Tofu is a wonderfully versatile ingredient. It’s great pan-fried, grilled, scrambled and whizzed into spreads and sauces. But I like it best pan roasted until it becomes meltingly golden and crisp. For this, you need a really good tofu, and the fresher the better.
Minnesota-made tofu is tastier than the tofu from California. MinnTofu, found in local co-ops, uses non-GMO soybeans grown on a family farm in St. Peter, is processed in Spring Lake Park, and delivered right away.
Our local soybeans are lighter in color, have a milder flavor and are plumper than commodity soybeans. MinnTofu was founded in 2018 by Yan Small, who relies on the Chinese method to process the tofu, which takes longer than the Japanese process used by bigger companies. “I know how tofu should taste,” Small said. “I grew up in China and remember shopping for fresh tofu with my grandmother. It should be light, mild and earthy.”
Fresh tofu is as delicate as cut flowers and should be treated as such. Remove it from the container, rinse it and return it to the container with enough clean water to cover it. Store it in the refrigerator and use within a week. You can use fresh tofu interchangeably in most recipes, with the rules of thumb that soft tofu is best for smoothies and scrambles, firm is good for stir-fries and extra-firm is terrific when roasted until it’s crispy and melting.