We jumped into Project Pan-Asia full force this week and decided to try to sneak tofu into our kids’ dinner rotation. The thinking was: we’d do it seamlessly. If they’ve tolerated boneless skinless organic free range chicken breast (marinated in orange and lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper then grilled), they’d be thrilled to have some comparatively unctuous extra firm tofu dusted in 00 flour, salted, peppered, and sauteed in grapeseed oil. There’s that salty crunchy exterior, that soft warm interior. I cooked it. They hated it. “It’s really good, Dada, but I don’t like it,” said my politic 5 year old daughter. “Yucky,” said my impolitic 2 year old son. They shoved the crispy tofu aside and requested a quesadilla. Who were we to deny them? Strike One. Stay tuned.
—Hugh
Bummer! My daughter LOVES agedashi tofu. I’ve also had luck with the baked, marinated tofu. They have all sorts of flavors (five spice, teriyaki, etc).
I always liked silken tofu in soup (miso being the obvious one but even chicken tasting pretty good). And when I went on an egg-strike, my mum used to use tofu in place of eggs in a scramble with mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. yum!
The fried tofu has worked wonders with the kids. It’s a sure hit for a healthy dinner. 00 Flour (Wondra here in the US) seems to be key. My parents are visiting this week . . . and we’re up for the challenge of seeing just how far the appeal of this recipe extends. Ha . . . hahahah (evil laugh intended). At least we know the kids will love it!
I find giving things cool names worked with my kids – we called tofu “princess cheese” for at least a year, but hey, it worked