Breaking the speed limit with tofu - quick meals - includes recipes and related articles on history of tofu and removing moisture from tofu

Vegetarian Times, August, 1996 by Joyce Dodson Piotrowki

RELATED ARTICLE: Tofu Timeline

The history of tofu goes back nearly 1,000 years or perhaps even double that. E.N. Anderson, in his book, The Food of China (Yale University Press, 1988) reports that bean curd was probably invented by Taoists just before or after the beginning of the Sung dynasty (probably between 900 to 1,000 A.D.). However, writers of the Sung dynasty period give a Taoist prince of the Han dynasty, Liu An, credit for the invention. That would mean that tofu was created nearly 2,000 years ago. And the most recent linguistic research indicates that a word for tofu existed 2,000 years ago. Whoever invented tofu, Anderson says that "Buddhists quickly took over the food as a good substitute for meat and for dairy food."

The Buddhists created a whole cuisine around tofu, making "chicken" and "beef" dishes that taste exactly like their meaty counterpart. Dried bean curd skin, bean curd thread noodles and fermented bean curd are also part of their pantry.

Historians believe that tofu was probably invented when someone put unrefined sea salt into bean milk (made by pureeing softened soybeans in water), possibly hoping to preserve it. Instead, the bean solids coagulated into a pudding-like mass and a new food was born.

The brown mineral residue left after refining sea salt is called nigari in Japan. It still makes the best coagulant for tofu, although gypsum, another mineral, is more often used today. Calcium and magnesium ions are the active ingredients.

RELATED ARTICLE: READY, SET SQUEEZE

When recipes call for squeezing moisture out of tofu, there are several methods you can use. The method you choose depends on the style of tofu called for in the recipe and how much moisture needs to be removed. To crumble tofu, mash with a fork in a bowl.

* The easiest method to drain tofu is to simply grip the tofu in both hands and press and squeeze gently over the sink. This method works well for softer tofu that is going to be crumbled or pureed. It might not get enough moisture out of harder tofu, and you run the risk of breaking the block, which makes slicing and cubing more difficult.

* Wrap a block of tofu in several layers of paper towels and let sit on a plate or cookie sheet until the towels are wet with moisture, about 30 minutes. This methods keeps any style of tofu intact for slicing or cubing.

* Lay a block of tofu in the center of a clean dishcloth that has been laundered without fabric softener. Roll cloth around tofu leaving ends loose. Grip towel ends close to tofu and twist ends in opposite directions, squeezing moisture from the tofu. This gets a good deal of moisture out quickly and keeps harder-style tofu intact.

* Place tofu wrapped in paper towels or clean cloth in colander set over a bowl. Place a heavy, flat object such as a cast-iron fry pan or bowl filled with, canned goods on tofu. The weight of the object on the tofu will eventually squeeze moisture out. Because this method takes longer, you should refrigerate the tofu while it drains. This is a good method for overnight draining. This method works well for harder tofu that needs to be well-drained and intact for baking, cubing or slicing.