If you’re deep into the vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, you’ve probably heard people raving about tofu at one point or another. Many look at it as a kind of miracle food.
It’s easy to add to just about any recipe. It can absorb the flavors of ingredients around it. On top of those wonderful qualities, it has a decent amount of protein in it – something that’s often missing from vegan and vegetarian diets.
But what’s baffling to some is the way tofu tastes. You might have been disappointed, after hearing all these good things about it, to find that it seems rather bland.
We’ll be talking about if tofu is supposed to taste like nothing, and what you can do to improve its flavor.
Is Tofu Supposed to Taste Like Nothing?
Tofu naturally has a very mild taste. If you were to eat it straight out of the package, it would, of course, not have much flavor.
So, yes, it’s sort of supposed to taste like nothing. But that’s to grant this amazing food the versatility it needs to fit into just about any recipe.
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Why is Tofu so Bland?
Tofu is made from soy milk, which is coagulated and pressed into blocks. As you can imagine, this doesn’t lead to a lot of flavor in the resulting product.
This is actually beneficial. Tofu is made to mix in with other recipes, which makes it into a blank canvas of sorts. In use, it becomes whatever you need it to be.
Related Article: How Long Does Tofu Last After Being Cooked?
What is Tofu Supposed to Taste Like?
You might be wondering if tofu is supposed to taste like something different. After all, you’ve heard other people discussing how good it is – that must mean you’re missing out on something, right?
That’s not necessarily true. As we’ve mentioned above, tofu isn’t designed to be bursting with flavor right out of the package.
Imagine it as a canvas. Like a canvas, you can “paint” flavors onto it, such as adding spices or soaking it in soups and sauces. So when you wonder what tofu is supposed to taste like, the answer is literally anything.
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How to Make Tofu Taste Good
Tofu as-is might not be very interesting in the culinary world. It even kind of looks uninteresting – it’s just a featureless block.
But this is one of the most flexible foods out there. There’s so much you can do to tofu to transform it into a flavorful, memorable experience, solidifying its place as one of your favorite foods.
Some of those ways include adding spices, stir-frying it, coating it in sauce, putting it in soups, and combining it with other recipes. If you’d like to see some examples of what to do, try the two recipes in the video below.
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Wrap Up
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In some ways, tofu is almost deceptive. You hear so many things about it – tofu this and tofu that everywhere. If you’re trying to cook tofu for the first time yourself, you probably go into it expecting this flavor-packed experience.
That’s why it’s so disappointing to discover that, when not properly prepared, tofu is actually kind of flavorless. However, with the right recipes, you can transform the blank canvas that is tofu into a tasty work of art.
Recommended Article: Is Tofu a Processed Food?
Further Reading: Is Tofu Raw?
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
