Turn To Tofu For A Vegetarian Tuna Salad With A Twist

Tofu's come a long way since the days of its reputation as a sad, bland block. In fact, it's always been a superhero to those who know how to season and use it. Of course, you can bake tofu at home, grill it, sauté it, or even turn it into a deli meat dupe. But one easy, high-protein recipe is to turn a block of tofu into mock tuna salad. It's an ideal entry point even for a tofu novice. 

The key to successfully cooking with tofu no matter your method is all about the prep work and seasoning, specifically. For this easy mock tuna recipe though, it's hard to go wrong, even if you've failed to master tofu before. That's because it's all the added ingredients (which are mostly the same ones you'd use in a classic version) that do the heavy lifting here. 

You'll just need a block of firm tofu, plus your choice of mayonnaise, chopped celery, onion, and lemon juice for brightness. You could even add some soy sauce for saltiness, a bit of kelp powder or seaweed for that certain fishy flavor missing from tuna, or a few chickpeas for added protein. To take it from vegetarian to vegan, just swap out the mayo for a plant-based one and you're there. This is a no-cook recipe, so simply mash the tofu to a chunky tuna texture and then mix your ingredients. Taste and adjust according to your preference until you've got the perfect balance of salty, creamy, and briny that feels just like the classic, minus the fish.

A lot of the magic of working with tofu happens before you even start cooking it, or in this case, mashing it. Though you can open a package and simply shred or mash away, to really nail the texture, you'll want to press out any excess liquid. Ideally, however, consider taking the extra step of freezing it first. 

Certain types of tofu, especially the store-bought extra firm kinds, are sold basically without any excess liquid. In these cases, you can often get away with using the tofu without pressing much if at all. But an under-utilized hack for restaurant-worthy tofu with the perfect chewy texture is the freezer. Remove tofu from its packaging and freeze it separately, or simply leave it as is and plop the whole thing in the freezer overnight. As ice crystals form in the freezer and then melt upon defrosting, the tofu firms up into a chewier and spongier block that has a more meaty texture. 

Whether you take this step or not, the mock tuna salad recipe is a very forgiving one — making it a great way to experiment with tofu if you're new to using it. Once seasoned to your liking, you can spoon the salad into lettuce wraps or smear it on bread and enjoy as you would a traditional tuna sammie.