How To Press Frozen Sliced Tofu

Sliced frozen tofu can be pressed by hand. But using a tofu press gives more consistent results and allows a little more time for meal preparation.

Makes Four Servings From One Pound of Pressed Tofu

Frozen tofu on baking sheet and a pound of thawed tofu on a plate ready to be pressed.

Sliced frozen tofu can be easily pressed by hand when thawed. Just place a slice of tofu between the palms of your hands and press over the sink to remove as much water as possible. But if you already have a tofu press or would like to get one, here are the instructions for using it with frozen tofu.

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Should I Get a Tofu Press?

I recently purchased a  tofu press from Amazon. This press is intended for fresh tofu. So it never occurred to me that it could also be used for frozen tofu. Besides, I am kind of “old school” so I felt that pressing between the palms of my hands worked just fine. After all, the tofu press is not cheap. I had gotten along without one just fine for all of these years. But I have been asked more than once if the tofu press could be used with frozen tofu. And honestly, I just did not know.

So I broke down and purchased the EZ Tofu Press to give it a try. I was surprised that it worked better than expected. It made it possible for me to work on the meal prep while the tofu was being pressed. And it does not require any extra time. Again, I would like to emphasize that using a tofu press with frozen tofu is not mandatory. But it will save you a little time. Since I recommend slicing tofu before it is frozen, using the tofu press is a little different than when you press a whole block of tofu at once. The slices of tofu must be stacked in the press so that you have two stacks of four slices of tofu. For detailed instructions on how to freeze sliced tofu, please refer to this recipe, How To Freeze Tofu.

Ingredients:

Ingredients: One pound frozen sliced tofu and a tofu press.

1 (16 oz.) tub extra firm tofu that has been sliced and frozen.

For detailed instructions on freezing tofu please follow the recipe How To Freeze Tofu.

Instructions for pressing frozen tofu:

1. Place a pound of frozen sliced tofu on a plate covered with two thicknesses of paper towel. Let stand on a counter for about one hour to thaw (defrost). To speed the process up you can defrost the tofu in a microwave oven set on high for about 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Lift the top of the tofu press and place six slices of the thawed tofu on the bottom. Place the tofu so that you have two stacks of three slices each resting next to each other. Press down on the top of the tofu press to start releasing some of the water from the tofu and to make room for the last two slices.
3. Lift the top of the press so that you can place the last two pieces of tofu on top. Tighten the black plastic knobs in order to press the water out of the tofu. Be careful that you do not tighten it too tight. The tofu press is very strong and can press much harder on the tofu than you can with your hands. If you press down too hard, the tofu could start to crumble.
4. Place the tofu press on its side on the baking sheet that you used to freeze the tofu. The baking sheet will catch the water pressed from the tofu. You will only need to press the tofu for two or three minutes before it can be removed. Now the pressed tofu is ready to used.

1 - Thawed tofu on plate ready to be pressed.

2 - First six slices of tofu in tofu press.

3 - All eight slices of tofu in press.

4 - Tofu press on its side while draining water.

Once you remove the tofu from the press, then it is ready to use to prepare Tofu Fish Sticks. The recipe How To Freeze Tofu also has more suggestions for using frozen tofu.

Tofu after being removed from the tofu press.

Can I press a solid block of frozen tofu that has not been sliced?

Yes. Just be careful that you do not press the tofu too hard. By using too much pressure, you could cause the tofu to fall apart. Pressing a solid block may also take a little longer.

Notes:

If for some reason there is not quite enough space to put your tofu slices in the press, then try the following suggestion. Use a pair of pliers or wrench to turn the nuts at the top of each post of the tofu press. Turn each nut counterclockwise exactly two complete turns. The nuts will not come off and it will give you just a little bit more room for your tofu slices.

Print

How To Press Frozen Sliced Tofu

Sliced frozen tofu can be pressed by hand. But using a tofu press gives more consistent results and allows a little more time for meal preparation. Read "How to Freeze Tofu" for detailed instructions on freezing your tofu.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword sliced frozen tofu, Tofu press

Prep Time 10 minutes

Time for pressing tofu, 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 100 kcal

Rev. McKinney admin

Ingredients

• 1 tub extra firm tofu - - - 16 ounces, that has been sliced and frozen.

Instructions

1. Place a pound of frozen sliced tofu on a plate covered with two thicknesses of paper towel. Let stand on a counter for about one hour to thaw (defrost). To speed the process up you can defrost the tofu in a microwave oven set on high for about 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Lift the top of the tofu press and place six slices of the thawed tofu on the bottom. Place the tofu so that you have two stacks of three slices each resting next to each other. Press down on the top of the tofu press to start releasing some of the water from the tofu and to make room for the last two slices.

3. Lift the top of the press so that you can place the last two pieces of tofu on top. Tighten the black plastic knobs in order to press the water out of the tofu. Be careful that you do not tighten it too tight. The tofu press is very strong and can press much harder on the tofu than you can with your hands. If you press down too hard, the tofu could start to crumble.

4. Place the tofu press on its side on the baking sheet that you used to freeze the tofu. The baking sheet will catch the water pressed from the tofu. You will only need to press the tofu for two or three minutes before it can be removed. Now the pressed tofu is ready to used.

Recipe Notes

• For detailed instructions on freezing tofu please follow the recipe How To Freeze Tofu.
• Once you remove the tofu from the press, then it is ready to use to prepare Tofu Fish Sticks. The recipe How To Freeze Tofu also has more suggestions for using frozen tofu.
• Can I press a solid block of frozen tofu that has not been sliced? Yes. Just be careful that you do not press the tofu too hard. By using too much pressure, you could cause the tofu to fall apart. Pressing a solid block may also take a little longer.
• If for some reason there is not quite enough space to put your tofu slices in the press, then try the following suggestion. Use a pair of pliers or wrench to turn the nuts at the top of each post of the tofu press. Turn each nut counterclockwise exactly two complete turns. The nuts will not come off and it will give you just a little bit more room for your tofu slices.

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The tofu press that I use is located here. There are several other makes of tofu press available on Amazon. Most of them are made out of plastic. If you want to avoid using plastic, then there is also a tofu press made out of bamboo.  I am pretty sure that they will all work just as well as the EZ Tofu Press.

The baking pan shown above is located here. It is the one that we use for both freezing sliced tofu and collecting the water from tofu when it is pressed.