How to Cook Tofu

Despite dietary choices, the professed health benefits of soy products are making them more commonplace.  Soy products range from edamame to soymilk to tofu.  Specifically tofu can be difficult for most people to cook with because they are averse to the texture and flavor of it raw, and are not quite sure how to prepare it cooked.  
   
Tofu is a block of bean curd from soy beans.  The liquid of soybeans, or soymilk, is curdled with an acid (such as citrus, vinegar) or calcium sulphate and nigari.  It essentially then is compared to a cheese because it is a similar process as is cheese from milk.  Tofu provides calcium, protein, and iron.  It can be used as a meat substitute, or a texture substitute for cheeses, eggs, or cream depending on the level of firmness purchased and how it is prepared.

The packaging for tofu keeps the curd in liquid to maintain its freshness.  This is beneficial for lasting power, yet makes it more difficult to cook with.  However, this is a simple issue to deal with.  When making firm tofu to be used as a meat substitute in dishes like stirfry, fajitas, or the like, remove the tofu from the packaging and lightly rinse off.  There are two options for removing excess water and making the tofu more dense.  One is to apply pressure to the tofu, or to "press" the tofu, and the other is to freeze it.  As for pressing the tofu, you simply put the tofu on a plate or cutting board, and load things on top to add weight (most recently, I put a frying pan, right-side-up, on top of the tofu, and added measuring glasses into the pan for weight and balance.  Do this for a couple hours, and all or most of the water should have escaped from the tofu, so it will be much firmer and ready for cooking.  To freeze the tofu, lightly squeeze out excess water over the sink, and then place in the freezer for about an hour or two (with or without added weight for pressing), and then it should be ready to go.
Neither of these methods are absolutely necessary, but for anyone very picky about the texture of tofu, these yield the best results.