What is tofu? Everything you need to know about this Asian food

Although in the West tofu seems like a new and exclusive ingredient for vegetarians and vegans, in the East this food has been consumed for thousands of years in a wide variety of dishes, accompanying both vegetables and all kinds of meat and being a main element of cuisines such as Japanese, Chinese or Thai.

If you want to know more about this ingredient, keep reading, because today we are going to tell you what tofu is, what its properties are, and many other interesting facts.

What is tofu?

Although the history of tofu dates back more than two thousand years in Asia, this product has not managed to reach and establish itself in the hearts of Westerners until a few years ago and has become famous thanks to vegan and vegetarian diets. However, now that it has entered, it has done so strongly and already has a presence in many of the most important supermarkets in Spain and other Western countries.

Tofu is a food that many compare with cheese, due to its texture and appearance, and it is difficult to differentiate it from fresh cheese at first glance. The ingredients used for its preparation are only and exclusively three: soy (a very important element in Asian cuisine), water and some type of coagulant.

As with cheese, tofu is made from "milk", in this case soy milk. The soy beans are left to soak, ground and filtered, to then separate the solid part from the liquid and make a process similar to that of cheese.

What are the properties of tofu?

That vegetarians in much of the world have become great lovers of tofu is no coincidence. This ingredient is a great source of protein and serves to perfectly replace the properties of meat.

However, tofu should not be eaten solely and exclusively as an ingredient for vegans or vegetarians. This food has a wide variety of benefits that are well worth including in everyone's diet, regardless of whether they consume animal protein or not.

Here, we leave you some of the properties of tofu, so that you are encouraged to include it in your regular diet.

A great source of protein and amino acids

As we have mentioned above, the consumption of tofu provides the human body with a large amount of protein and amino acids. Specifically, this product has the eight essential amino acids. For this reason, tofu is perfect to replace it with meat and have a more varied but equally healthy diet.

Excellent for bones

In addition to proteins and amino acids, tofu also has a significant contribution of iron, vitamin 1, magnesium and calcium, among others. In fact, specialists affirm that tofu has a higher amount of calcium than cow's milk, which makes it a perfect food for people with bone problems and to fight against cavities.

Reduces cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure

If you have high cholesterol and want to resort to natural products, tofu is a very good option. According to some studies, tofu also helps reduce blood pressure, which makes it a very good food to protect the heart.

Low in calories

Although it depends on where you buy the tofu and the type you choose, in general this product is characterized by not having many calories, which makes it a totally suitable ingredient for diets, it is low in calories and fat and, in general, to be introduced into day to day if you want to take care of yourself and eat healthy.

Ideal for menopause

Among the properties of tofu, one of the most interesting for people who are going through menopause is its level of isoflavones, compounds that help regulate estrogen and, therefore, combat the symptoms of this stage of menopause. woman's life.

High in antioxidants

On the other hand, tofu has great antioxidant properties, which, provided to our body on a regular basis, help to keep our body healthier and thus have a better quality of life.

As you can see, the properties of tofu are infinite, which shows that it should not remain an exclusive ingredient for non-carnivorous diets, but rather as a food that we should all add to our daily lives.

What is tofu eaten with?

As we have commented at the beginning of this article, we should not leave tofu for exclusively vegetarian and vegan meals. On the contrary, the richness of this food allows us to include it in countless dishes. Although Asian countries have a wide variety of customs in terms of the world of gastronomy, tofu is a simple food to prepare.

The first thing you have to know is that tofu can never be eaten raw, since it would be like consuming any type of legume without cooking. With this in mind, we tell you that tofu is divided into two groups, firm and soft, within which there are degrees depending on firmness and softness. Thus, you must choose the type of tofu that will give the best touch to your dish.

For example, firm tofu, which is the most common, can be used to include it in sandwiches, in pasta, or even as the main ingredient in the dish. Soft tofu, for its part, is ideal as an egg substitute, to be included in purees and to make desserts.

But if what you want is to try tofu in the purest Asian style, you can come to some of our restaurants in Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Valencia or Bilbao, where we have a wide variety of dishes in which this product is a great protagonist. Remember that, if you prefer, you can place your order through Uber Eats so that we can take it home.