Anarchists Cookbook: Tofu causes explosions!

[Namikaze]

It began last November, when the 25-year- old Gordon invited her boyfriend over for a tofu dinner. She had a pan warming on her stove, and it somehow triggered an explosion that blew out her apartment windows and activated a sprinkler system that dumped 15 gallons of water a minute into the small studio apartment.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/02/portland_woman_made_famous_by.html

Wow. I have to say I am not surprised at the cooking mistake that she must have made, adding wet tofu to a hot-oiled pan is no bueno. You don't add wet food to hot oil, it will react badly. Pop and crackle akin to fire-crackers.

I am surprised the windows fell out. Also, check out the youtube dramanization for bonus points. Do you think the renter is getting a raw deal, or do you feel the property owner is being too harsh?

Also, where do you stand on tofu? Love it or leave it?

Finally, for kicks, anyone have a good tofu recipe?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Half my family are vegetarians so I have eaten a lot of tofu. Go out to asian restaurants (which is the only kind of restaurant I go to) with the vegetarians and everything you order has tofu. I have eaten it in every possible way including the infamous stinky tofu.

It is so fucking boring. If I never eat it again I will not care. The worst part is hearing the vegetarians say--and this is an actual quote-- "OMG the tofu is sooooo good here!" Yes that white flavorless sponge has done its job of soaking up the actual juices of the dish.

I also grew up on tofu (mother was a hippie) so this may have something to do with my lack of love for the stuff.

 

[Amaris]

Half my family are vegetarians so I have eaten a lot of tofu. Go out to asian restaurants (which is the only kind of restaurant I go to) with the vegetarians and everything you order has tofu. I have eaten it in every possible way including the infamous stinky tofu.

It is so fucking boring. If I never eat it again I will not care. The worst part is hearing the vegetarians say--and this is an actual quote-- "OMG the tofu is sooooo good here!" Yes that white flavorless sponge has done its job of soaking up the actual juices of the dish.

I also grew up on tofu (mother was a hippie) so this may have something to do with my lack of love for the stuff.

Well, there's an art to good tofu. It's like beef. "These hamburgers are juicy!". Yeah, the dead animal flesh absorbed the grease and water in the pan. Goody.

So really, it's all about preparation and presentation. Do it right and any ingredient can bring out something delightful.

 

[M'Sharak]

It began last November, when the 25-year- old Gordon invited her boyfriend over for a tofu dinner. She had a pan warming on her stove, and it somehow triggered an explosion that blew out her apartment windows and activated a sprinkler system that dumped 15 gallons of water a minute into the small studio apartment.

http://mobile.oregonlive.com/advorg/pm_32330/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ZFKJk08i

Wow. I have to say I am not surprised at the cooking mistake that she must have made, adding wet tofu to a hot-oiled pan is no bueno. You don't add wet food to hot oil, it will react badly. Pop and crackle akin to fire-crackers.

I am surprised the windows fell out. Also, check out the youtube dramanization for bonus points. Do you think the renter is getting a raw deal, or do you feel the property owner is being too harsh?

I can't comment on any specifics, as your link only goes to a site index for oregonlive.com, rather than to an article, and you've provided no additional link to a "youtube dramanization". (Another article I found is kind of short on useful details.)

Also, where do you stand on tofu? Love it or leave it?

I can't say I love it, but I've had a few dishes which made tofu interesting. (Also too many which failed to make it very interesting.)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Half my family are vegetarians so I have eaten a lot of tofu. Go out to asian restaurants (which is the only kind of restaurant I go to) with the vegetarians and everything you order has tofu. I have eaten it in every possible way including the infamous stinky tofu.

It is so fucking boring. If I never eat it again I will not care. The worst part is hearing the vegetarians say--and this is an actual quote-- "OMG the tofu is sooooo good here!" Yes that white flavorless sponge has done its job of soaking up the actual juices of the dish.

I also grew up on tofu (mother was a hippie) so this may have something to do with my lack of love for the stuff.

Well, there's an art to good tofu. It's like beef. "These hamburgers are juicy!". Yeah, the dead animal flesh absorbed the grease and water in the pan. Goody.

So really, it's all about preparation and presentation. Do it right and any ingredient can bring out something delightful.

I once had an excellent tofu dish in Canberra in 1987. It was at a Vietnamese restaurant. The tofu was in rectangular flat slabs and fried to a golden color. It was smothered in a blackish chilli intensive sauce. I remember this tofu because it was the only time I have ever found it interesting.

I'm sure I have eaten many dishes that fall under the "art to good tofu" category. But they are still tofu. Stinky tofu was somewhat interesting but that's about it. It's not a matter of "teacake you need to try better prepared tofu" because I have been eating it my whole life.

 

[Amaris]

I once had an excellent tofu dish in Canberra in 1987. It was at a Vietnamese restaurant. The tofu was in rectangular flat slabs and fried to a golden color. It was smothered in a blackish chilli intensive sauce. I remember this tofu because it was the only time I have ever found it interesting.

I'm sure I have eaten many dishes that fall under the "art to good tofu" category. But they are still tofu. Stinky tofu was somewhat interesting but that's about it. It's not a matter of "teacake you need to try better prepared tofu" because I have been eating it my whole life.

Oh, I'm not saying that, just that maybe I could cook you up a mean piece of tofu and make it so good that you'd never suspect that's what it was.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

You're on J. Allen. I like chillies, lemongrass and coriander. Just to give you some hints. And skip the satay sauce.

Your challenge is that I eat it without thinking "WHY WHY WHY is this not chicken?"

I will bring the beer

 

[Namikaze]

Link works now. ^_^

 

[Amaris]

You're on J. Allen. I like chillies, lemongrass and coriander. Just to give you some hints. And skip the satay sauce.

Your challenge is that I eat it without thinking "WHY WHY WHY is this not chicken?"

I will bring the beer

Consider it a challenge.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I'm not really sure I understand what the woman is complaining about here. It was an accident, yes, shit happens, but why does she think she's not responsible for the damages she caused? Is her point that it wasn't her explosion but the faulty sprinklers that caused most damages or what? I don't see why the landlord should pay the bill here only because the renter was unlucky; otherwise it's for the courts to settle I guess.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

She needs to sue the place she bought the tofu from as obviously their tofu was defective.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Half my family are vegetarians so I have eaten a lot of tofu. Go out to asian restaurants (which is the only kind of restaurant I go to) with the vegetarians and everything you order has tofu. I have eaten it in every possible way including the infamous stinky tofu.

It is so fucking boring. If I never eat it again I will not care. The worst part is hearing the vegetarians say--and this is an actual quote-- "OMG the tofu is sooooo good here!" Yes that white flavorless sponge has done its job of soaking up the actual juices of the dish.

I also grew up on tofu (mother was a hippie) so this may have something to do with my lack of love for the stuff.

Well, there's an art to good tofu. It's like beef. "These hamburgers are juicy!". Yeah, the dead animal flesh absorbed the grease and water in the pan. Goody.

So really, it's all about preparation and presentation. Do it right and any ingredient can bring out something delightful.

I once had an excellent tofu dish in Canberra in 1987. It was at a Vietnamese restaurant. The tofu was in rectangular flat slabs and fried to a golden color. It was smothered in a blackish chilli intensive sauce. I remember this tofu because it was the only time I have ever found it interesting.

I'm sure I have eaten many dishes that fall under the "art to good tofu" category. But they are still tofu. Stinky tofu was somewhat interesting but that's about it. It's not a matter of "teacake you need to try better prepared tofu" because I have been eating it my whole life.

Seconded on the boring nature of tofu. My wife has tried for years to explain the subtle nuances of flavor and texture to no avail.

 

[StolenThunder]

I really like tofu but I'm terrible at cooking with it myself. I'd pick it way before chicken when eating out, for sure.

 

[Spot's Meow]

My opinion is that this woman is lucky that her father is a lawyer.

There needs to be cooking safety classes in school or something, because I know a lot of people my age (mid-20s) who don't understand what to do in the kitchen at all. Like me, they probably never learned from their parents. My mom hated cooking and my dad worked in the evenings, so our most extensive meals involved opening a can of raviolis or maybe having spaghetti once in a while. Hamburger Helper was considered a treat. Now that I'm older, I've taught myself to cook and very much enjoy it. My sisters, who aren't nearly as obsessive about details and reading instruction manuals as I am, and some of whom lack common sense, could easily believe that pouring water into hot oil would be no problem.

 

[scotpens]

Tofu itself has virtually no flavor and takes on the taste of whatever it's cooked with. I like some Chinese tofu dishes, like tofu in black bean sauce. But I wouldn't eat the stuff every day.

. . . My sisters, who aren't nearly as obsessive about details and reading instruction manuals as I am, and some of whom lack common sense, could easily believe that pouring water into hot oil would be no problem.

I just hope they never try to put out an electrical or grease fire by pouring water on it.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

It's true a lot of people don't seem to know any basics of cooking. I remember working somewhere once where a young girl sorted the pantry by pouring the brown rice and white rice together in one jar.

 

[Garak]

Tofu
Kale
Baby Bok Choy
Ginger
Garlic
Onion
All Purpose Liquid Soy Seasoning
Sesame Seeds
Brown Rice

Cook the onion garlic and ginger together until soft, then add the soy and tofu. Cook for 3-5 mins then add the kale and bok choy. Cook until soft, sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and serve over brown rice.

Delicious and very healthy.

 

[ManOnTheWave]

Finally, for kicks, anyone have a good tofu recipe?

I sort of liked the Good Eats recipe. Mainly because it points out that well prepared tofu is drained of as much excess water as possible, and usually marinated in something tasty prior to cooking.

I've known too many vegetarians who just ate it plain and called it good.

 

[scotpens]

. . . I remember working somewhere once where a young girl sorted the pantry by pouring the brown rice and white rice together in one jar.

She was probably well meaning. She didn't like to see the rice segregated.

 

[Namikaze]

. . . I remember working somewhere once where a young girl sorted the pantry by pouring the brown rice and white rice together in one jar.

She was probably well meaning. She didn't like to see the rice segregated.

IMHO, if family members have no cooking skills, a fire extinguisher makes a nifty gifty.