The healthy and vegan-friendly tofu

Tofu as a food has been always special to me as this was one of the first exotic food items that I came across when I started my culinary career at a speciality restaurant at Taj Palace, New Delhi. I still remember that day the master chef of that renowned Chinese restaurant introduced me to tofu and gave me a brief about it. Tofu was considered a speciality item those days as it was not easily available and we relied on selected importers for its supply. Nowadays you can easily buy it off the shelf in various packaging sizes everywhere and there are plenty of locally produced options as well. Tofu is made from soybeans, water and a coagulant or curdling agent. It is an excellent source of protein for vegetarians and has an ability to blend well and adapt itself with various spices and marinades.The next question people aware about tofu ask me is the difference between silken tofu and regular tofu. While shopping for tofu you may spot varieties like pre-cooked, frozen, marinated, fermented or flavoured tofu. There are, however, two main variants of tofu namely Silken and Regular tofu. Silken tofu or soft tofu or Japanese-style tofu as it is usually called is a softer consistency tofu than the regular one and is very brittle to handle and breaks very easily if not handled properly. Regular on the other hand is more firm and is easy to handle and can be cut easily into desired shape. Regular tofu is also called Chinese tofu or bean curd and is more popular and is found more easily in produce section in hypermarkets or supermarkets. Silken tofu is tightly packed in tetra packets and has a long shelf life of approximately a year as compared to the regular one which comes packed in plastic containers dipped in water to keep it moist and fresh. Both silken and regular tofu come in different firmness like soft, medium, firm and extra firm consistencies and both the varieties are made using the same ingredients but are processed differently. The silken and regular tofu are not interchangeable in recipes but their firmness can vary and you can use any consistency of each for their respective recipes. Salad dressings, sauces, and desserts usually use silken tofu for a thick and creamy texture. Once you open any type of tofu, keep it refrigerated in plastic container submerged in water. Changing the water everyday will prolong the shelf life upto a week. Firm or extra firm tofu is best suited for stir fries, baking dishes or other such dishes which requires the tofu to retain its shape. You can freeze tofu for upto 5 months and this will make it yellowish and spongier in texture and this change in texture has a positive effect on some recipes. Firmer tofu has more fat content and softer tofu has less fat content. Soft silken tofu is a very good option for people on calorie controlled diets. Another common myth about tofu is that it is made with milk — it does not contain any dairy product and is made with coagulating soya bean milk, and pressing the resulting curd into soft white blocks to get soya bean.Tofu and special diet: Tofu has always been a favourite for people with various dietary restrictions, its nutritional value, affordability and chameleon-like quality to blend with other ingredients. It is a popular ingredient for vegans and is used extensively in western cooking as well.Tofu and salmon roe saladIngredientsSilken tofu 100 gmSalmon roe 2 tspAsparagus spears 100 gmRomaine lettuce 100 gmFricassee lettuce 50 gmCherry tomato 50 gmRed Radish 50 gmBaby corn 50 gmBeet root 1 noFor dressingOlive oil 2 tbspLemon juice 1 tbspSalt to tasteCrushed pepper to tasteGarnishParsley leaves to garnishMethodCut firm silken tofu into 1 inch cubes and keep it covered with water in a bowl and keep it refrigerated.Wash and cut the baby corn and asparagus spear into two and boil it to sift consistency and refresh in cold water, keep aside. Boil beetroot separately and refresh in ice cold water.Cut radish and beetroot into thin slices and keep aside.Wash and spin dry the salad leaves and place in a salad bowl. Combine the baby corn, asparagus, beetroot and radish slices. In a separate bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to make salad dressing.Pour the dressing on the ingredients and toss to combine.Place the salad into the salad plate and place tofu on top followed by the remaining salad drizzle on top.Place salmon roe as required and garnish with parsley leaves and serve cold. NOTE: You can always substitute chicken in almost all your favourite recipes with regular firm tofu to make your choice of protein dish and healthy vegetarian dish for a balanced diet. Tofu is a healthy alternate for cottage cheese in Indian cottage cheese preparations also for people with dairy allergy.*  Chef Tarun Kapoor, Culinary Mastermind, USA. He may be contacted at tarunkapoor83@gmail.com