TOFU CLOTH INSTRUCTIONS
For many recipes you’ll want to squeeze the liquid out of the block of tofu before using it in those recipes. For years I used paper towels. One day when out of paper towels, I cut a round out of a sheer white curtain that was quite a bit larger than the block of tofu. I placed the tofu in the middle, brought the fabric up around the tofu till it hung like a ball from a rope. Then I twisted it round and round as the twist in the fabric squeezed the tofu into a ball, then I twisted as hard as I could to extract all of the liquid. It worked perfectly, and I’ve been using my handy little tofu cloth ever since.
After using tofu cloth, soak in water immediately till you’re ready to clean it, so that the particles don’t stick to the fabric. Wash in hot soapy water, making sure to thoroughly clean then thoroughly rinse. It saves money on paper towels; you always have it handy and it does a superb job in squeezing the tofu.
If you’re using paper towels to squeeze the tofu, wrap in several layers of paper towels. Squeeze to extract the excess liquid, unwrap and use as directed in the recipe.
If you don’t want to squeeze the tofu, because you’ll be using it for slices or cubes, then wrap tofu in a clean kitchen towel and gently press all sides, then let set for a few minutes to absorb excess fluid. If you want to dry the tofu further, then place a brick encased in a gallon size plastic storage bag, on top of the towel-wrapped tofu for an hour, then flip the tofu block over and do the same to the other side.
A new way I’ve started to use to extract the water:
I rinse the tofu block when I get it home from grocery, then wrap it in a couple layers of paper towels, then wrap it in 2 square dish cloths – the ones you wash dishes with (clean and dry). Then I place it in the refrigerator till ready to use. I do this with both Silken style and water-packed. It works beautifully.
A tofu cloth also works well to extract excess liquid from cooked or canned vegetables when required for a recipe. Follow the same instructions. It works perfectly every time.
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