In a paper published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Dr. Chris Macdonald explored the best sources of protein currently available.
To answer the question, Macdonald had to build a new holistic scoring system that combines measures of environmental impact, health, affordability and availability into a single framework.
Applying the scoring system to 20 commonly consumed protein-rich foods, the analysis found a striking pattern: every product in the highest-scoring quintile was plant-based, while every product in the lowest-scoring quintile was animal-based. Tofu ranked first overall, while cheddar cheese ranked last.
The paper argues that many existing food rating systems focus on only one aspect of a product. While useful, these single-dimension labels can obscure important trade-offs and make it difficult to compare foods comprehensively.
TOFU DOMINATION
Link to open access article https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1677796/full
I like tofu. My wife eats it almost daily, I eat it occasionally (typically, I make mabodofu). My biggest issue is that it’s fragile and doesn’t have a texture akin to meat. Before anyone recommends seitan, I like that but can’t have gluten or wheat anymore. Any suggestions?
I live in Japan, so we have no shortage of types of tofu, but even our firmest doesn’t do it for me.
Press your tofu for 2-4 hours, wrapped in paper towels. You wanna get it real dry. Microwave it for like 1-2 minutes. Get it REALLY dry. Once all that water is out, you wanna rehydrate it with some sauce + seasonings, basically like a marinade. Once it’s soaked up the goodness, air fry it (preferably) or pan fry it. Should end up with a texture almost similar to chicken. It’s still gonna be softer than real meat, but getting it just absurdly dry first is the first step to getting it close
Can I just slice it into slices and dehydrate it in a low temperature oven for hours and hours?
Like can I make ‘dehydrared tofu chips’ is what Im asking.
Or does anyone please know any brand of CHEAP dehydrated tofu chips already made and sold in canada?
Also does anyone please know how much of the essential amino acids tofu offers per 100grams of tofu (and I do mean any form of tofu. Fermented tofu , whatver form you pick) and then compare it to the essential amino acids 100 grams of ground beef gives.
Thanks
Searched it up in 5 seconds:
Man, I had no idea this stuff existed. I wanna make it now! lol.
thanks
There is another method and my girlfriend’s favorite too:
Boil it in salt water for 2-5 minutes like pasta before draining it, seasoning it, and frying it (air fryer, convection oven, or pan fry)
The salt draws out the moisture, seasons it lightly inside, and relaxes the proteins. All of which make it absorb seasonings and sauces better. It makes it super crispy on the outside too.
This is also THE method for crispy fried mushrooms. Same principle. If you shred oyster mushrooms, boil in salt water, press out for a minute or two, and pan fry them, you get extremely tasty, crispy mushrooms with a meaty flavor. Toss them in some seasoning and BBQ sauce and you have a crispy pulled pork replacement for tacos or something.
Standard answer is get extra firm tofu, drain it, pat it dry, then freeze it. Later when you defrost it, it has a chewier texture.
Oh, I hadn’t tried freezing it. I’ll raise the flag on this to try.
The ice crystals change the structure of the tofu. This is an ongoing research topic in modern food science as the growth direction and firmness of the tofu matters.
But you should just try it and see what happens with yours.
I’m excited that we’ll likely get better textured plant based protein sources soon.