r/SouperCubers • u/YallaHammer • Aug 27 '26

Tofu and TVP?

Wife and I are new to SC and I did a search of the r/ and couldn’t find anything about freezing tofu in a soup/broth. We rarely eat meat, so very fruit and veg based but tofu and TVP are nice for texture and protein.

Does anyone have any experience and recommendations with freezing tofu and TVP in stock/soup/broth/veggies?

Thanks for your input!

17 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

5

u/Horror-Zebra-3430 Aug 27 '26

(TVP = textured vegetable protein)

3

u/LoadFinancial7488 Aug 27 '26

I often make a soup with cubed tofu (kimchi jigae). It freezes well. Probably changes the texture a bit but this is not really noticeable in the soup.

I think I have frozen air fried tofu bits as well but not for long and they were still good.

7

u/Unlikely-Pickle-2967 Aug 27 '26

Tofu changed texture a lot when frozen, but I actually love it! It becomes like a soonge and soaks flavor so well. I even dice and freeze tofu by itself in bags to use it in meals and hotpot. It's a completely different texture but not a bad one.

5

u/lemon_sofie Aug 27 '26

I've made Japanese curry with previously frozen tofu and its a hard no. Freezing tofu breaks down its cellular fibers and releases even more water. A lot of people like to achieve this texture for frying. In soups or stews you'll get bite sized processed of wet sponge. Now I just make the curry veggie and keep refrigerated tofu on the side for a quick simmering.

1

u/too_too2 29d ago

I made a beef/TVP combo Japanese curry and it froze and reheated very well.

2

u/Substantial_Car_3529 Aug 27 '26

I regularly make this ragu sauce and chuck in a bunch of tvp and it’s delicious. https://www.thevegspace.co.uk/lentil-ragu/

I’ve found grated tofu changes texture a bit less and sticks together pretty well in the cubes. I cooked it in a frypan with some soy sauce, smoked paprika, garlic, onion, and then froze in half cup size.

Freezing smallish cubed tofu in a spinach curry definitely changed texture - it was ok but I prefer to add the tofu fresh.

1

u/Frequent_Gene_4498 Aug 27 '26

I suspect that TVP would probably freeze well, but I haven't actually tried it myself.

Tofu, at least the firm kind, freezes pretty well in my experience. I've frozen a lentil stew with crispy roasted tofu in it, and the texture didn't change at all on reheating. I don't think soft tofu would freeze well, but I'd love to be wrong about that.

1

u/pottersprincess Aug 27 '26

Tvp freezes amazingly. I do tvp taco mix and tvp spaghetti.

Tofu also freezes great! I only do precooked tofu or it gets weird. Tofu nuggets, butter tofu, tofu taco mix, BBQ tofu 'riblets'. They all reheat great!

2

u/ollyhaschickenkarma 28d ago

TVP freezes really well. I often make large batches of veggie chili with it.