Asian Tofu: Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook It at Home

by Andrea Nguyen

From sleek, silken tofu with delicate toppings to piping-hot fried satchels in a robust sauce, tofu provides a versatile canvas for the intricate flavors and textures that Asian and vegetarian cooks have long enjoyed. America has embraced tofu as a healthy, affordable ingredient. And while it has been welcomed into sophisticated mainstream dining, tofu is often hidden in Western guises and in limited applications. In her third intrepid cookbook, celebrated food writer and teacher ANDREA NGUYEN aims to elevate this time-honored staple to a new place of prominence on every table. 

Asian Tofu’s nearly 100 recipes explore authentic,ancient fare and modern twists that capture the culinary spirit of East, Southeast, and South Asia. There are spectacular favorites from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and India, as well as delicious dishes from Taipei, San Francisco, Santa Monica, and New York. Andrea demystifies tofu and interprets traditional Asian cuisine for cooks, sharing compelling personal stories and dispatches from some of the world’s best tofu artisans along the way.

For those who want to take their skills to the next level, the tofu tutorial clearly outlines tofu-making technique, encouraging readers to experiment with the unparalleled flavors of homemade varieties. But time-pressed cooks needn’t fear: while a few recipes, such as Silken Tofu and Seasoned Soy Milk Hot Pot, are truly best with homemade tofu, most are terrific with store-bought products. Some traditional dishes combine tofu with meat in brilliant partnerships, such as Spicy Tofu with Beef and Sichuan Peppercorn and Tofu with Kimchi and Pork Belly, but this collection is predominantly vegetarian and vegan, including the pristinely flavored Spiced Tofu and Coconut in Banana Leaf and vibrant Spicy Lemongrass Tofu Salad. And innovations such as Okara Doughnuts reveal tofu’s more playful side.

For health- and eco-conscious eaters and home chefs who are inspired to make the journey from bean to curd, Asian Tofu is the perfect guide.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Asia, Asian Literature, Reference

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

A bank examiner gone astray, Andrea Nguyen is living out her childhood dream of being a writer, editor, teacher, and consultant. Her impactful books—Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Asian Dumplings, Asian Tofu, The Banh Mi Handbook, and The Pho Cookbook—have been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, International Association of Culinary Professionals, and National Public Radio for their excellence. She edited Unforgettable, a biography cookbook about culinary icon Paula Wolfert.

Andrea has contributed to many publications, including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Lucky Peach, Saveur, and Cooking Light, where she is a monthly columnist. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance and communication management from the University of Southern California and studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite how much most people complain about tofu, I actually like it. And I'm always looking for new ways to cook it. This book, goes a step beyond simple recipes and tells you how to make it at home. Starting with homemade soy milk and ending up with tofu skin, soy lees and tofu blocks, with a few simple tools, you can prepare it at home. The author is very thorough with her tofu buying guide, basic cooking tips, and then the recipes themselves from all parts of Asia, including China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and India. I'd seen variations of some of the recipes before in other cookbooks, but was pleased to see a whole variety of ones I'd never seen before, such as Tofu, Tomato and Dill Soup, Soft Tofu and Seafood Hot Pot, Spicy Yuba Ribbons (basically tofu skin briefly cooked with spices), and Cashew and Cardamom Fudge. The gorgeous photos of nearly every recipe helped a lot with the unfamiliar dishes. Highly recommended, 5 stars.

[jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only wish I had more of the patience and equipment for taking on making tofu these days...

[Queer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe its just me but this cookbook could have been so much more. The recipes for soy tofus are fabulous especially the use of soy lees. But the title is Asian Tofus not East Asian Tofus and it really could have benefited from coverage of other bean and nut based milks made into tofus. Maybe this is an issue with tofu as a product vs. it as a category. Either way the oversight of the south and southeast asian tofus by a Vietnamese author made me sad.

[Betsy Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is very informative and the recipes are great. I was hoping for more vegetarian dishes being that it is a tofu book, but I still very much enjoyed it.

[Sara Jamshidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: Do not read this book on an empty stomach. The pictures are too delicious-looking for hungry eyes.

This is a pan-asian cookbook centered around tofu and it's so interesting! It is full of engaging stories and cool facts (for example, Burmese tofu is made from legumes and formed in polenta-like blocks). The author goes over how to make most things from scratch and offers alternatives to the more exotic ingredients (for those who don't have a foreign-goods store nearby). If you don't wish to make items from home, she gives you tips on how to select these items in a store. She also provides cooking instructions for those who find tofu baffling.

The recipes are not exclusively vegetarian/vegan. I would say about 40% of the recipes use meat (much of it pork) and a handful use eggs, but they can be easily adapted to a vegetarian/vegan diet. It is, however, mostly dairy-free. So if you have a dairy allergy or sensitivity and you like tofu, you are going to love this book.

The recipes are doable but sometimes too involved. I also don't like that the author seems to hate soymilk makers, an appliance I rely on. I didn't have problems making tofu skin from soymilk out of my Soyajoy4.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think the most valuable thing about this book is the how-to tofu instructions in the first chapter or so of the book. lots of great photos and clear instructions with some anecdotes. but she makes making tofu seem approachable, without making it seem like it's without its difficulties. there are lots of great recipes from china and southeast asia (not all vegetarian) included in the rest of the book that seem really interesting. a cool resource!

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrea Nguyen's instructions for making fresh tofu are perfect. It requires no special equipment, only patience. The results were wonderful. She also includes recipes for using all the byproducts of the tofu making process: tofu skin, lees, and whey. I used the lees to make her Gingery Chocolate Chip Cookies and my family loves them. This will be come a habit in our home. I'm looking forward to seeing checking out her other cookbooks.

[Yodamom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whole family favorite. Filled with great recipes and photos. There is also a wonderful section on making your own soy bean products. Everything we tried was a tasty treat.This is one of the few cookbooks I have purchased to keep on my kitchen shelf.

[Meg Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're on vegan or vegetarian diet, and you're interested in Asian dishes. This is the book that you should look up to explore plenty of recipes. I'm a fan of Andrea Nguyen cook book. Can't miss this book in my cookbook collection

[Thitirat B. Luu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very plain and very boring. Nothing new.

[Timothy Grubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aw-wee-oo Killer Tofu!!!

Asian Tofu: Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook It at Home by Andrea Nguyen is a cookbook for Tofu dishes…and that’s enough…

Full disclosure…the early chapter that covers the making of tofu looked very unappetizing as it covered coagulants for cooking it along with ingredients that my mind made me think of paste. That was the only part of this book that made me flinch.

Anyway, the intro and some other recipes cover the development of tofu and its influence by other nations both as part of cultural collaboration and colonization. I actually would have liked more material on that but this is a cookbook not a history book so I understand not going into a ton of detail.

The recipes cover a range of tofu dishes…both main entrees, salads, and others…as this book also influence delicious looking photos of each item. Some recipes also include historical anecdotes or references to other books you might want to check out.

Worth checking out even if you only want to slightly expand your knowledge of tofu and its importance in worldwide cuisine…

[Michael J. LeSage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive

Narratives are easy to read and informative. Topics are well researched and the recipes are wide ranging and thorough. Each recipe is easy to follow and most are well within the reach of even casual home cooks. The tutorial on how to make your own tofu was appreciated because in my neck of the woods it requires a drive of at least 30 minutes to obtain even the most basic types of tofu.
Photographs are excellent and show techniques where appropriate and finished dishes in a very appetizing light.
Highly recommended.

[Ariela Housman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite cookbook.

I particularly love that Nguyen doesn't just give a bunch of recipes, she teaches techniques, gives advice on how to stock your pantry and how to make good purchases. She assumes competence rather than knowledge, so her book covers everything from the very basic on up to extremely complex, but it all builds up and you could pick up the book knowing nothing about tofu and, with practice, get all the way to the complicated recipes.

[Niklas Braun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it cover to cover and have some ideas of what I want to make now. It's very interesting learning about the world of tofu and how many cool things can be made

[Peejay(Pamela) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully photographed and inspirational book of tofu, from how to make your own to what to with it!

[Robert Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic illustrations and book layout. It's been a joy cooking with this book.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever been curious about making your own tofu I strongly recommend you getting this book. It makes the process easy and simple to complete and shows you all the different types you could make. After which it gives you recipes on how to cook your newly made tofu. I'm a vegan so let me warn vegans or vegetarians now, this book is not totally veggie. It does contain a few recipes containing meat products. But those recipes can be so easily converted that it's not really an issue. You can either substitute or omit completely. The book even provides a few recipes for mock meats inside. If your ready to step up your tofu game I recommend this book to you.

[Cailia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this is a good book on creating different styles of homemade tofu, from silken to super-firm, as well as incorporating tofu into a broad variety of recipes. Organic, non-GMO and hexane free silken tofu is unavailable where I live, so fully understanding how to prepare my own was very desirable. I would have rated this book higher if meat and other animal byproducts were not included, but they were included in enough recipes to make them impossible to overlook. Also, sprouted tofu is not covered and the issues with conventional tofu brands (GMO's, pesticides, hexane extraction, etc.) were not adequately addressed. So, the highest I could give this book is a solid 3 stars.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Of the recipes I've tried so far, the twice-fried coriander tofu, spicy Yuba ribbons, and pan-fried Korean tofu with mushrooms were all keepers. The spring roll filling was not to my taste. The index is rather difficult to navigate, but otherwise I love this book! Please note that at least one third of the recipes use meat as well as tofu.

[Greymalkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on tofu I've read. I liked the range of recipes, gorgeous pictures and the nice step by step instructions for the basic tofu recipes. And explanations of what wouldn't work were quite helpful.

[Eling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource, especially regarding types of tofu and how to make it yourself. Not sure I'm feeling quite that ambitious yet, but if I ever do want to make my own tofu, this is the book I'll pick up first. Lovely photos as well.

[Cherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was hoping for - I wanted more vegetarian recipes, and more cooking with tofu recipes. Detailed instructions on how to MAKE tofu yourself, wow. Some good tips for cooking tofu and interesting stories.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written introduction to the world of tofu, whether you're looking to make your own soy products from scratch, or simply use tofu and related ingredients in one of the great collections of recipes from all over Asia.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to introduce you to tofu and the varieties of such. It has an excellent first chapter on how to make several varieties of tofu at home. The recepies are good but being a vegetarian I found many to contain or be oriented around meat.

[Liz]

Simmered greens with fried tofu...YUM!!

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the book i've been looking for....with instructions for making your own tofu. I'm gathering ingredients now!

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. A lot of meat in these recipes. I could be inspired to make my own tofu based on this book, however. I've owned my own tofu press for about 12 years and have yet to unwrap the thing.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing reference. Kind of too detailed for me to cook out of at the moment. But very excellent for true tofu fiends.

[Derek Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great cookbook from Andrea. Tofu is much more interesting than you probably thought. It's not just for vegan hippies, you know.

[Shelton TRL · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book all about ... Tofu! This book takes tofu to new heights! The only things better than the the beautiful presentation are the excellent and unique recipes.