In a paper published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Dr. Chris Macdonald explored the best sources of protein currently available.
To answer the question, Macdonald had to build a new holistic scoring system that combines measures of environmental impact, health, affordability and availability into a single framework.
Applying the scoring system to 20 commonly consumed protein-rich foods, the analysis found a striking pattern: every product in the highest-scoring quintile was plant-based, while every product in the lowest-scoring quintile was animal-based. Tofu ranked first overall, while cheddar cheese ranked last.
The paper argues that many existing food rating systems focus on only one aspect of a product. While useful, these single-dimension labels can obscure important trade-offs and make it difficult to compare foods comprehensively.
TOFU DOMINATION
Link to open access article https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1677796/full
Press your tofu for 2-4 hours, wrapped in paper towels. You wanna get it real dry. Microwave it for like 1-2 minutes. Get it REALLY dry. Once all that water is out, you wanna rehydrate it with some sauce + seasonings, basically like a marinade. Once it’s soaked up the goodness, air fry it (preferably) or pan fry it. Should end up with a texture almost similar to chicken. It’s still gonna be softer than real meat, but getting it just absurdly dry first is the first step to getting it close
There is another method and my girlfriend's favorite too:
Boil it in salt water for 2-5 minutes like pasta before draining it, seasoning it, and frying it (air fryer, convection oven, or pan fry)
The salt draws out the moisture, seasons it lightly inside, and relaxes the proteins. All of which make it absorb seasonings and sauces better. It makes it super crispy on the outside too.
This is also THE method for crispy fried mushrooms. Same principle. If you shred oyster mushrooms, boil in salt water, press out for a minute or two, and pan fry them, you get extremely tasty, crispy mushrooms with a meaty flavor. Toss them in some seasoning and BBQ sauce and you have a crispy pulled pork replacement for tacos or something.
Can I just slice it into slices and dehydrate it in a low temperature oven for hours and hours?
Like can I make 'dehydrared tofu chips' is what Im asking.
Or does anyone please know any brand of CHEAP dehydrated tofu chips already made and sold in canada?
Also does anyone please know how much of the essential amino acids tofu offers per 100grams of tofu (and I do mean any form of tofu. Fermented tofu , whatver form you pick) and then compare it to the essential amino acids 100 grams of ground beef gives.
Thanks
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Man, I had no idea this stuff existed. I wanna make it now! lol.
thanks