food 4 tots

How to remove tofu from the box

tofu, tip, kid, toddler, food for tots

 

From the day I got “promoted” to be the family’s “chief chef” (as mother-in-law was no longer staying with us), I have been calling my mother more often than before to consult her on cooking-related matters. I felt so fortunte that she provided me with a 24/7 phone support service. Thanks a lot, mom!

 

Nowadays, we love to exchange ideas and tips on how to improve our cooking skills. On one occasion, she asked me what is the best way to remove tofu from the box. And, I happily shared with her a technique which I came to regard as the perfect technique. Subsequently, I was surprised to find out that my technique didn’t actually work for her.

 

When I was back in Penang for holiday last December, she told me that she had found an even better technique. At first, I was quite skeptical about it. But, after watching her demo and trying it out on my own, I was totally convinced that her method is indeed simple and 100% fail proof. Even my hubby scored 100 marks on his first attempt!

 

Now, let me share with you my mother’s “5 simple steps to remove the whole tofu perfectly from the box”. Below is the demo done by my hubby. Try it out to see whether it works on you. If you have better tricks, do share with me!

 

Step 1: Trim off the edges of the box with a pair of scissors. Peel away the plastic paper.

tofu, tip, kid, toddler, food for tots

 

Step 2: Make a small incision at the side between the tofu and the wall of the box. Let slow running water sip into the incision. Repeat this step for each side. With sufficient water, the tofu will float up by itself.

tofu, tip, kid, toddler, food for tots

 

Step 3: Cover the box with a plate, tray or anything with a flat surface.

tofu, tip, kid, toddler, food for tots

 

Step 4: Flip it over.

tofu, tip, kid, toddler, food for tots

 

Step 5: Now you can remove the box easily and get the “perfect-looking” tofu for your cooking!

tofu, tip, kid, toddler, food for tots

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49 Comments

  1. Dora says:

    That’s really a hassle free way to do it! 😉

  2. Bits of Taste says:

    Great tricks! I tried that and it really works! Thanks to your Mum.

  3. Selba says:

    This is great! Thanks for sharing the tips 🙂

  4. CY says:

    Ha ha, great tip! I’ve usually had the odd corner always stuck in the box still, so this is great tips to have! 🙂

  5. Pearl says:

    oh my gosh -t his is such an adorable post!

  6. Piggy says:

    I usually invert the box on a plate, and it takes longer to get the tofu out. This is a great tip, I’ll try it when I go back to SG. (fyi, there’s no tofu in SA, so sad.)

  7. cariso says:

    Haha! Simple trick but yet never thought of it before. 🙂

  8. Pam says:

    Looks simple to do…now if I only liked tofu.

  9. Food For Tots says:

    Hi Everyone: Tks for your wonderful comments. I am sure my mom will be very happy to see all these +ve feedbacks.

    Piggy: Why dun u try to make your own tofu using soya bean milk + egg?

  10. Little Corner of Mine says:

    Great tips! 🙂

  11. ICook4Fun says:

    Thanks for the wonderful tips. Usually certain part of the tofu will get stuck to the container.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Wah… such a trouble to get a nice looking tofu on the plate. Will give it a try. Thanks for the posting.

    K.Y.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Hi LK,
    U have a great blog. thanks for sharing the trick as b4 reading your blog, I just smashed the tofu and ended up using “beaten” egg to cover it! 😉 ha ha

    BT

  14. Diana says:

    The edges are so smooth…Before I read the description on Tastespotting I thought it was a bar of white chocolate. 🙂

  15. Food For Tots says:

    LCOM: Tks!!!

    ICook4Fun: Tks!!!

    KY: There is no difficulty in this technique. Even my hubby, a non-cook, can do it in his 1st attempt.

    BT: You are such a creative chef! Hahaha!

    Diana: Tks for dropping by. A bar of white chocolate?? Hehehe!

  16. shavedicesundays says:

    Food For Tots, I usually just slide a cheap knife into the plastic cover and cut around it with the knife, invert and then cut up the tofu with the same knife. Of course if you’re planning on plating the tofu, your technique is more careful.

  17. angie says:

    Why???

  18. My Asian Kitchen says:

    this kind of plastic box is more easy to remove than the paper box one,right? btw,beautiful pix:P

  19. tigerfish says:

    I will try this trick the next time and see if it works. Thx!

  20. Food For Tots says:

    shavedicesundays: Tks for sharing your technique. Will give it a try one day.

    angie: This technique is useful if you need to steam a nice-looking tofu and pour some pre-cooked sauce on top of it. Have I answered your question?

    My Asian Kitchen: Never see a tofu in paper box before. Tks for your compliment.

    Tigerfish: Pls let me know the “verdict”. Tks.

  21. worldwindows says:

    I slide a sharp blade carefully through the plastic cover as close to the wall of the box as possible, making sure no liquid splatter out. Continue cutting around the box till done.

  22. lisaiscooking says:

    That’s a great tip for tightly packed tofu! The tofu I buy is packed in water and sits loosely in a tray or plastic bag.

  23. syrie says:

    Excellent tips. What a lovely mother and daughter!

  24. Marc @ NoRecipes says:

    Nice tip. Silken tofu can be such a pain to get out I often just end up cutting it up in the box to get it out.

  25. mycookinghut says:

    LK, great tip!!

  26. Food For Tots says:

    worldwindows: I did try your method before but it can’t work for my mom. 😉

    lisaiscooking: The tofu packed in water is only available in the wet market. Tks.

    syrie: Tks.

    Mac @ no recipes: Tks. Another plus point for this tip is that we can recycle the box.

    mycookinghut: Tks.

  27. Big Boys Oven says:

    fantastic, i must try as I alway breaks them

  28. Maya says:

    I break mine everytime!!!

  29. Food For Tots says:

    BBO: Tks! Looking forward to hear your success story!

    Maya: Hope it will help you to get the perfect-looking tofu.

  30. Christelle says:

    What a brilliant tip, I destroyed one a few days before you posted this, lol!

  31. Little Inbox says:

    Thanks for sharing. Everytime I just can’t get a complete tofu from the box, haha…

  32. Food For Tots says:

    Christelle: Tks! Hope this tip will be handful in your next tofu dish.

    Little Inbox: Dun worry! I am sure if you use this tip, you can pass with flying colours like my hubby!

  33. noobcook says:

    great tips and step by step guide! 🙂 For some reason I notice that the japanese tofu is really easy to get out compared to our local ones.

  34. marie says:

    actually no need to make incisions at the side of the tofu box. just run some tap water over the tofu then overturn it on ur palm. v gently squeeze the broader side of the box and it will pop out.

  35. Food For Tots says:

    noobcook: Tks. You mean the Jpn tofu in tube form as I haven’t one sold in a box?

    marie: Tks for sharing your wonderful tips. I will try it out. Btw tks for visiting my blog.

  36. perfect! thanks for the tips 🙂

  37. pixen says:

    That’s a welcomed idea!!! I was taught by a japanese friend to make 2-3 holes or cuts at the back/base of the box (to let air inside between the surfaces for easy removal) and carefully separate the hard plastic from the tofu surface, remove the soft front cover and flipped on a flat plate but ME being ME… I managed to smash the tofu 9 out 10 times!

    I’m going to get me some boxes (yep boxes, cos my family loves tofu) and use this method…yayyyyyyy!

    PS. The paper box Tofu mentioned by My Asian Kitchen is the Morinaga or Mori-nu tofus in tetra pak/tetra brik carton. You can find them in supermarkets or japanese mini-marts SG.

    • food-4tots says:

      Pixen: Tks for sharing. I am sure you will have 100% success rate by using my method. Hehehe! Btw, I did check out this Mori-fu tofus from a Japanese mini mart but still couldn’t find it. Will continue my search at some other places. 😉

  38. buzzingbee says:

    This is a lovely tip. Thanks for sharing 🙂
    (first comment here..if you don’t mind, let’s exchange links)

  39. […] Keluarkan tahu dari pek dengan berhati2 terus ke dalam bekas pengukus (mangkuk atau pinggan atau piring rata). Lihat panduan ini jika perlu : https://food-4tots.com/2009/04/19/how-to-remove-tofu-from-the-box/ […]

  40. mang0 says:

    wow this is a great method, i always spoil the bottom of the taufu when i removed it from the box, now i must try this!

  41. Charlene says:

    I’m so glad to have found this site. I hope to try it out next. My tofus always come out with a flop!

  42. baking scientist says:

    Thanks for these useful tips, it is very helpful to new stay-at-home-moms like me 🙂 Your step-by-step pictures are very well taken and useful! Great job! 🙂

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