When cooking tofu, a common problem is that it breaks too easily! It can't maintain its original shape for cooking. So, how can you keep tofu intact? Here are four simple tips for cooking tofu.
Before cooking, blanch the tofu in salted water. This way, it will be less likely to break when you cook it. This is especially true for southern tofu, which is soft, tender, smooth, and elastic, and has a high water content. Before cooking, first bring the water in the pot to a boil, add a small spoonful of salt, and blanch the tofu cubes for a moment to keep them intact.
Among the types of tofu, lactone tofu is the most delicate and tender, but it is also the most fragile. To prevent lactone tofu from breaking, you can steam it in its packaging for 20 minutes before cooking. Let it cool down, then cut it into various shapes as needed for your dish.
In addition, while northern tofu is tough and less likely to break, you should still handle it with care. When stir-frying, you can pan-fry it in hot oil for 1-2 minutes until the surface becomes firm before flipping it to cook the other side.
Finally, no matter what type of tofu you are stir-frying, avoid using the wok shovel to scoop or lift it. Instead, use the back of the shovel to gently push it. This way, you can mix the tofu with the other ingredients evenly and prevent the tofu from being broken by the shovel.