Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumGetting through my holiday treats list
Last edited Thu Dec 21, 2023, 04:03 PM - Edit history (1)
Tofu jerky and spiced walnuts yesterday
made a batch of cinnamon hardtack today, just finishing packing it into snack bags. My house smells wonderful. Now it needs to look wonderful, so back to cleaning.
I just put the baklava in the oven. I did some cleaning before I started assembling the baklava, and I'll go back to chores later. The kitchen and dining room are bright with the afternoon sun, so I'll wait.
Hope we're all well along on our lists. Just a few more days and we'll be proud of our effort and enjoy the pleasures of a happy holiday
Walleye
(36,902 posts)Marthe48
(19,629 posts)I seriously can't wait till Jan is here
Callalily
(15,032 posts)I've never heard of tofu jerky. Sounds interesting.
Marthe48
(19,629 posts)I've got the time-consuming treats done. If I can get the cleaning done, soon! I'll be ready for the holiday. Maybe. Lol
Here is what I put on NJCher's post:
In case you ever want to try it, this is the recipe I use, and I dry it in the oven. It has a good flavor and texture. It isn't my recipe, I found it about 12 years ago. The link isn't secure, or I'd add it. You can google Tofu jerky, the original story:
Copied from the website:
The story and original recipe
I created a monster.
It was 1992. I was living in Colorado, I went to my favorite natural foods store and bought tofu jerky. I said, I can do this! and made it. I posted the recipe to Usenet (this was when the WWW was a few pages run by some wacky high-energy physicists) because I thought it was cool and others would appreciate it.
If you do a search of tofu jerky on the net, youll find this recipe the most. People, none of which know me, have circulated it around and around, usually with credit, pointing to my old CSU email address. I wonder how much mail comes to that address still, most of it certainly spam, with the occaisonal I love your tofu jerky recipe! mixed in.
If you use about.com for your recipes, its there. Its even in a book but I cant recommend you buy it because 1) theyve retitled it Original Pepper Tofu Jerky, and its not original (to them, anyway.) 2) Maybe the book gives me a credit, but I dont know becuase its British.
The problem is the recipes wrong. Its way too strong. In retrospect Ive learned this. Actually, you can modulate it by not draining the tofu, or soaking it for less, but now I recommend cutting it with water, perhaps by a 2:1 ratio of marinade to water, before soaking the tofu. Experiment. I dont know how you like your tofu jerky. How should I?
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 to 4 tbsp liquid smoke
1/8 cup water
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove crushed fresh garlic
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp honey
1 pound firm or extra firm tofu
Cut and drain the tofu. Take a 1-pound cube, cut it in half, and then slice it into strips on its short side. Strips should be about 4 to 5 millimeters in thickness. They may look big, but theyll shrink to about half their size. (if your tofu is 3x6x2" you are cutting it so you have 2 slabs 3x6x1" and then you'll slice the slabs into this slices 1/4" or less)
Mix all the marinade ingredients together well. Put the tofu in a single layer in a shallow baking pan or cookie sheet and pour the marinade over it. Let soak for several hours or overnight. (I put the tofu and marinade into a bag and put on a plate, turned the bag a few times)
Drain excess liquid (may be reused) and dry tofu in food dehydrator or warm (200 degrees F) oven. This will take 4 to 8 hours, depending on weather. If you live in a sunny, hot, dry climate, you can sun-dry it. It will take all day.
Flip the tofu over hourly so it dries evenly. Tofu jerky is delicious and keeps indefinitely. Dry the jerky until it is very chewy, but not crispy.
Be creative: Use low-sodium soy if you want less salt (it is rather salty). Use tabasco or ground cayenne if you want it hot. Chili powder makes chili jerky. Oregano and basil make pizza jerky.
If you like the recipe, tell me all about it at tofujerky@chairthrower.org.
I took a picture of the batch last year: https://imgur.com/gallery/SNeNZBr
Happy Thursday!
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Callalily
(15,032 posts)found on the internet. Lots of hours in the oven though.
Marthe48
(19,629 posts)I could get a dehydrator, but I probably wouldn't use it for anything else. I can turn down the furnace and heat the house for 4 hours