As a non-vegan who has replaced most chicken with tofu, I’d be glad to tell you some of what I’ve learned! Others can definitely chime in because I’m new to this as well and might have better suggestions:
Always use extra firm tofu. Since tofu naturally has a sort of eggy consistency, getting a denser product leads to a more meaty mouth feel.
You need a tofu press. Along with getting water out of the tofu, it helps make the tofu more dense, leading to better texture as well. I’m glad to recommend the one I use if need be :) The longer time you press it, the more dense it gets.
I used an air fryer recipe to start my journey to prepare it. I’ve moved on to making some of my own adjustments as well:
in this recipe, they tell you to mix everything together into a paste and then try to fold the tofu pieces in to get them coated. I have had a better time placing the tofu pieces, oil, and soy sauce into a liquid-tight container with a lid, shaking it to coat everything in the liquid, then opening the lid and adding the drys, then closing and shaking again to coat.
I add more seasonings like onion powder, paprika and MSG to help it taste more meaty. I’ll also add a little corn starch to help the coating be a little more crispy.
I use the above pieces as a 1:1 replacement for any recipes calling for chicken pieces, like pastas. I really think tofu works best in smaller pieces like this, as the mouth feel seems about the same as small chicken pieces. I do not recommend trying to use tofu the same as an entire chicken breast since the texture and taste differences will be very noticable.
This tofu fajitas recipe is what I used to help transition my SO and I over to eating more tofu.
Please do! I never pressed tofu before, only ate it as is, and yes, it isn’t dense enough to my taste indeed.
Looked up the air fryer recipe, nutritional yeast sounds like an obvious thing I didn’t try! Also, as mentioned in a different response, onion powder is an obvious thing I didn’t add.
As a non-vegan who has replaced most chicken with tofu, I’d be glad to tell you some of what I’ve learned! Others can definitely chime in because I’m new to this as well and might have better suggestions:
Please let me know if I can provide more info!
Please do! I never pressed tofu before, only ate it as is, and yes, it isn’t dense enough to my taste indeed.
Looked up the air fryer recipe, nutritional yeast sounds like an obvious thing I didn’t try! Also, as mentioned in a different response, onion powder is an obvious thing I didn’t add.
Will also look into fajitas. Thanks!