Why did my soft tofu deflate?

Why did my soft tofu deflate? - Top view of wooden cutting board with fresh cucumber slices and black bread loafs with soft tofu cheese near dry seaweed and crunchy pistachios near pineapple guava

I froze some soft tofu cause it was halfway to expiration and I didn’t need it for a bit. I took it out to make mapo tofu and you usually simmer the tofu in warm water for a bit before you cook with it. So I did that then strained it and left it in the strainer while I assembled all the other ingredients. When I came back the tofu cubes I had cut were all completely flat. What happened?



Best Answer

I don't know for sure, but I have a theory. Tofu contains a lot of water or soy whey. Soft tofu contains even more than firm varieties. This water is trapped in the cell structure of the soy proteins when they coagulated and were pressed together

Freezing causes water, which has now, of course become a solid, to expand. When you simmered you tofu in warm water, you very quickly thawed the tofu, rupturing the cell structure.

We know from examining the thawing of other frozen products, like chicken breast for example, that quick thawing leads to higher moisture loss than slow thawing in the refrigerator.

So, I think, in your case, you rapidly destroyed the structure that typically keeps the water in place. The water left the tofu, and tofu flattened.




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Why did my soft tofu deflate? - Top view of wooden cutting board with fresh cucumber slices and black bread loafs with soft tofu cheese near dry seaweed and crunchy pistachios near pineapple guava



How do you make silken tofu firm?

In a clean large saucepan, heat the soy milk to 185\xb0. Gently pour the hot soy milk into the bowl with the nigari solution and quickly stir once or twice just to combine thoroughly; it's easy to scramble the rapidly coagulating tofu. Cover and let stand undisturbed until the silken tofu is fully set, about 5 minutes.

Is silken tofu and soft tofu the same?

Silken tofu also called soft, silk, or Japanese-style tofu has a softer consistency than regular tofu and will fall apart if not handled carefully. You may notice that silken tofu (soft tofu), unlike regular tofu, is sometimes packaged in aseptic boxes that do not require refrigeration.

Do you press silken tofu?

Silken tofu doesn't require pressing, but for silken tofu recipes, you need to retain that silky texture. Pressing silken tofu simply creates a watery mess. However, you do need to press regular tofu before cooking. This gives the tofu a much less watery consistency, which is good for the shape and the taste.

How do you make soft block tofu?

Add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil into a frying pan. Crumble pressed tofu into the frying pan on medium-high heat. Crumble tofu by breaking it apart in your hands until it resembles the texture of ground beef. Cook the tofu until it is lightly browned and most of the water has evaporated.



STOP PRESSING TOFU




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