Pressing is the step most likely to be done out of habit rather than for a reason, which is a shame, because half the time it is the wrong move. Tofu going into a soup does not need it. Tofu going into a blender wants something else entirely. And a block that gets pressed after it has been marinating loses the marinade along with the water.
The question worth asking is not how to press tofu. It is whether this particular dish wants it.
| What you are making | Press it? | How long, and why |
|---|---|---|
| Marinated, then fried or baked | Yes | 15 minutes. The water it gives up is the room the marinade moves into |
| Fried with no marinade | Yes | 15 minutes. A dry surface is what lets it brown instead of steam |
| Soup, braise or stew | No | It takes the liquid straight back on, so the work is undone in a minute |
| Blended into a cream or dessert | Squeeze, not press | Water thins the mix and stops it setting firm |
| Crumbled or scrambled | No | A crumbled block sheds its water into the pan on its own |
| Silken tofu, any dish | Never | It collapses, and softness is the entire product |
| Vacuum-packed tofu | No | It arrives with far less water in it. Pat it dry and move on |
Why pressing works at all
Firm tofu is sold sitting in water and holds a great deal of it. That water takes up space, and it is space a marinade cannot occupy. Press some out and you make room. This is why pressing matters most before a marinade and least before a braise.
It also decides whether the tofu browns. A wet surface cannot get above the boiling point of water, because all the heat arriving is spent turning that water to steam. So a wet block put in a hot pan steams itself, sits at 100C and stays pale however long you leave it. Get the surface dry and it can climb past that point, and only then does it colour. That is the whole mechanism behind getting tofu crisp.
Fifteen minutes, and why not thirty
Fifteen minutes covers almost everything, and our own recipes bear it out. Tofu Waffles asks for at least 15 minutes and says plainly that the step is essential. BBQ Tofu Bowl wants the same. Tofu Tikka Masala stretches to 15 or 30 because that marinade is thick and has further to travel.
The reason it stops mattering after that is simple. The easy water sits near the surface and leaves quickly. What is left is held inside the protein network, and squeezing harder deforms the block long before it releases much more. You end up with flatter tofu rather than drier tofu.
Can you press tofu overnight?
You can, but there is little in it for you, and there is something to be careful about. Most of what pressing achieves has happened inside half an hour, so an overnight press mostly buys you a squashed block.
If you do want it out of the way the night before, press it in the fridge rather than on the counter. Tofu is a fresh, low-acid food and a night at room temperature is exactly the condition it should not sit in. See how long does tofu keep for the rest of the storage picture.
Do you press tofu after marinating?
No. Press first, then marinate.
Pressing after a marinade squeezes out the thing you were waiting for. The marinade has spent hours moving into the block, and the press pushes it straight back out, taking the seasoning with it. If the block is dripping when it comes out of the marinade, pat it with a towel rather than weighing it down. That removes surface liquid, which would otherwise steam in the pan, without emptying the inside.
You do not need a tofu press
A heavy pan works. So do a few books, which is literally what our waffle recipe suggests. Vegan Tofu Cheesecake with Strawberry Curd puts it as plainly as we can, telling you to use whatever is in the house: tofu press, nut milk bag, or kitchen towel. The tool is not the point. The water is.
Wrap the block in a clean tea towel first, whatever you weigh it down with. Bare tofu against a plate presses unevenly and cracks at the edges, and the towel also gives the water somewhere to go instead of pooling back underneath.
Sometimes even that is more than you need. Eggplant & Tofu Steak Tartare just pats the block dry and crumbles it, because a crumbled block sheds its water into the mix anyway. Pressing is for tofu that has to stay in one piece.
Freezing instead of pressing
Freezing and thawing removes more water than pressing does, and changes the texture while it is at it: spongier, chewier and far more absorbent. Tofu Butter Chicken offers it as a straight swap, press it or freeze and thaw it, because both are doing the same job of getting water out.
They are not interchangeable, though. Press when you want the tofu to stay more or less itself. Freeze when you want the chew, and know that it is permanent.
When to skip it entirely
Silken tofu, always. It will collapse, and softness is what you bought. In Miso Soup with Soba Noodles it is sliced and laid on at the end precisely so it stays intact, and in the Korean-Inspired Tofu Bowl the cubes are lowered into the marinade rather than stirred through it. More on the difference in silken versus firm.
Anything going into liquid. Braises, soups and stews put the water back immediately. Japanese Braised Tofu simmers the tofu in broth for twenty minutes and then rests it in that broth for twenty more. Pressing beforehand is work undone in the first minute. Vegan Sheep Cheese Soup goes further and blends the tofu into the pot, where its water simply becomes the soup.
