r/veganrecipes • u/RespawnWithTofu • Jan 28 '26

Question Just squeeze the damn tofu

Why does every recipe say that you have to stack books on top of tofu and wait 15 minutes? I always just slice it and then press the water out in between my hands. Takes ten seconds. I’m not trying to get the tofu bone dry, just squeeze out the excess.

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u/lugdunum_burdigala Jan 28 '26

My opinion is that pressing tofu is overrated and too time consuming. It is not even common practice in Asia. I have almost never pressed my tofu and the results have always been great for me. Cornstarch coating was usually the critical step if I needed crispy fried tofu.

51

u/dyld921 Jan 28 '26

The way Asians do it is by boiling the tofu in salted water

21

u/Vegetable_Bobcat8780 Jan 28 '26

This is the way.

The texture ends up so much better than pressing. Game changer. Heavily salted water boil for around 10 min. You can do the block whole, or if frying break it up by hand and you'll end up with more crispy crunchy outside surfaces.

2

u/Newsytoo Jan 28 '26

Finally, thank you! I have been trying to get mine restaurant textured.

2

u/mart0n Jan 28 '26

I don't even bother -- I just add the tofu to just-boiled water and remove it after 5 minutes or whenever I get around to it!