Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with vegetarian and tofu

VegetarianFilter: Give me your best veg taco recipes and tips!

pghjezebel — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:31:40 -0800

VegetarianFilter: Give me your best veg taco recipes and tips! I've been a vegetarian for several years now and then one thing I really miss? A good taco.

I've tried meat substitutes (boca crumbles) and find the texture rather gross. They always have a gristle taste/feel to them.

I've seen recipes for lentil style tacos - but my lentils always turn out hard. What about tofu?

What else can I try? Open to any and all recipes, suggestions and tips!

please help resolve my tofu troubles

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:43:59 -0800

Can I eat this expired (but frozen) tofu/tempeh/tofurky? I just moved into a new apartment and my new roommate's old roommate left behind some food in the freezer. At first I was delighted to be inheriting free food, but now that I've checked the best by dates, I'm not so sure. Details:

Tofurky: "enjoy by" 08/23/08
Yves Meatless Deli Ham: "best before" 02/13/08
White Wave Baked Tofu: 09/02/05 (date has no qualifier before it)
Sunergia Soyfoods pesto tofu: 04/22/06 (also no qualifier)
SoyBoy Tempeh: April 26 (says that it can be "sold frozen for 6 months after date" but, the date doesn't have a year after it and considering the other fake meats, I wouldn't bet on it being 2009)

I do not know for how long any of this was frozen, nor can I contact new roommate's old roommate to ask.

So...can I eat any of this? If it were anything else, I'd probably just throw it away, but I do love fancy tofu products (and very rarely buy them myself due to their fancy prices) so this would be a free food grand slam.

Mmmm...(fake) deer...

starbaby — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:51:46 -0800

Is it possible to make meat substitute taste like fried venison? I'm from the south, and deer was a winter staple in my childhood. My father would slice it about a 1/4"-1/2" thick, batter it in flour, salt, garlic salt, and pepper, and fry it in a skillet in vegetable oil.

I would like to reproduce this wonderful taste without using meat. Most people recommend that when cooking with tofu (or other meat substitutes), you simply get the fake meat the right consistency and cook it as you normally would meat; it will absorb the flavors of the seasoning and taste similar.

However, I am not looking for the taste of the seasonings; I'm looking for the taste that is inherently missing inside the tofu. Clearly battering tofu in salt, garlic salt, pepper and flour will just make it taste like those things. Someone recommended worcestershire sauce, but I do not have any without anchovies in it.

I am coming up short when I look for recipes. This seems to be an elusive phantom idea among vegetarians.

Do you know how to make fake meat (any kind, I'm not limited to just tofu) taste like venison?

Thanks in advance.

How can I eat more protein within a vegan diet?

jfricke — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:43:07 -0800

I was shocked how little protein my current diet consists of. How can I make sure that I get enough protein? Problem: I am almost vegan I have been a vegetarian since I am twelve and I have been almost vegan for two years now. Almost vegan means I eat vegan at home but when I am invited or eat outside I also eat cheese from time to time.

Last week I started a nutrition log at gyminee.com. I was quite shocked about the little amount of protein in my current diet. My questions are:

(1) How much protein should one eat daily? The gyminee.com suggestion of 150 to 200mg seems extremly high to me. Do you need more or less protein, when all your protein sources are non-animal?

(2) What is the best vegan food to increase my protein intake besides soya milk and tofu? If you are vegan, how do you make sure to get enough protein?

(3) Is soya protein powder a good alternative?

Eating mostly-plain cottage cheese and tofu.

lemonade — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:22:25 -0800

How many ways can I spice up plain tofu and cottage cheese...snackwise, with no cooking? I need to increase the amount of (lowfat) protein I eat, and while I can and do eat both cottage cheese and tofu plain, it gets old really quick. What I'd like to do is have a whole bunch of mix-ins or maybe sandwich-y things, so I can more or less grab-and-go. I haven't tried these yet, but I was hoping for ideas along the lines of tofu and mustard on crackers, or cinnamon in cottage cheese? Maybe something with relish? And of course I often snack on the old standby of fruit in the cottage cheese. What else can I try?

Store-bought-style baked tofu at home

acridrabbit — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:22:57 -0800

Store-bought-style baked tofu at home: how? I love tofu and cook it frequently, usually in stir-frys. I always freeze my tofu to improve the texture, then press it for long enough to get excess moisture out. I'm pretty happy with my typical methods, but I would love to be able to make baked tofu similar to the store-bought kind. My previous efforts have yielded tasty results, but nothing like the soft, yet very firm texture of a packaged baked tofu (like White Wave or SoyBoy). Those store-bought tofus are pretty expensive - can I mimic that style at home? (Note: I am interested in mimicking the texture, not necessarily the flavor) My googling is turning up nothing.

Salad? Shoot me.

cdadog — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:34:51 -0800

This salad so incredible that I considered becoming a vegetarian. Unfortunately, I can barely remember what was in it. A few years ago I attended a cookout where a vegetarian guest brought a chilled salad with a ton of ingredients, served from a trifle dish. I remember it included:

- glassine thread noodles
- strips of tofu
- there may have been broccoli tips
- black chewy thready stuff I suspect was seaweed
- baby carrot slivers
- dressing I can only describe as sour/savory (not hot, spicy or especially sweet)

You know how sometimes a bunch of stuff in a bowl is just that, how it’s not bad but the tastes or textures don’t really compliment each other? Not this. The flavors…ohhh…the way they melded was amazing. I ate an embarrassing amount of it, intending to pin down whoever brought it. Naturally, they got away, and the hostess couldn’t remember who brought what.

This has haunted me for years. I want this salad again. I neeeeed it. But I’m not that foodie intuitive, and the results of my forays into recipe experimentation are always disappointing. If anyone out there suspects he/she has made this kickass salad with the above items, would you please share?

make me an old school vegan foody for one weekend

brinkzilla — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:47:24 -0800

I'm having vegans over for dinner. Vegans that know how to cook. Foodie vegans. Hip, cool, foodie vegans. Did I mention that I am not a vegan, vegetarian or hip? I can cook a great porkloin, My seafood dishes come out delicious. I can even think of some great vegetarian pasta dishes, but the world of vegan cooking is very scary to me.

It seems that vegans build skills through the years in finding the perfect tofutti sour cream substitute, egg replacements non-dairy yummos.

So, how do I make a yummy meal for a wonderful couple that is a bit above serving them a plate or grilled vegetables and tofu. I'd like to give the impression that I am versatile in the kitchen, which I might be, I've just never tried before.

Extra credit for recipes that taste great, are easy, but look way beyond my ability.

Points taken away for obvious links to vegan food websites. I've done that google search already.

Make me a old school vegan foody for one weekend.

Why am I a Vegetarian?

trueluk — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 08:32:52 -0800

I recently became a vegetarian, and need help dealing with criticism from my roommates. I have recently, about a week ago, decided to drop meat from my diet. I had been contemplating whether or not to go vegetarian for a few months, and now it just kind of happened. My two roommates both eat meat, and so does my entire immediate family.

My roomates have ridiculed me everyday since I have switched. When I come home with tofu they call me "gay" and "fag." They've used plenty of other inappropriate descriptors, too. I understand that for them--midwestern corn-fed boys--this kind of thing can seem strange, but I just want them to accept it. They are my friends, despite their behaviors, and it's not as though I feel threatened at home(moving out isn't a choice and these guys may be homophobic and out of line or whatever, but i have to live with them for a few more months), but I just want to have a response ready when they ask, "Why the hell are you eating that shit? What the fuck got into you?"
I want to be able to defend my choice.

Tofu - at what temperature does it cook?

amtho — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 06:44:04 -0800

Tofu - at what temperature does it cook? I eat a lot of tofu. I've started cooking a lot of tofu. It seems to disagree with me if it's not fully cooked. But how much cooking is enough to avoid this unfortunate effect? Is boiling sufficient/necessary? I'm interested in using a meat thermometer to figure out how much heat I need to apply, so I can innovate successfully.

I did some googling but couldn't find the answer. I also found a thread here on tofu cooking (asking about getting the center unwatery) and followed links from that thread, but no joy.