THIS CAN'T BE TOFU!
My Description
When we figured out that tofu might be really good for us, America went nuts! People started eating tofu in all kinds of strange ways. Some were telling me that they were eating it raw, for breakfast, just to get it in them! Yuck! I found that horrifying.
I grew up eating wonderful tofu in the tiny Japanese restaurants that I discovered on the river front in Sacramento. The menus where written—and spoken—in Japanese. Unfamiliar with the language except for the word “sukiyaki” I ended up eating a lot of tofu in that succulent braise, but eventually discovered it in other dishes as well. Always utterly fresh, it stuck me as a delicate and delicious food.
My mission, in This Can't be Tofu!, was to rescue tofu from the obsession of the health mavens and reintroduce it as a delicious ingredient to cook with and enjoy. Since there were so many different kinds of tofu on the market, I started with the tofu basics: I sorted out which is which and how to use them in the kitchen.
As for the recipes, I happen to think that tofu really does taste best cooked with the kinds of spices and seasonings from those countries where it is eaten—chile and ginger, coconut milk, fragrant peanut oils, mushroom soy sauce, cilantro. Those ingredients can shift very nicely into Mexican and Indian flavors as well. Although many recipes use Asian seasonings to bring out the many dimensions in tofu, these recipes are by no means limited to this influence. Some recipes are quite American in flavor, such as The Bachelor Tofu Sandwich. And a lot of them are very fast and easy to make. What I don't do is put tofu into cheesecakes or pretend that it's feta cheese.
Some of the readers who reviewed This Can't be Tofu! on-line thought some of these ingredients were too exotic and hard to find, but they are really quite readily available in most any supermarkets today, and certainly Asian markets, which exist all across our country. Also on the critical side were words against frying tofu in oil. However, as one reviewer pointed out, this is akin to browning meat for a stir-fry. To keep the fat down, I always suggest using non-stick pan and a light film of oil, not deep-frying. And I do give alternatives to browning in oil.
My husband named the book. When I was preparing the recipes, I would bring him the fruits of each day's efforts. He kept saying, "This can't be tofu!"
This Can't beTofu! was nominated for a James Beard Award.
What Others Say
"It is the first tofu cookbook I've come across with original recipes that are both extremely tasty and, for the most part, do not try to 'hide' the tofu in cheesecakes and the like.” —A fan
“This book is single handedly responsible for giving tofu a weekly place at my table, and I have two thirteen-year-olds to speak for the results. This book is a tiny classic.” —A fan
“I was just like the anecdote that Madison describes in the beginning of This Can’t Be Tofu!—I would virtuously buy tofu, store it in the refrigerator for a few weeks and eventually throw it way. This book has changed all that—it teaches, it boosts your bravery, and the recipes are gems that will become part of your repertoire for life. My whole family is eating tofu regularly now, and loving it. Thank you!” —A fan
“I'm vegetarian but my husband isn't and I've always wanted to use tofu but had no idea how to make it appealing to him. So far he's loved everything I've made from this book and so have I.” —A fan
“I was new to the world of tofu when I picked up this book; I now use tofu, and this book, every day. The best recipe in the collection, in my opinion, is the Bachelor Sandwich, but there are many others. I appreciate the author's extra suggestions and comments, too—they enhance each recipe.” —A fan
