Chickpea tofu

Tofu is typically made out of soybeans… so if this can be called tofu is uncertain.

However it’s cube formed and rich in protein… so similar to tofu.

Infact i thought…. why not do a little nutritional comparison. The nutrition lover in me finds things like that fun!!!

Of course… there are different types of tofu which have different nutritional values, but tofu – whether firm, soft or marinated is all based on the same thing, soy beans.

And with chickpea flour which has turned into chickpea tofu, i am going to base the “nutrition” on just chickpea flour 🙂

Both tofu and chickpeas are based on beans, meaning that are rather similar in nutrition.  Both are rich in protein. However chickpea flour  is a better source of folate and iron compared to tofu, which has more calcium than chickpeas. Of course, depending on the amount you eat and the fact that chickpea flour is grounded chickpeas and therefore more “nutritios per gram” than tofu… that also matters.

Both chickpea flour and tofu are good sources of protein, so a good alternative for meat or fish or if you don’t want to eat just beans or lentils.

 

For those who have a soya allergy, chickpea tofu is a great alternative as it is rather similar in nutrition and a similar to tofu in consistency, but doesn’t include the soya beans!

The consistency and taste of chickpea tofu?

Well, it’s soft just like tofu… however when fried it doesn’t quite have that firmness which tofu does.

If you have eaten chickpea pancakes before… well it’s similar to that. Almost anyway.

It does work to marinate this tofu however the crispiness is not the same as pressed tofu. But nonetheless it is very tasty and also easy to make!!!

 

Recipe:

Ingredients:

120g chickpea flour

440 ml water

Pinch of salt

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of onion powder

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Optional, 1/4tsp turmeric for colour

How to

Grease a baking tray with some oil, or line with parchment paper.

In a bowl add the chickpea flour and seasoning. Then slowly add the water while continuously whisking. You don’t want any clumps, so my suggestion is to use an actual whisk and not a fork.

When the mixture is clump free, pour into a pot.

Heat on medium and stir continuously. The mixture will begin to thicken rather quickly and become rather gelatinous… but keep stirring, there is risk that it will burn or turn clumpy otherwise. Keep stirring, in total I cooked mine for about 5-7 minutes. It was thick and cooked all the way through.

Once cooked, pour into your baking tray and spread out evenly. Allow to cool slightly before placing in the fridge for 2-4 hours or preferably overnight.

In the morning, or after about 8 hours the chickpea tofu will have firmed up and you should be able to cut it into desired shape. Such as small cubes or long fry shapes. You can eat it just as it is, or cut into cubes and marinate before frying. Or you can just fry as it is in some oil.

I finished mine in about 2 days, so unfortunately, I can’t tell you how long it will last. But I would say that it should be fine about 3-5 days in the fridge, however I can not tell you how the consistency or taste will turn out.

I will remake a batch and allow to sit in the fridge for 2-3 days and then update with the results… or unless someone else tries before me and can update in the comments section.

Not, you can vary the seasoning according to preference. And I am pretty sure you can use vegetable stock instead of water, which will give it a lot more flavour 😊

I will also remake this recipe and try baking the chickpea tofu once it is done, to see what the results are… so expect an update on that front as well.