by Dev, CN Asst Dir of Customer Experience & Tea Connoisseur
It’s hard for me to speak highly enough of tofu! It’s one of China’s many, many amazing gifts to the general world’s culinary heritage. It’s also one of the health food world’s most versatile and foundational protein-packed heroes. I’m always interested in new ways of serving an old fave, and I recently decided to experiment more with tea brining.
(Also, did you know that tofu is one of the most sustainable proteins in terms of its emissions and land area use from production? It’s a hero in more ways than one!)
Tea brining is about as old as tea itself, so there are a million different ways to utilize it in the kitchen. Your choice of tea, length and method of brining, and addition of complementary herbs, spices, and sauces can radically change the texture and flavor profile of everyone’s favorite little soy cubes. The options are truly endless.
I chose two of my favorites from our bulk tea section to brine with: complex, smoky Lapsang Souchong, and creamy, nutty Golden Buds Milk Oolong: Jin Xuan. I decided to keep things simple and use a plain tea base for my own… but tamari sauce, peppercorns, clove buds, cinnamon, and garlic are popular brining additions, particularly for Lapsang Souchong steeps.
Ingredients from our shelves:
Heiwa Tofu (local from Maine!)
Golden Buds Milk Oolong: Jin Xuan (sourced from local MEM tea in Somerville!)
Lapsang Souchong (sourced from Mountain Rose Herbs)
Start using a firm tofu, like Heiwa's. Press tofu in a tofu press if you have one, or manually. For easy manual pressing, wrap your tofu block in a few layers of paper towel, place on a cutting board, and gently apply pressure with a heavy object (like a second cutting board) until excess fluid has drained and your tofu is suitably dense.
Slice tofu into cubes.
Time to set up teas! I used two 16 oz mugs and added a tablespoon of each tea in their separate jars, in tea bags, with boiling water to let them steep.
On the stovetop, fry tofu cubes in your choice of oil over medium heat until the edges are golden brown. Frying times may vary based on oil and heat; just go for the gold!
Once fried, remove tofu from oil and pat dry with paper towels. Let cool.
Place fried tofu cubes directly into tea mugs to steep. Steep hot / at room temperature for an hour or two. (I left the tea bags inside and did not remove them for the duration of steeping, including in the fridge.)
Once temperatures have dropped a bit, refrigerate, and continue to let cubes steep for 1-2 days. (At this point I had transferred everything to mason jars for better storage.)
After a few days have passed, rescue your cubes from their tea and enjoy!
These tasty, special little cubes can be given as gifts, used in stir-fries and soups, or just enjoyed as unique appetizers! I was extremely impressed with the delicate yet noticeable flavor transfer of both the Oolong and Lapsang Souchong; the Golden Buds tofu retained a somewhat sweet, milky flavor profile that I’ve long enjoyed in the tea itself. The Lapsang Souchong tofu was pleasantly smoky and mildly pungent, yet not overpowering.
Happy brines ahead!