The Trouble with Tofu
22 Feb 2009 13 Comments
in cooking, Food, Japan, Japanese Culture, Recipes Tags: Food, Japan, japanese cuisine, Recipes, tofu
So what exactly is it about tofu that strikes terror in the hearts of Americans? I don’t think I realized just how much my attitude towards it had changed during my time here in Asia. It’s only the new, incoming JETs that remind me of this change (and their bitchin and moaning about the lack of meat on their plates!!). Back in American I was part of the teeming multitude of tofu-haters. Tofu was weird, tasteless white goo that vegans and vegetarians ate (forgive me, Kristina!!!), not something smooth, delicate and tasty in its own right. Tofu was, well, hippie-food. Of course I had only tried it one time. Thank god I give people more chances then I did tofu! Of course it doesn’t help that most tofu in the US is crap. Unless you’re getting fresh tofu from a dedicated tofu maker (like the amazing Ithaca Soy Company) you’re not getting anything like the fresh flavor we get out here in Japan. The tofu you get in America is spongy, old, squeaky, stale. Tofu in Japan is a whole new universe.
The best way to eat tofu - by itself with a dash of seasoning.
So this is what we’ll do: Tofu Challenge! Go out and buy yourself a small package of tofu from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods (since it’s hard for most people to drive out to Ithaca, NY just for a tofu fix, and they’re pretty good I’ve heard!). Open the package, grab a spoon and gently scoop out a niblet of the tofu. Look at its creamy, porcelain complexion. Give it a little sniff. Good tofu smells green and amazingly fresh. Not like a freshly-cut lawn but a very gentle, healthy smell. Then stick it in your mouth. Depending on the kind of tofu you bought (which runs from solid extra-firm down to the extremely delicate silken) you’ll have different textures, but one thing will be the same no matter what kind of tofu you buy: a subtle, umami-filled taste will slide over your taste buds. This is not an American food with flavors that will whack you in the head with a baseball bat. It’s subtle, it’s gentle, it’s kind and ultimately it’s addictive.
Aburage - fried tofu that goes great in miso soup.
Tofu is essentially soy bean cheese. It’s made the same way milk-based cheese is made: by adding a curdling agent to a liquid. The texture of the tofu depends on the water content of your final block. The most delicate of tofus, silken tofu, has the highest water content. It’s great for blending into other foods or in miso soup. Then you have firm and extra firm. They hold up well to being stir-fried or baked. In Japan we have a horde or other tofu products like aburage, fried tofu blocks, koyadofu, essentially freeze-dried tofu that’s reconstituted in different things to change its flavor, and yuba, tofu “skin” which is a thin sheet used to wrap different fillings. In Japan tofu generally retains its original form, it’s never processed into “Tofurkey” or “Tofutti” or “Tofu dogs.” I urge you never to try these products. Tofu should be eaten as-is and doesn’t need any help (especially if it involves squeezing it into fake meat product shapes).
Tofu truffles made by the lovely ladies over at Ishikawajets Blog!
So what exactly do you do with tofu? Lots or nothing, depending on your mood. Grab a block of high quality silken tofu. Stick a small square in a bowl. Garnish it with a little soy sauce, green onion and grated ginger. (Attempt to) eat it with chopsticks without destroying it or dropping it on yourself. You now now have 1/4 of an official Japanese breakfast (all you need is some rice, miso soup, and barley tea and you’re set!). It’s also good with some katsuoboshi (dried fish flakes – don’t look at me like that!! It’s like fish bacon! It’s delicious!!). Or, chop some silken into your miso soup. Do a nice veggie stir-fry and toss in some cubes of firm. Dredge it in corn starch or flour and pan-fry till crispy (this goes great over rice with some fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter and say sauce). Marinate it in teryaki sauce and bake it. Blend it up with some cocoa powder and turn it into the smoothest, richest chocolate truffle you’ve ever eaten (credit to the new Ishikawa JETs blog!). Tofu is wonderful, versatile, delicous and good for you! Japan doesn’t have the highest life expectancy in the world for nothing!
Fun links!
- Do you tofu? – NYT article with recipes
- NYT Tofu Reference Section
- ChowMag’s Make Your Own Tofu Project
- Gourmet’s Teriyaki-glazed Tofu with Broccolini
- La Saveur’s Miso Soup with Tofu and Wakame
~MS the Younger and tofu-obsessed!
PS: For those of you who like tofu, what’s your favorite way to eat it?
Feb 22, 2009 @ 10:35:21
I love tofus! Eat them with dipping sauce.
Feb 22, 2009 @ 12:18:07
What a great post
and thanks for the shout-out!
Tofu is truly terrific.
Feb 23, 2009 @ 00:57:46
Terrific post to remind just how delicious tofu is.
A couple of years ago I played den-mother to my friend and his two teen-age sons. I figured those boys would eat anything i cooked, so decided to treat them to a tofu dish.
Made them curried tofu with tomatoes and chickpeas on rice. When they sat down to dinner, salivating over the scent of the food and asking what the dish was, i replied “Curried macerated chicken”. They wolfed the dish down and practically lickedthe serving bowl shiny. My friend grinned knowingly all during dinner. After the meal the boys lauded the deliciousness of the macerated chicken. Then I ‘fessed up to using tofu. They said they’s be no longer suspicious about tofu as an ingredient in meals.
Score for tofu! Yay! G
Feb 23, 2009 @ 12:29:28
That’s awesome! Get ‘em started early ~}-)>
Feb 23, 2009 @ 04:45:30
Ahhh, I remember your days among the tofu-loathing denizens. So glad you’ve discovered the sweet, slippery beauty that is tofu.
As far as plain tofu goes, I have to say, I see its best feature as its lack-of-flavor, its blank canvas for whatever sort of marinade or dressing you wish to steep it in. Here in Binghamton, tofu tastes far from “fresh.”
With this in mind, my favorite way to treat it is to smother it in some sort of marinade (one beloved recipe includes soy sauce, ketchup, cider vinegar and orange marmelade) and bake it, uncovered, until it’s all firmed and browned around the edges. Yu-um.
Great post.
Feb 23, 2009 @ 12:02:56
Dude, have you ever tried to re-create GreenStar’s teriyaki tofu? Sometimes I dream of the meaty tastiness that I used to buy there…. ::drool::
Aug 28, 2009 @ 07:39:51
I actually asked the guys at Greenstar how they produce their Teryaki Tofu once, and they imparted to me that they press it, marinade it, bake it and then do the whole thing over again to achieve that texture. The recipe for the marinade? That’s a mystery. I have something in the oven that smells similar right now though!
Feb 23, 2009 @ 05:12:09
I’d like to know who first discovered the art of making tofu. Like cheese making, it doesn’t appear to be intuitive, so who figured it out?
Tofu sounds like grits, a bland food substance that takes on the flavors of the foods around it.
When Carolyn finally comes home (oh happy day!) I look forward to many tofu dishes.
~MadDad
Feb 23, 2009 @ 08:07:36
I’ll get mine from the next tofu truck that comes through my neighborhood. However, if the ice cream truck comes through first…
Feb 23, 2009 @ 20:29:45
I have always been suspicious of tofu after trying it and honestly not caring for it at all. Of course I bought it in small town North Carolina at a Food Lion. That should have said a lot to me. Though at the time I didn’t know what vast differences in quality there was in tofu. You have just enlightened me. This week I am making a treck to the Fresh Market and plan to buy some from that great store and give it a try.
Thanks for this post. You are so much fun.
Feb 23, 2009 @ 23:49:20
My son told me about all the varieties of tofu in taiwan and how good it was and showed me the most hilarious tofu commercial from taiwan. What a great post. I have never actually just eaten tofu by itself, I will give it a try, oooh and dried fish flakes. I would give that a try too, YUM!
Feb 24, 2009 @ 01:52:06
Fried tofu with oyster sauce is my favorite, though sometimes just the very simple taste of it in miso soup is equally satisfying…………
I’ve always thought it akin to eggplant, a vegetable easy to make fun of for those who never realized how good it can be when cooked properly. Eggplant fresh from the garden and grilled with some olive oil maybe the very best you can do with this other seemingly bland food. But you have to get a good fresh eggplant!
Feb 26, 2009 @ 10:00:29
My favorite kind of tofu was the doufu si we had in China – it was thin and almost elastic-y (like noodles) and tossed with chili flakes, soy vinegar and LOTS of cilantro. And sometimes shredded cucumber. Or shredded radish. And I LOVED IT ALL. Mmmm….
They also had this other cold dish with smoked firm tofu tossed with carrots, peanuts and celery with chili oil, soy vinegar and cilantro. Nice starter before eating yourself stupid on jiaozi.
Mmmm… and then there was preserved tofu that they served as a condiment to your dipping sauce for Mongolian hotpot. Damn, that was delicious. : ) ~
Would you believe I used to be a tofu-hater too?
(p.s. C, we SUCK at Skype dates. -_^ One of these days…)