So you’re all excited about trying a new vegan recipe; something involving baked tofu, or perhaps a brick of stir-fried soy goodness. But…lurking among the familiar ingredients is a weird variation of an otherwise ho-hum staple, that old friend we all call “tofu”: “pressed tofu.” WTF is that!?, you wonder in a panic.

Relax! “Pressed tofu” is simply regular tofu - soft, firm or extra-firm - pressed or squeezed, in order to remove some of the excess water from the tofu brick. Though it’s not always necessary to press your tofu before cooking with it, pressed tofu is able to absorb more liquid than off-the-shelf tofu, which is already fully saturated. Thus, if you’re making a dish with a liquid base or sauce, pressing your tofu prior to adding it to the mix will allow it to soak up more flavor.

About.com offers the following instructions for pressing tofu:

1. Layer your cutting board or bowl with two layers of towels and place tofu on towels as shown in picture.
2. Place tofu on board or in bowl.
3. Lay a fresh towel on top of tofu.
4. Gently press down on towel to remove any initial water.
5. Remove damp towel and place two layers of fresh towels on top of tofu.
6. Carefully place a bowl or other weight on top of towels to press down on tofu.
7. Let sit for at least fifteen minutes.

Given that I usually cook with two to three (or more) bricks of tofu at once, my method is a little more hard core:

The layers, from top to bottom, include:
- A large cutting board
- Two bath towels
- Five bricks of tofu
- Another layer of bath towels
- A second cutting board
- 16 oz canned goods, spread over the entire width/length of the cutting board below them
- A few phone- and textbooks for good measure

Usually I don’t use quite that much weight (the books were extra), but on this particular day I was working with more tofu than normal (it was all set to expire, yikes!), and was in a extra-short hurry, to boot.

While About.com recommends a 15-minute wait time, I generally leave the tofu to press for an hour. Of course, this requires a little extra planning before you actually start cooking - but the longer you press the tofu, the drier it will become (and the more flavor it’ll be able to soak up). Just make sure you don’t leave it out for the whole day, lest it spoil.

Also, make sure you layer enough towels above and below the tofu to absorb all that excess liquid - otherwise, all the pressing in the world won’t make much of a difference. And while they recommend using paper towels (at least judging from their stock photo), this dirty hippie liberal entreats you to employ reusable bath towels. Be sure to wash them the same day, though, otherwise you’ll find yourself with some stinky laundry on your hands!

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Tagged: veganmofo vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism blog swarm october food carnival tofu pressed tofu pressing tofu flickr photos instructions