When I lived on Vancouver Island I shared a house for a while with an international group of housemates. One was a Japanese woman who made chewy tofu. She told me to make it chewy I had to freeze it, and while thawing, place it between 2 plates to squeeze out the excess water. It seemed to me a lot of preparation for a relatively simple food. I tried it and it didn’t work. Since then I’ve cooked tofu many times and in many ways, and quite by accident discovered how to make my own, simpler version of chewy tofu.
Method
- Slice about 140 grams tofu into 1/2 inch slabs
- Slice slabs into 1/4 inch strips
- Cut strips into 3 or 4 pieces
- The resulting pieces of tofu are about 1/2″x1/4″x1″
- Chop 2 cloves of garlic (if you like)
- Heat a non-stick pan
- Add a thin layer of oil to the pan
- Toss garlic and tofu into the pan and sear over high heat, frequently tossing, then reduce temp to med, and cover for a couple of minutes, then uncover, toss tofu pieces a few times, and cover again.
- Continue cooking in this way for about 7 minutes, or until the tofu pieces are brown and chewy.
With this cooking method, the pieces of tofu are thin enough, and the pan hot enough to steam out the excess moisture.
You can add the chewy tofu pieces to any prepared dish, just before serving. If you add them too soon, you run the risk of making them less chewy – even soggy!
Related articles
- Tofu Haters, This post is for you!! (recipesfortheravenous.com)
- Finally Trying Tofu (emmanuelhub.wordpress.com)
- Winter Table: Andrea Nguyen’s Cashew Cardamom Fudge Made With Tofu (blisstree.com)
Alison Amazed 
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