Tofu - Cooking, freezing, best by

[Paul H]

I've just bought a load of Tofu. 10 x 400g packs, 39p a packet rather than the usual £2, couldn't resist the bargain.  Use by date 8 Feb, storage says not suitable for freezing.
So, how long after the use by date do you think will be OK? 
If cooked, would it then be OK to freeze, or is there some reason Tofu shouldn't be frozen? 
Simple recipe suggestions welcome, I usually just fry it and add to veg or a sauce.

[rafletcher]

You can freeze it of course, but the texture will change / break down as the water turns to ice inside the tofu. It’ll still be perfectly edible afterwards.

[Flite]

I quite often freeze tofu.
Usually when I have used half a pack and don't expect to use the rest within a few days. I just drain it and stick it in a plastic box and into the freezer. The texture does become more spongy after thawing but it is actually very good at taking up marinades (ginger, garlic, tamari and walnut oil is a favourite). Also good for mashing into burgers with extra veg etc. 
I haven't tried freezing it in the pouch of water - suspect it might split?
I have also frozen it as part of a meal like roasted med veg with chunks of tofu. The tofu survives better than the veg. Or root veg and tofu casserole.

I don't use it after the sell by date - I treat it as a processed food.
Suggest that if you are going to freeze it, do it sooner rather than later, as usual good practice.

Favourite recipes:
Med veg and tofu, tin tomatoes and some herbs roasted all together
Root veg and tofu roasted with honey, mustard and oil (like the glaze you would use on ham)
Tofu marinated with ginger etc as above, roast or fry or grill. Chop and mix with cooked quinoa, celery, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and parsley or coriander - makes a filling one bowl salad.

[Paul H]

You can freeze it of course, but the texture will change / break down as the water turns to ice inside the tofu. It’ll still be perfectly edible afterwards.

Doh! 
So obvious it hadn't occurred to me, I was looking for a more complicated explanation... there's going to be a lot of water in it even after cooking.
Anyway, I've cooked one block for the freezer, half cubes the other half scrambled. I'll see what that's like at the weekend before deciding what to do with the rest.

[Paul H]

I quite often freeze tofu.
Usually when I have used half a pack and don't expect to use the rest within a few days. I just drain it and stick it in a plastic box and into the freezer.

Thanks, I'll stick an uncooked block in for comparison.

[nikki]

Bargain! 

(Just checking: we are talking firm rather than silken here, yes?)

I occasionally freeze blocks of Tofoo in their pouch of water - no issues so far. As mentioned upthread it opens up the structure a bit - good for soaking up flavour and I think some advocate this stage if you're aiming to replicate the texture of meat. *shrug* I've not been paying attention enough to really notice.

I also end up freezing it in cooked meals a fair bit. Again, no issues yet.

Recipe sugestions:

I often crumble firm tofu into a bowl, add in some soy sauce, maybe some oyster/mushroom sauce, maybe some mushroom stock or garlic or onion powder, leave it for a bit and then air fry until it's a bit crispy. You could do this in the oven too. I use it as a nice rich minced meat substitute for use with tomato-y pasta sauces; with cabbage or leek and carrots as gyoza filling; or even just as a fridge snack.

This week I'm planning to try a second run of a recipe I ended up on after googling a random polenta question a month or so ago. Can't for the life of me remember what the dish is called or where it was from (Caribbean or Central America, perhaps?). A layer of polenta, then a tomato sauce, then a layer of crumbled tofu, then another layer of polenta. A bit lasagne-like in assembly and baking. Topped with cheese, of course!   I think there are similar Italian dishes.

I also regularly make tofu nuggety things. Slice into appropiately-sized pieces; coat in cornstarch; then dunk into beaten egg; then press a load of panko breadcrumbs onto the surface. I air fry, but I dare say oven baking or shallow frying would work well. If you leave it a bit after doing the breading, it gets a bit more structural for the cooking stage. It's a bit of effort and washing up, but the crispiness is a nice contrast with sauces.


I came across this recipe recently: https://rainbowplantlife.com/vegan-curry-with-tofu/ It specifically calls for frozen and then defrosted tofu which also then boiled in salted water. If you could try that and let us know if that step's worth it too... 

[CrinklyLion]

I cut blocks of firm tofu into sensible size chunks or strips, freeze them on a baking tray, then transfer to either a bag or a lock-n-lock box. Then when I want to use it I can take out the right amount for whatever, it defrosts very quickly, and having been frozen makes it less fall-apart-y when you stir fry it. Win all round.

[Paul H]

Thanks, plenty of ideas here and a few from google. I can see a day's batch cooking coming up, is ten blocks (20+ meals) going to be enough, or should I pop out in the morning and get some more 

[Flite]

https://www.cauldronfoods.co.uk/recipes

Some decent basic recipes, but more recently they are pushing the more highly processed products.

[mrcharly-YHT]

My son worked for a restaurant in canada that served some really nice tofu dishes; it had an interesting bite and chew, very unlike silken stuff.

He said that the secret was freezing the tofu, thawing it and frying.

[Paul H]

Thanks for the suggestions.  Yesterday evening in the kitchen and it's mostly taken care of, ended up with more ideas than tofu, even if there was more available the freezer is rammed.  I froze two blocks uncooked, one pressed first to see if that makes any difference. Then I made some meat mince substitute loosely based on nikki's idea, also thanks for the idea of breadcrumbs, I had to get them in the freezer before I'd taken too many samples.  That led to trying a tempura batter, not entirely successful but has potential.  I've had some marinated with ginger, nice.  One of the uncooked blocks will make a glazed roast when I have visitors.  Plenty of meals I have to look forward to, two of each - Tagine, chestnut and mushroom scramble tofu, leek and tofu pie, tomato sauce for pasta, goulash, plus a couple of meals worth of fried cubes ready to drop into a any sauce or maybe a curry. That'll be a couple of meals a week for a couple of months, which ought to qualify me for full on tree hugger status if not MasterChef.

[nikki]

That rather sounds like you've got your £3.90 worth!

Good skills 

[orienteer]

I once went to a restaurant in Kyoto where every course was confected from tofu.

It was a long time before I could face tofu again.

[Flite]

That'll be a couple of meals a week

Good selection there, tofu is very versatile

[Woofage]

Frozen/thawed tofu makes a great quick dish when fried. Cut into <1cm thick chunks, coat with rice flour with some added flavourings and fry until crispy. Serve with steamed rice, veg and a splash of sesame oil & soy sauce.