Cooking Floyd: Flavored Tofu

I always thought the only way to get flavor into tofu was to marinate it.  But I was wrong.  You can make tofu in a rainbow of flavors when you make it yourself!

In my previous two posts I made soymilk and then turned it into firm block tofu.  During that process I wondered why tofu has to be that bland block.  Well okay, it's a canvas waiting to be painted, but you know what I mean.  It seemed to me that the milk could be flavored, infused, I dunno, something could be done with it to give a block of tofu a boost.

Oh, it so can.  And it's so easy.

I decided to use my homemade veggie bouillon (3 tablespoons) and some leftover chopped cilantro and scallions (about 1/3 cup mixed together) for my great experiment.

I made  soymilk and while it was warming in the pot, before I added the coagulant, I put about a cup and a half of the milk in a jar and added the bouillon powder and the chopped herbs.  Then I shook the bejesus outta it and let it sit to infuse for a few minutes.

Then I added it to the milk and stirred it in.  When the milk was at 170F I added the coagulant and proceeded as normal following the tofu recipe.

When I ladled the curds into the molds I was happy to see that the herbs and the bouillon was distributed evenly through out the tofu.

I proceeded to the end of the recipe, pressing it as usual.  I like really firm tofu for cooking so I let it press for about 3 hours.  The result was a mild almost Boursin cheese-like flavor without the heavy garlic taste.  I was very happy with the way it turned out on the first try.

Next time I won't be afraid to punch up the flavor additions for something a little more assertive.  I'm also thinking about a lemony version and maybe the addition of fruits in a more silken tofu to head in a desserty direction.  Do you have any suggestions?