Tofu Turkey: A Great Alternative for the Holidays!

Every year more people decide to go 'green' in not only their lifestyle changes but their diets as well. This means eating more vegetarian foods and less meat. This also means wondering what to serve as a healthy but tasteful alternative to the traditional turkey meal.

Tofu is the answer for hundreds of households. Tofu has been an Asian staple for over 2,000 years. This cheese-like food is nutritious (containing isoflavones and high in both Vitamin B and protein), reduces cholesterol and is easy to digest. Tofu is also a great deal cheaper than the average turkey. American Farm Bureau stated in an article in 2005 that a 16-pound turkey was, on average, $15.11 pr roughly 94 cents per pound. Meanwhile, the 5 pounds of tofu that is needed to make a tofu turkey, or tofurkey as they are called, can be half of that.

But because of its bland taste, tofu has a love-hate relationship with the healthy eating public. Meat eaters shouldn't steer clear just because of its vegetarian label. If prepared in the correct way, tofu absorbs the flavor of whatever is cooked with it. A lot of people state the familiar motto, "tastes like chicken".

It also won't resemble the traditional turkey unless you are creative in molding it that way. But less time is consumed to make a Tofu turkey and it can be served with all the customary side dishes. Tofu is a perfect alternative, prepared in the right way, to the holiday Tom Turkey!

Basic Tofu Turkey

5 lbs medium firm tofu

½ cups sesame oil

¼ cup tamari

5 tablespoons veggie chicken seasoning

4 tablespoons brewers yeast

1-tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons sage or turkey seasoning

10-15 cups dressing

Cheesecloth

You need mash the tofu really well. You might want to use a blender for this. Mix it with all of the ingredients except tamari, sesame oil and dressing. Line a colander with one layer of moistened cheesecloth. Then transfer the tofu to the colander. Press it flat and fold the edges of the cheesecloth over it. Place a round cake pan or any other flat object over the top of the tofu and place a heavy object on top. The heavy object should weigh about 5-8 lbs. This will press the liquid out of the tofu. Make sure that you set the colander in a bowl to catch the liquid. Place in the refrigerator.

After this has drained for about an hour, hollow it out by at least an inch of the colander. Fill the hole with your favorite stuffing. Pack the stuffing in and cover with the remaining tofu. Pat this down so that the surface is flat and firm. Oil a roasting or turkey pan and place it over the colander. Flip the colander over so that the filled tofu faces down. Then remove the cheesecloth.

Now mix the sesame oil and tamari and baste the tofu in this liquid. Bake covered at 400 degrees for one hour. Remove the cover and baste again. Return it to the oven to bake uncovered until the top is golden brown (one hour more). Baste once more during the second hour.

The following recipe is one that a friend uses but has a different but really good taste.

Tofu Turkey

5 packages of extra firm tofu (about 16 oz per pkg)

2T sesame oil

1 finely diced red onion

1 1/3C diced celery

1C chopped mushrooms

2 minced garlic cloves

1/8C-dried sage (or less, depending on how much you like sage)

2t. Dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1t-dried rosemary

1/4C tamari

3C prepared herb stuffing

1/2C sesame oil

Basting

1/2C sesame oil

1/4C tamari

2T miso paste

5T orange juice

1t honey mustard

1/2t orange zest

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Line a colander with cheesecloth or a clean dishtowel. Place crumbled tofu in the colander and place another piece of cheesecloth over the top of the tofu. Place bowl underneath the colander and weight it down. Refrigerate the colander for 2-3 hours.

Stuffing:

In a skillet, sauté onion, celery and mushrooms in 2T of sesame oil until it is tender. Add garlic, sage, thyme, salt and pepper, rosemary and 1/4C of tamari. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes. Add prepared herb stuffing and mix well. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet. Combine 1/2C sesame oil, 1/4C tamari, miso, orange juice, mustard and orange zest in a small bowl and mix well.

Remove the weight from the tofu and hollow it out to one inch while it is still lying in the colander. Place the scooped out tofu in a separate bowl. Brush the tofu lining with a small amount of miso seasoning. Scoop the stuffing into the center of the tofu shell. Place the leftover tofu on top of the stuffing and press down firmly. Turn the stuffed tofu onto the prepared cookie sheet. Put the leftover tofu side of the 'turkey' down and press on the dies to form an oval shape. Brush the tofu with ½ of the oil-tamari mix and place rosemary sprigs on top. Cover with foil.

Bake for one hour. Then baste with remaining sauce (save 4T of sauce). Return it to the oven and bake another hour or until it is golden brown. Brush with remaining oil mixture before serving and serve hot.

Although this is not in the shape of a turkey, it is a Southern twang option to their holiday meal or possibly a tasty snack for that football game.

B-B-Q Tofu
(originated from AllRecipes)

1 pkg. (16oz) extra firm tofu

3T olive oil

1 egg white

1T barbeque sauce

1C all-purpose flour

1t salt

1/2t pepper

1C barbeque sauce

Drain the tofu and slice it into strips. Place in a plastic bag and freeze overnight. This will give the tofu a meat-like texture. Thaw it and blot with towel to dry. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and 1T barbeque sauce. Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Dip tofu slices into the egg mixture then into the flour mixture, shaking off the excess flour. This technique resembles making chicken fried steak!

Fry in the hot oil for 1 minute on each side until golden brown. Don't fry together but one at a time. They have a tendency to stick when crowded together. Remove from oil onto towels (paper or otherwise). Drain and cool.

Preheat oven broiler. Brush slices with additional BBQ sauce and allow to marinate while broiler heats up. Arrange them on a broiler pan and position the oven rack six inches from heat. Broil five minutes on each side or until browned and crisp. Be careful that they don't burn! Serve warm with BBQ sauce for dipping.

Let this holiday be the one where you open yourself up to try something new. You just might like it!

References:
www.fb.org

www.soyfoods.com

www.wikipedia.org

www.AllRecipes.com