Tofu

Let's talk about tofu, and let's be honest about it.

Tofu is a curd, made the way a cook makes cheese: warm soy milk, something sour or salty to bring it together, and the solids gather into soft white curds while the liquid drains away. That's why it's soft and a little springy, not tough like a vegetable at all. Press a block between your palms and you'll feel it: the firmer ones have had more water squeezed out, the softer ones less.

Choosing it is simple: use your eyes and nose. Fresh tofu smells of clean soy milk, faintly nutty, never sour. Good tofu has a clean, even colour, smooth and wet to the touch. Sliminess is a sign it's turning; walk away from that block. Press it with a finger — firm tofu should feel dense and spring back, not squash and stay squashed.

Some people say tofu has no taste, so it doesn't matter how you cook it. No! Tofu has a mild taste of its own, and a seared crust picks up the flavour of browned oil and aromatics beautifully. That misconception leads to a common mistake: people drop wet tofu straight into a sauce, skipping the pressing and the searing, so it stays pale, soggy, and forgettable on the plate.