Firm vs silken tofu: which one should you use?

All tofu starts the same way: soya beans are soaked, ground and cooked into soya milk, then a coagulant such as nigari sets the milk into curds. What happens next decides the texture.

Silken tofu

Silken tofu is set straight in its pack and never pressed, so it's smooth, wobbly and custard-like. It falls apart if you fry it.

Use it for: smoothies, creamy sauces, dressings, vegan cheesecake and chocolate mousse, or served cold with soy sauce and spring onion.

Soft tofu

Soft tofu is lightly pressed. It's delicate but holds together a little better than silken.

Use it for: soups such as miso or Korean sundubu-jjigae, and gentle braises.

Firm and extra-firm tofu

The curds are pressed into a block, squeezing out the whey. The more they're pressed, the firmer and denser the block, and the more protein it has per gram.

Use it for: almost everything else. Pan-frying, baking, air-frying, grilling, stir-fries, scrambles, crumbling into mince and slicing into sandwiches.

Quick guide

You want to…	Use
Get it crispy	Firm or extra-firm
Make a scramble	Firm
Blend it into a sauce or smoothie	Silken
Add it to soup	Soft or silken
Make a dessert	Silken
Meal prep	Firm or high-protein

All of our tofu is firm: our classic Firm block, our Protein block and ToF*sh, which is wrapped in nori.