a food by its political reputation.
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