I have found tofu can sometimes have quite a bad rep. However, in my opinion, people just don't know how they like it. Growing up, I was a vegetarian, so I have experimented with most vegan and vegetarian foods you can think of. My love for tofu originated from Thai and Chinese restaurants when I was younger. My mum rarely made it at home but it was a constant contender whenever we ordered in or went out for food. Throughout lockdown, my mum and I experimented a bit more with cooking tofu until we worked out how we liked it. In this blog I am going to share with you 3 tofu meals I make with different flavours.
Just to add, 300 grams of tofu contains 33.9 grams of protein - according to Tesco Plant Chef Organic Firm Tofu, which is £1.85.
Tofu Thai Red Curry
Beginning with my favourite, tofu curries. For this blog I made a tofu thai red curry using one of the easy, simple kits from Tesco for £2.49.
I sliced the tofu into sticks and fried them on a low heat with minimal oil until they turned a golden colour, I made sure I didn't crisp the tofu as I've found it absorbs the curry less.
Mangetout and baby corn are usually safe options for me when making anything so I fried them up with chilli and garlic to add a bit of flavour. Tesco also offers a baby corn and mangetout duo packet for £2.00.
After separating the fried veg I added the curry paste onto the tofu in the pan, allowing it to simmer for a minute until adding the coconut milk. I left the pan on low heat allowing everything to cook together nicely and adding the veg back in with the selective dry ingredients the kit includes.
Once I was happy with how my curry was looking I served it onto a bed of rice and it was ready to eat!
This entire process took me maybe 20 mins - making it a quick, easy meal whilst also providing the perfect amount of flavour. I am constantly craving thai food so i have found making these is perfect for me at uni, instead of spending an extra £10 on a takeaway.
Teriyaki Tofu Stirfry
Since working at Wagamama, I have discovered my love for teriyaki! I think it adds the perfect flavour to noodles so I began adding it to my tofu aswell. Tesco's own is always a good cheap option with the teriyaki sauce being £1.25 and it lasts so long.
I began by chopping my tofu into bite size cubes, then frying it up to a crisp in the pan with salt, chilli flakes and teriyaki sauce.
I always remove the tofu from the pan before frying my vegetables as I find the tofu is harder to cook. It is also more likely to break or crumble so I don't like to play around with it too much.
For this stirfry I added baby corn, tenderstem broccoli, carrots and green beans, frying it in salt, chilli flakes and teriyaki.
I also added some chopped chilli and garlic as I add it in literally everything!
Once the veg was done, I added my tofu and boiled noodles into the pan with a splash more teriyaki for the noodles.
This meal took around 15 minutes to make as there was minimal chopping, I used Tesco's 'tenderstem & mixed vegetables' packet which costs £1.85.
Pesto Tofu
Again, I began with frying up bite size tofu cubes, marinated in chilli flakes and green pesto. I added around 1 and a half tablespoons of pesto.
It may be easier to add the pesto when the tofu is already slightly crispy to ensure it doesn't burn.
Once the tofu is done, remove it from the pan and add your vegetables. I used tenderstem broccoli and green beans.
Tesco offers this as a package for £2.25.
Fry the vegetables with soy sauce, chilli flakes and salt to make them flavourful.
I served it on a plate with a bed of boiled with rice, this can be interchangeable with noodles, depending on what your feeling!
Essentially, all these meals are frying tofu and vegetables, then adding a different flavourful component. This provides the perfect basis if you're wanting an easy way of cooking tofu without wanting to repeat the same meal constantly.
To make sure I was on budget, I got all the vegetables for these meals on Tesco's 3 for 2 clubcard deal. They offer loads of selection boxes which can be easily portioned and used. For these 3 meals, all the vegetables combined cost £6.35, they are so easy to use as they are already prepared. They can be perfect for uni students who aren't feeling up to 20 minutes chopping or have a tight schedule!
Maia x
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