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Homemade Delicious Tofu
This Quick Soy Free Red Lentil Tofu is ready in about 1 hour and 22 minutes. The refrigerator does all the work by cooling to congeal it like real tofu. This is a wonderful delicious alternative for people how can’t eat soy. This red lentil tofu can be used in the same way you use regular soy tofu. Use it in soups, stir fries, sauté, air fry, bake and so much more. Really, I am sure you will have your own special way of enjoying this magical soy free substitution.
First as always lets look at a little red lentil history. It’s so fun to see where and what historical facts our food came from. Sometimes I even find some funny stories.
A Little Red Lentil History
We all love our lentils. Did you know they grow on a flowering plant much like what peas and beans grow on. Such a pretty plant. They are a member of the Fabaceae family. Lentils ripen to form a “pod” or technically called a legume. Or better yet, it is also known as Lens esculenta a plant known for it’s lens-shaped seeds.
Most people when they think of red lentils think of the common Indian dish called dal. This is because half of the worlds production of red lentils come from India in which most is consumed by the domestic market there. Surprisingly, the largest export producer of red lentils comes from Saskatchewan from a region in Canada.
We can look back some 12,000 years ago to how this little legume has feed hundreds of millions of people over time. In the culinary world it has migrated from all over India, Asia, Europe and the America’s making it’s way into a slew of tasty dishes. Being that all lentils are inexpensive and high in protein they are pared with grains and rice and enjoyed by vegetarians and vegans alike. Apart from being high in protein red lentils are high in iron, copper, selenium, B6, folate zinc and fiber.
I hope with all the variety of ways you can make these wonderful little nuggets taste, that you enjoy this recipe I have for you today. Try out this Quick Soy Free Red Lentil Tofu and see for yourself how versatile and delicious they can be.
My Favorite Red Lentil Brand
There are a lot of red lentil company’s to pick from. Although, they are good and most come from India I believe in supporting my own local area. Here in Washington State with some of the richest soils in the world we have many crop farmers and red lentils is one of them.
I really like Clear Creek Farms because you can eat, sprout or even grow their lentils and beans. They have 4 to 25 pound bags of a variety of lentils and beans to pick from. You can buy from their website at Clear Creek Foods or on Amazon.
How To Soak Red Lentils For Lentil Tofu
Measure out your 3/4 cup of dried red lentils. Clean the red lentils in a sieve under cool water so as to get all the dust off of them. Put them in a fast blending blender. I use my Ninja BL770 Mega Kitchen System blender. You want a blender that will blend really well so that the lentils will blend up very smooth.
Add the boiling hot water to the bender on top of the red lentils. Let the lentils sit in the hot water to soften for 15 to 20 minutes. Cover the blender tight because you don’t want to have any hot water seeping out and splashing you. Slowly pick up the speed of the blender from slow to fast. Blend the red lentils until they are smooth.
How To Make Quick Soy Free Red Lentil Tofu
Transfer the blended red lentils to a large pot on medium heat. Do not add any oil! Add the 2 cups of warm water. Add less if you want it to be more of a firm tofu. I used 1 1/2 cups of warm water to create a firmer texture because thats the way I like it (add only 1 cup if you want it to be extra firm).
Use a whisk to constantly stir with. Cook the red lentils for 6 to 8 minutes. The less water you use the thicker the mixture will get. You may have to turn down the heat to medium. That all depends on how hot your stove burners get. You don’t want to burn the lentil tofu.
When done transfer the cooked lentil mixture into an 8 X 8 glass or ceramic dish or a glass or ceramic loaf pan. Do not oil the pan! Smooth out the red lentil tofu with the back of a large wooden spoon. Put in the refrigerator for 1 hour to harden and cool or you can leave it over night. Do not cover the dish.
How To Use Red Lentil Tofu
There are many ways to use this red lentil tofu in dishes or just by itself. Its just like regular tofu! It can be marinated just like soy tofu and fried in a pan. Try it air fried, baked, sautéed, and broken up into dishes.
If made into soft red lentil tofu it will break up in soup and become mushy because of all the water in it. So be mindful of that. Making the lentil tofu extra firm will work better for soup. Put it in last and gently stir the soup so as not to crumble it. Another way is to air fry it lightly to firm the outside of it and then add it to the soup.
My favorite way is air frying at 350º for 15 minutes. Pat any excess water off of the lentil tofu. Coat the cubed pieced with soy sauce or Bragg’s and toss in a bowl to coat. Add a sprinkle of garlic powder, chili powder, cumin powder, smoked paprika and nutritional yeast and toss again to coat. Put in the air fryer. When it is done the outside will be taunt and a little crisp and the inside soft. Serve with a good vegan creamy ranch or spicy dressing. Very tasty!
I hope you like this Quick Soy Free Red Lentil Tofu as much as we do. Enjoy!
More Recipes You May Like:
Amazing Black Bean Carrot Pulp BBQ Burgers
Roasted Portobello Mushrooms With Lentil Sun-Dried Tomato Salad
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Quick Soy Free Red Lentil Tofu
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 to 8 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Asia
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Quick Soy Free Red Lentil Tofu is ready in about 1 hour and 22 minutes. The refrigerator does all the work by cooling to congeal it like real tofu. This is a wonderful delicious alternative for people how can’t eat soy. This red lentil tofu can be used in the same way you use regular soy tofu. Use it in soups, stir fries, sauté, air fry, bake and so much more. Really I am sure you will have your own special way of enjoying this magical soy free tasty substitution.
Ingredients
Quick Soy Free Red Lentil Tofu
- 3/4 cup Dried Red Lentils
- 1 1/2 cups of Boiling Water
- 2 cup Warm Water
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
Quick Soy Free Red Lentil Tofu
- Sort the red lentils to see if there are any little stones in with the lentils. In a sieve rinse them under cool water. Transfer them to a blender. I use Ninja BL770 Mega Kitchen System.
- Add the 1 1/2 cups of boiling hot water to the red lentils in the blender and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes (do not drain).
- Blend the lentils until completely smooth.
- Transfer to a large pot and cook on medium high heat. Whisk in the 2 cups of water ( 1 1/2 cups of water for an firm tofu or 1 cup for an extra firm tofu) and add the salt (optional). Whisk constantly for 6 to 8 minutes or until the mixture is very thick and glossy. Turn heat down to medium as needed.
- Transfer to a glass or ceramic 8 X 8 baking dish or glass or ceramic loaf pan. Do NOT add oil to pan.( the 8 X8 with be a thinner layer of tofu to cut into cubes and the loaf pan will be a little thicker to cut into cubes or slices)
- Put into the refrigerator for 1 hour or until firm or over night. Do not cover the dish.
- When done run a knife around the edge of the dish if needed and invert the tofu onto a cutting board to cutting into shapes.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Refrigerate for up to 5 days
I always use a 1/2 cup less water when whisking in the pan for a firm tofu. Use only 1 cup of water to the pan when whisking for extra firm tofu.
The tofu will become firmer the longer it sits.
Pat dry to use because the water will start to leak out of the tofu just like soy tofu does.
The extra firm variety of tofu freezes the best. Cut the tofu into cubes and put into a air tight contain to freeze in. Defrost the tofu in the refrigerator. When thawed the tofu will be wet and springy. Place paper towels between layers of the tofu to remove excess water. Press gently or the tofu will fall apart if pressed to hard.
