Ah.. tofu. Good stuff. Soaks up flavors like a sponge. I grew up eating a lot of tofu, so it tastes like ‘home cooking’ to me. Mom was a horribl cook, and managed to conceal this fact from my father by taking an ‘Oriental Cooking’ class when they got married. I ate a LOT of stirfry as a kidling.
Main thing to remember is that tofu comes in varying levels of firmness. You can usually find ‘soft’, ‘medium’ and ‘firm’. Find which one you prefer, of course. Cooking it is a bit tricky, as learning how to tell the difference between ‘cooked’ and ‘not cooked’ is a little harder than other foods.
Spray oil is.. well.. remember what I said about tofu picking up flavor? Far better to use something with an agreeable flavor. Not sure where olive oils sit on your list, but those work. Peanut oil is good in moderation, as are a number of other asian oils.
Frypans should work ok. If you’re feeling adventuresome, you can invest in a nice wok, and learn to do proper stirfry! It’s dead easy (if my mother could do it, so can you), flavorful, and very quick.
I think the main thing to avoid is trying to make tofu be like whatever food it’s replacing. If you’re making tofu burgers, then you’re eating seasoned tofu, not meat, so get over it and enjoy the possibilities inherent with tofu. It takes very well to marinades, and the firm stuff grills nicely.
My stepmother’s recipie: Garlic marinade some firm tofu. Grill nicely, serve on sourdough with lettuce, tomato, and horseradish mayo. Mmm….
