Tofu is made by cooking, mashing and draining soy beans. Then mixing a coagulant with the drained soy milk (whey) to form curds. These curds are then pressed into cakes to form tofu. Tofu is high in protein, has no cholesterol and is low in fat. It is sold in natural food stores, Asian markets and the produce section of most supermarkets.

Tofu Buying Tips:

Do not purchase tofu if the packages have bubbles or bulges in them.
Spoiled tofu has a yellowish color, smells sour and feels slimy to the touch.
If only a portion of the tofu is to be used store the remainder submerged in water, covered and kept in the refrigerator. Change water daily to avoid exposure to harmful bacteria.

Tofu is a substitute for ricotta cheese in lasagna.  You can use it to make salad dressings, in cheesecakes, to make mayonaise, in soups, on salad. You can grill, bake, saute' or broil it.

Tofu stuffed cabbage recipe

Ingredients

I cabbage
500g of tofu
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
A handful of roasted peanuts, ground or chopped
5 or 6 dessert spoons of soy sauce
2 vegetable stock cubes
A third of a teaspoon of crushed dried chilli
A few sprigs of green coriander
A bunch of celery herb (with stems) or green onions
1 dessertspoon of sugar
2 dessertspoons of flour
Salt
Oil

Separate the cabbage leaves carefully then put them in a large pot with 5cm of water on the bottom. Remove the leaves from the celery stems or separate the green onions into individual leaves. Don't chop them as they are going to be used to tie up the cabbage leaf parcels. Lay the stems or onion leaves on top of the cabbage. Steam the cabbage leaves for a few minutes until they soften then rinse in cold water and drain.

To make the stuffing, chop the onion and garlic finely and fry it in a little oil until it becomes transparent, then add the tofu, roughly chopped, along with the chilli. Fry until the tofu starts to become golden then add the peanuts, chopped coriander and a little salt. Remove from the heat and mash until the ingredients start to bind together.

Remove the mid-rib from a cabbage leaf and make a parcel by wrapping some stuffing in the leaf and tying it with a celery stem or onion leaf. Repeat with the rest of the leaves and when you've finished lay the parcels side-by-side in a wide pan. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Add the stock cubes, soy sauce and sugar and simmer for twenty minutes. Add the flour mixed with a little cold water and simmer for a further few minutes until the sauce thickens. If it appears to be too thick, add some hot water from the kettle to thin it.

Hot and Sour Tofu recipe

Ingredients:

1 packet/block of tofu
1 red pepper
1 large carrot
A few cabbage leaves
1 level tsp. corriander seeds

Marinade:
3 - 4 cloves garlic
2 cm piece fresh ginger
2 tomatoes or 2 tsp. tomato puree
3 or 4 dessert spoons of soy sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder

To prepare marinade, chop tomatoes and ginger finely, crush garlic with a broad knife and mix everything together. Cut tofu into pieces roughly 1 ( 2 ( 5 cm and put into a bowl with the marinade. Leave in the fridge for an hour or so (even overnight) or five minutes if you didn't expect to have to do this. Cut the carrots, peppers and cabbage into thin strips or matchsticks and put to one side. Lift the tofu pieces out of the marinade (don't throw it away) and put them on a plate. Heat a little oil in a heavy frying pan or wok (you really don't need much oil) and heat until the oil is smoking. Add the corriander seeds first and the tofu pieces a few seconds later, then turn the heat down a little. Shove the tofu pieces around gently and cook for about 2 minutes each side until they are starting to brown. Lift the pieces out of the pan and return them to the plate. Turn the heat back up full and throw the vegetables into the pan. Stir fry for 5 minutes then add the marinade and the tofu pieces. Stir gently, cover the pan and turn down the heat. Leave for 5 more minutes and it's ready. Serve with boiled rice or noodles. Noodles are, in my opinion, a better accompaniment and if you use instant ones (but leave out the packet of chemical flavourings) they are extremely easy to prepare while you are cooking the tofu and vegetables. 

 By L Batra.