Don't want to spend $40 on a tofu press? I'll show you how to press your tofu with books and a towel. And yes, you MUST press your tofu :)
Checkout Erin's Method and Experiment over at Olives for Dinner.
If you decide to buy a tofu press, I'm pretty sure you won't regret it. I have 2! I bought my tofu press several years ago from TofuXpess.
Get Some Practice Pressing Tofu
Here are a few of my favorite tofu recipes:
Braised Tofu
Crispy Sweet and Sour Tofu
It all started when I stumbled upon a tofu omelet recipe on Pinterest. That led me to finding more tofu omelet recipes, being disappointed with the omelet recipes and finally trying Claire's for one last try. Unfortunately, it didn't remind me at all of an omelet, but it did taste quite a bit like quiche. I'm convinced it's the mirin that gives it the quiche flavor. It comes through a bit more without the TVP sausage, so try it with or without the sausage and I think you'll like it. The quiche flavor got my wheels spinning again and I decided to try my hand at a breakfast quiche.
This is an awesome recipe for Crispy Sweet and Sour Tofu from VeganYumYum (instructions adapted)
The secret to perfect tofu is in the preparation. If you take tofu out of the container, cut it into pieces and toss it into a stir fry, you will be very disappointed. Anyone who has eaten meat most of his/her life will not find biting into mushy white blogs appealing. Don't feed it to them. They will swear that they hate tofu and never try it again. It's not the tofu. It's the cook, which could be you. I say that in love!
Pressing The texture of firm and extra-firm tofu can be altered to be more dense and firm by pressing it. When you read recipes involving tofu, you will often see "firm tofu, pressed" under ingredients. Pressing tofu also allows the tofu to absorb sauces and marinates more readily.