Hi. Some time ago I ate some fantastic tofu in a restaurant. After a small research, I figured that apparently it was a tofu puff. I tried to make some at home, but unfortunately it came out not as I expected – the texture was not actually it. I figured that probably I'm using wrong tofu type. Unfortunately, there is not a big choice where I live (Poland). The most recipes mention "a fresh tofu", but I think most produces available in my country don't use the correct naming. How do I know if the tofu I'm buying is actually "fresh tofu"?
*Picture is not mine. Comes from: https://avegtastefromatoz.com/how-to-make-tofu-puffs/
by blix-addict
21 Comments
I believe you need to actually make the tofu yourself then fry it – it needs to be that fresh.
I usually just go buy a bag from an Asian grocery store. They’re pretty cheap
Asian supermarkets have them !
Fresh is likely distinguishing between water packed tofu sold in the refrigerated section vs silken tofu packed in aseptic containers, which can be at room temperature for many years. (Water packed would be my guess)
Also, that texture comes from water packed tofu being frozen and thawed.
The texture is similar to that of frozen and defrosted tofu. Try freezing a block and see if it’s the texture you were looking for.
you can buy them at an asian grocery store but keep in mind they have very little protein, unlike firm tofu
I’ve only been able to make tofu puffs with fresh tofu, anytime I tried with prepackaged tofu it did not puff up.
I would look for a recipe and make it yourself… my friend taught me how to make it and it’s not too hard to make.
Yeah If I compare the tofu you get in German supermarkets to the one in Asian supermarkets they are nothing alike. I would guess thats also the case in Poland. The tofu from the regular supermarkets has almost the consistency of feta cheese, I t’s hard and crumbly. You ain’t going nowhere with these. Check online if you don’t have an Asian supermarket close by. Buy firm tofu, press the water out with weights and paper tissue, roll them in starch (corn, flour, tapioka, what ever) fry them twice, 4 min at 160C, rest, and 2 min at 180C until golden and crispy.
OP, if you live in Portland, you can get fresh made tofu from Ota Tofu on SE Stark & 12th. It’s some of the best there is.
My local World Foods shop sells this exact tofu in the fridge section. It’s usually called ‘deep fried tofu’ on the packaging whenever I’ve found it 🙂 I imagine your local Asian supermarket will have them too if you have one near you!
Example ;
[https://asiasuperstore.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/b28075bdd98a48ddbb183901f24bad661c136b28_a89056e8-8d88-4413-aea6-794258194605.jpg)
Fresh tofu is firm tofu, only freshly made, and before it firms up. When the tofu is packaged in water, it can stay edible for a long time, but slowly changes its structure, it starts to become more tough and crumbly and will not puff up when fried.
I buy my fresh in an Asian grocery store, which sources it locally, but I found that Swedish yipin tofu tends to be quite fresh as well. I know they export it abroad, so maybe you’d be able to find that
https://yipin.se/
But generally, unfortunately fresh tofu is pretty hard to find outside of Asia, so you may look into making your own, or buying ready tofu puffs.
I had something maybe similar recently when visiting Japan, we went to a Chinese restaurant, and the tofu was like nothing i’d had before and our friend, who is actually Chinese, hadn’t either. It was like tofu puffs you can buy at the Asian Mart sort of but not. It was giant puffs like your picture except maybe bigger and almost hollow inside but not completely, crispy outside but still tearable and it was like biting into a pillow.
We asked the lady there how they did it and she said fresh Kyoto tofu, and emphasized fresh, like made and gotten that day. ;_; it was so good.
I make tofu puffs at home using fresh tofu from an Asian store. It doesn’t come in a package with water. It’s loaf-shaped and wrapped in Saran Wrap. No seasonings needed, just cube it up and deep fry them.
Soak in a layer of baking powder for 30 mins before frying
If possible, buy medium or firm tofu packaged in liquid. Follow that recipe’s directions on draining and pressing the liquid out. Cut it into cubes.
Freeze it. As the liquid freezes it expands, making the tofu less dense.
Thaw the tofu cubes and gently squeeze them again to release the liquid. As the ice inside melts and is drained it creates pockets of space inside the pieces.
Toss the tofu in corn starch aka fine corn flour or tapioca flour and salt and pepper (optional). Fry in oil.
Or, toss it in oil, then the flour, etc., and bake.
You could try to freeze the tofu first to create those fluffy air pockets
In our Asian stores its sold as “fried tofu”- wonderful in curries
Soak your tofu in hot water and baking soda over night. Then the next day they will be ready to coat with oil and airfry/deep fry
Tllava tofu puffy!
Also when I buy fresh tofu it is this way without needing the baking soda treatment.
Closet I got to that texture with ship bought firm tofu was to boil the cubes/chunks in water for ~5 mins before air frying it
I’ve managed to make fantastic tofu puffs at home in my airfryer (after several failed attempts), so I can say from experience that the “freshness” of the tofu is actually less important than the firmness. In my experience, the medium-firm tofus work the best. These are the ones, that have a tendency to be a bit fragile when you cut them, they tend to fall apart when you try to fry them or cook them for longer in soups or stews. Firm tofu doesn’t do that. If you use tofu that is too firm (or really quite the opposite of fresh and it’s already approaching its expiration date), you’ll get pretty crispy tofu bites instead these puffy little sponges. If your experiments fail and you get the “crispy tofu bites” version, please don’t throw them away! You can still use them really well in stir-fries. Just let them cool down first and then put them in your freezer. They still have a pleasant texture once they come in contact with any sauce or marinade.
I always use the tofu from Dang Long, a tofu producer from the Czech Republic from the city of Velim. Maybe you’re lucky and some asian markets near you sell that particular one. If not, just ask around for medium-firm tofu. Be sure to pat the tofu dry on the outside, it should no longer be dripping wet, but don’t squeeze it (at least not too much). It’s important that it remains wet on the inside. Then cut the block into large chunks (you need to take into consideration that the cubes will shrink considerably once the water evaporates) and put them in an airfryer at 180°C (not more, not less!) for 30 minutes on the highest fan setting. Turn them upside down after around 15 minutes and maybe spray a bit more oil onto them.
If you don’t have an airfryer (which is definitely my preferred option, because it’s less messy and it is much healthier), you’ll need to deep fry it – but I don’t know what the perfect temperature and frying time here would be, but I assume that 180°C would work best here as well.
I don’t know if this will be the exact same but when I boil my not fresh cubed tofu in salted + baking soda water before frying they get really puffy