Tofu X-Press: RQT

This will make your food life easier. It will.

What percentage of tofu recipes start with, or contain, some variation of "wrap tofu in a clean kitchen towel and set on a plate; place a second plate on top of the tofu and weight it with a can/book/pan for 30+ minutes"? Too many. I have a small kitchen. Counter space is at a premium and I don't have room for the plate/towel/plate setup. If I needed the water pressed out quickly I was tempted to add more weight - but frequently ended up squishing the tofu until it lost its structure and crumbled.

That's why the Tofu X-Press went on my "DO WANT" list for the last holiday season. Now that I have it (thank you, love2gofly), I'm very, very sorry that I didn't break down and just buy one for myself a year ago when I first became aware of the product.  Pressing the tofu makes the it chewy and more dense, less watery, and better able to absorb marinade, and the Tofu X-Press makes it a snap.

The press is best suited for the "water packed" Chinese-style type of tofu - the kind found in the refrigerated section; but if you frequently use the silken-style tofu sold in the small cardboard containers, you will want to buy the Light Tension Spring #2 Attachment as well. The lighter tension presses out the water without completely squishing the tofu.

The product is well-designed and sturdy if handled with regard.  Once you press the water out, you can use the same container to add marinade, and because it has a snap-on lid, the whole thing can go into the refrigerator easily. It also comes with a recipe book and lots of ideas for making non-tofu dishes. Press spinach! Press rice! Marinate salads!

I have no problem endorsing this product. I love it and I use it regularly because it works. It does what it claims to do, and it does it well. Tofu X-Press, you are Really Quite Tasty! (You can buy it here.)