Bonnie Chung - Tofu Tasty: Imaginative tofu recipes for every day

Reliable, versatile and essential, my kitchen is never without tofu. Its my go-to pantry saviour for so many last-minute dinners and I eat it almost every day in one of its many forms.

Tofu has experienced a true renaissance in this new era of plant-based eating, as we search for more sustainable sources of protein. If you have picked up this cookbook, you might be familiar with tofu already; maybe youve tried a few dishes at home or in a restaurant and are looking for more recipe ideas. This is a really exciting time for tofu, and I hope to share inspiration for cooking it with confidence, as well as some recipes for making different types of tofu from scratch.

In this book, I hope to expand your tofu horizons, sharing with you the many different types and the multitude of ways in which you can cook it. Youll find all my favourite dishes, which I hope will make their way, quickly and firmly, into your cooking repertoire.

Tofu comes in so many different forms; the basic tofu blocks with which we are all familiar are just the tip of the iceberg. We will be exploring fermented tofu squidgy and feta-like with a deep tangy flavour and light, delicate, dried tofu, like twists of paper that rehydrate to a satisfying chew, among very many others. You will never be stuck in a tofu rut again.

In Asia, its spiritual home, tofu is not a meat alternative. Rather, it stands proudly in its own right. When I was growing up, tofu was an essential dish on the dinner table, along with fish, meat and vegetables, and sometimes the tofu would be cooked together with meat or seafood too; it didnt replace anything. In fact, if it was missing, someone would ask if it had been left in the kitchen. This book includes both classic tofu dishes from across Asia picking the best from Japan, China and Korea and other dishes of my own invention. I love mixing up traditional and modern techniques and flavours.

This book is organized into seven chapters to distinguish between the different types and textures of tofu; we have crispy dishes, soft steamed dishes, stir-fries, braised dishes and even desserts. All the recipes are vegetarian to start with, then I suggest added twists that may include meat, fish and other swaps, as you prefer. This gives you a strong foundation to build from and, if you are cutting out or cutting down on meat, you can simply make the base recipe. My recipes aim to draw out our main ingredients original flavours and textures through the use of contrast. Juxtaposing sharp heat, acidity and crunch brings out tofus natural character, highlighting its calm, sweet beanyness.

I have lost count of the number of people who have been converted to tofu after tasting some of these dishes, so, wherever you are on your tofu discovery journey, I hope you will join me in enjoying and sharing these dishes too.

If you have any preconceptions about what tofu is like, forget them Start again with Tofu Tasty.

Fresh tofu is made from curds of soya milk that have usually been pressed firmly into compact blocks. To make it, dried soya beans are soaked in water, then ground with fresh water to create soya milk. The solid residue of the beans is then strained out before the milk is heated and a coagulant added to set it into curds. The set curds can be eaten as they are, or pressed to get rid of excess water and made into firm blocks.

At this stage, different types of tofu can be created, depending on the ratio of water to beans, the amount of coagulant used and how firmly the tofu is pressed. Then, once the tofu has been set, further types can be created: dried tofu, fermented tofu and deep-fried tofu to name just a few.

The world of tofu is incredibly diverse. Flavours range from delicate to pungent, while textures start from melt-in-the-mouth and graduate through every stage up to firm and chewy. No matter what your preferred tastes, I am certain that there must be at least one type for everyone! The descriptions on the following pages will give you an initial sense of the different forms of tofu and how they are best enjoyed.

Clockwise from the top left: Firm tofu, Soft tofu, Smoked tofu, Silken tofu