The other day my mom called me sounding a little defeated. She wanted to substitute tofu for paneer in a particular dish but had no idea how to cook the tofu to achieve the texture she wanted.

Can we just take a moment here…my mom, one of the greatest cooks on the planet (no bias here!), asked ME for help in the kitchen.

Ok, I’m done.

There are probably a bunch of delicious ways to prepare tofu, but my favorite method involves a grill pan (or any large frying pan), cooking spray, tofu, and the stovetop.

I used to be a baked tofu person but became a stovetop convert rather quickly when I tasted the difference between the two cooking methods.

Baked = slightly more chewy and tough.
Stovetop = crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

So here’s what I shared with my mom…stovetop tofu in 10 easy steps!

1. Remove extra-firm* tofu block from packaging.

2. Wrap tofu in paper towels to create a wrapped package of sorts.

3. Press down on block with body weight.

4. Place a heavy object (I always use a text book) on the wrapped block and let sit for 15 minutes.

5. Unwrap tofu and cut into whatever size you desire.

6. Spray grill pan (or large frying pan) with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat.

7. Arrange cut tofu pieces on pan and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes until brown.

8. Flip over and cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes until brown.

9. Remove from pan and let cool.

*No pic for this step because the tofu basically went from pan to mouth. 🙂

10. EAT UP!

Tofu pieces can be used in curry, on a salad…whatever you want really! This method create delicious tofu that comes out perfectly every time.

And I must thank my talented in-house photographer for these pictures!  He did an amazing job!  Thanks, Vishnu!

*I have only used this method with extra-firm tofu.

What’s your preferred way of preparing tofu?