Tofu : tout !

Reblog from the “tofu page”

It’s compilation on the tofu topic…I add data regularly.

3 main tofu textures :

You have Japanese tofu that is :
kinu-dofu, silky tofu
momen-dofu, cotton tofu (translated as *firm tofu* in English)
Both are soft and watery. The first is very soft like egg pudding, the second is soft like starch pudding.
Really firm and dry tofu, the one that has a texture closer to meat is popular in China. It’s uncommon in Japan, except ….

Bottom line : If you like firm tofu…

Miso gold yolks

ran-ou no misozuke (卵黄の味噌漬).
They are egg yolks, pickled in miso. It’s a popular delicacy to enjoy as a salty snack with sake, or on your hot rice.

I have used eggs from the butcher’s… Well, they sell the eggs found inside the hens, that have no shell yet. They are excellent. Whenever my grandma would kill a hen, I was volunteering for the job (everything but the fatal stroke) and in exchange, the eggs were my lunch. In some places in Italy, they use them to make premium pasta. These are covered with a skin, which makes them easier to smear with miso, they don’t break. Also, I don’t need the whites.
The recipe can be done with standard yolks. For instance, see Shizuoka Gourmet’s technique for tamago misozuke.

1 cup of miso, 1 tbs of mirin, 1 tbs of sake. I just place the eggs with miso all over, cover and keep in the fridge. You can use any color of miso.

After 24 hours, the small ones are done. The big ones will mature in a few more days. I can eat them progressively.

You can take out the outer skin. The yolk is solid. Serve only one per person. I have more because they are minis. It’s delicious. Try it some day.

Japanese New-Year count down (-10)

10 ten day left this year. Let’s talk about Japanese End of the Year and New Year traditions.

There are casual parties : Bonenkai (funerals of old year) and Shinnenkai (baby shower of new year) when all groups in society gather for a dinner. That’s for friends, people that go to a same class/club for hobby, school mates or alumni, coworkers, etc… All have a gathering over the 2 months

December and January. But there are no special tradition.
31rd december eve and the first days of the year are the contrary. That’s the the Japan of 1000 years that suddenly reappears. They don’t turn off the neons… but nearly.
Osechi Ryori (good luck cuisine) is bizarre for foreigners. It is also unusual for Japanese people. It’s as if you were having a Middle-Age style meal of your own culture. Many don’t like it at all. Many love it for its originality. Others are not fans but like maintaining traditions.

On January first, the jubako boxes get out the closet :

…

But days before, people have started filling them. With many goodies. Let’s start with the hen or the eggs ?
EGGS ! This one is very easy to cook and the taste should please most :

EGG MOSAIC

Tamago, the egg is full of promise for the New Year….

Home-bento du jour. No fuss.

There are simple days. And days of little sun, which is expected in this season. That’s a bento (lunch box), eaten at home.

Tamago-yaki, Japanese rollomelet. With nira.

photo-recipe of idiot-proof tamago-yaki(click here)

Steamed hakusai (napa cabbage).

Natto and wasabi.

Kabocha miso soup. I had skins of kabocha pumpkin as I took only the orange puree for another recipe. The skin is good too. Reheated in hot water, just added miso paste. It’s sweet and pumpkinesque.

Tofu and faux tofu

It’s compilation on the tofu topic…

Tofu is soy milk curded with nigari. But some other products not based on soy milk are called tofu because of their texture and appearance.
Tofu ? dofu ? toufu ? doufu ? The only proper spelling is 豆腐. It’s a matter of transcription. The “t” tends to become a “d” in second part of words in Japanese. And in Chinese it’s written “d” and you read “t”. And the “o” is long.

Choosing tofu :

There are huge differences of quality. It can be delicious or absolutely terrible. I wouldn’t want to eat again in this life time all the weirdly packaged tofus I have eaten in Europe and North-America. Maybe I had bad luck. Also in the US, the soy is GMO.

The second thing is you have to buy the right type.
Most Westerners don’t really understand the different types, and I’ve been there too. So maybe this can help. It’s a simplification, but start here :

3 main tofu textures :

You have Japanese tofu that is :
kinu-dofu, silky tofu
momen-dofu, cotton tofu (translated as *firm tofu* in English)
Both are soft and watery. The first is very soft like egg pudding, the second is soft like starch pudding.
Really firm and dry tofu, the one that has a texture closer to meat is popular in China. It’s uncommon in Japan, except in Okinawa, were Japanese and Chinese traditions cross their path. So here it is called 島豆腐 shima tofu, “island tofu“, and in Osaka, I have to buy in “ethnic stores”.
The 3 are made with different recipes.

Bottom line : If you like soft tofu, buy it from a Japanese maker (well, a maker making ingredients for Japanese cuisine as of course it’s not a question of nationality). If you like firm tofu, buy it from a Chinese or an Okinawan maker. Other Asian countries tend to make the firm varieties traditionally.

Gourmande’s home-made tofu :

Basic recipe :
ultra fresh torori tofu (from soy milk and nigari)