Good Morning!

Yesterday I received an email asking me what wine would I pair with tofu. My first answer is it depends on else your eating, because tofu is kinda bland tasting to me, so I have to ask more questions before suggesting a wine. Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the resulting curds. It can be soft and silky and firm and almost firm like a mushroom cap. If you have not tried it plain, you should, it can taste creamy like cheese, it can be more of a texture than an actual flavor…this is my opinion only, my chef and foodie friends will fight me on this.

My first taste of tofu was at a Japanese restaurant and it was tempura deep fried and you dipped it in sauce and it was light tasting without being greasy from frying. I would have paired it with champagne, the bubbles and acid would cut the fried taste and let the tofu be the star.

My next time I had tofu was in a “bean curd” dish from the China King carry out menu and it was a super spicy dish and tofu was really minced so it kinda just a texture not really a standing out taste of tofu. I would have paired this tofu dish with Gewurztraminer or Riesling, either of these wines would be a great balance of the heat in this dish with the lightness and slight sweet finish on these wines.

Then I had tofu in salad, it worked pretty much like when someone adds beans in a salad. The dressing in the salad was a very light vinaigrette. I would pair that with a very “green” wine, like Sauvignon Blanc, or Vinho Verde, they seem to work best with raw vegetables and balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Then I got brave and started making many stir-frys at home and instead of meat, I used tofu as the protein. Many of the stir-frys had mushrooms, green and red peppers, onions and any other great veggie I could find and I like to use soy sauce as one of the base flavors, so to pair with soy sauce or anything salty..I like bubbles and I really lean toward Cava…bubbles from Spain or Prosecco from Italy, bubbles seem to pair well to may palate.

One friend of mine grills tofu and I have no idea how I would accomplish grilling this delicate food, but I had it and it tasted great but he used BBQ sauce that was smokey and kinda sweet….I paired that with a big ass zinfandel…BBQ and Zin are best friends in my mouth.

So my friend Jim who ask me about tofu, maybe this will get you thinking about wines and some tofu ideas. I know you want to eat lighter and not give up wine…perhaps this will help you! If any of you have a tofu recipe or great wine pairing, please let me know so I can share it!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi