The first step says “after pressing most of liquid out of tofu’ and ‘ plate cutlets’ but nothing in to on how to do it or how many slices for tofu blo

This also leads to portion size. This recipe serves two which is 200 grams of tofu per person. Unless you are mad for tofu, this is too much. At my dining table, this would serve four with some other dishes.

Personally, I really like tofu and go out of my way to buy the freshly made stuff from a local tofu maker. Even so, 200 grams would be the max I would eat and my tofu appreciation level far outstrips that of the typical American.

Anyhow, choose wisely when you decide to portion this up for your dinner guests. I realize many Americans love gutbuster portion sizes and this recipe -- as written -- approaches that in terms of tofu volume.

Best of luck.

The recipe instructions unfortunately leave out a lot of handling instructions for the tofu.

A typical tofu block is about 400 grams (14 ounces). The American tofu blocks follow the traditional Japanese commercial standard. It looks like this:

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/block-of-tofu-gm465743008-59993070

A tofu block is generally regarded to be about 4-5 servings. This 80-100 gram serving is unsurprisingly about the same as a standard 3-4 ounce serving of animal protein.

To attain what is depicted in the photo, you need to cut the block into eight pieces. Many American tofu blocks are already cut in half.

Worse, the recipe instructs you to fry on all six sizes. It is nearly impossible to fry the short ends without fabricating some sort of stand or contraption so the blocks don't fall over. Even frying on the long thin end is difficult.

I don't know how the food stylist accomplished this for the ones in the photo but what they did wasn't something simple.

The recipe directs you to freeze the "cutlets". This basically accomplishes the same as pressing out the excess liquid. You can also blanch the pieces for about 30 seconds-1 minute in simmering water (which risks damage). You can also briefly microwave (1-2 minutes) the tofu to help evaporate the excess water.

Regardless this recipe's tofu instructions really beg some clarity and/or process photography (which Food52 has eschewed in recent years). Pity.

It looks like she cuts it into 1/2 inch slabs. Here is a primer on pressing the liquid out of tofu: https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-press-tofu-3376642