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…

Red cold Winter : slow wined cabbage and yu-dofu

Red cabbage, and poached tofu for a chilly day. French + Japanese, and they make a nice pair. This is vegan and surprisingly filling.

The idea was to empty my fridge. I had the half of a red cabbage, a few black potatoes, 2 purple shallot, red wine… Blue day ! I’ve let that simmered in the cast iron cocotte, longly.

I also found an orphan chili in a nook. Behind you can see a clove. I added a mace and sugar too.

Finish touch : roasted poppy seeds and a few goji berries.
Delicious.
I could have eaten only that but I added a side for the proteins and more fun.

Yu-dofu.

That’s a Winter style to serve tasty tofu. Cubes in hot water with a strong salty sauce to balance the tofu’s creaminess. Silky type goes well.
The sauce is not classic. I mixed Chinese tobanjan hot chili sauce and lemon juice.

The meal :
Cal 521.5 F10.6g C 92.7g P19.2g

Lunching Gourmande

Confusion menu. Free style : polenta, okra, hot tofu, white onion salad.
The light inside is dimmer, the colors are better if I shoot on the balcony… but the sharpness, ahem. I should install a table and the camera stand.

Fried polenta, with sudachi lemon and sweet chili sauce (bottled).

creamy saffron polenta (click on text)

I had cooked too much of this polenta.

I’ve let it cool in flexible tartlet mold, refrigerated. Later, I got that circle, that I pan-fried slowly in olive oil.

Okra and holy basil that looks… not like online photos of holy basil. And taste is not basil. Once again, I have no idea what stuff I grow in my garden. As long as I don’t poison myself. I mean, not again, as I did that when I was 3.

Silky tofu, heated in hot water. With shichimi togarashi 7 spice mix.

And nama shoyu soy sauce.

These white onions, small like a ping-pong ball are quite sweet. After cutting, I massaged them with salt. Let a while, maybe 1 hour, and washed away the salt.

With those small purple sprouts that decorate sashimi plates. They sell them in quite big quantities and you wouldn’t eat more than a tablespoon, so I froze some I had in excess. And now I forgot sprouts of what they were… Some kind of radish ?

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)

zaru-dofu (basket tofu)

Island tofu (very firm tofu)

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Gourmande’s home-made faux tofu

tamago dofu (egg tofu)

home-made sesame tofu (gomadofu)

yellow tofu or Shan tofu (from chick pea)

edamame tofu (from green soy beans)

Tofu bought in Osaka :

It’s a small sample. I can find many sorts. There are 3 tofu makers just in my street…

kinu-dofu (silky tofu)

momen-dofu (cotton tofu)

Okinawan tofu (super hard)

Yuzu tofu (citrus flavor)

koya-dofu (freeze dry tofu)

fresh yuba (sheets of tofu)

abura-age (usu-age type, fried sheets of tofu)

goma dofu (sesame flavored soy milk tofu)

goma dofu (sesame tofu, not a real tofu)

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RECIPES WITH TOFU
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dengaku (tofu skewers)

yudofu (Kyoto boiled tofu, hot pot)

mabo dofu (Sichuan style, several recipes)

age-dofu (fried tofu)

inari sushi (in abura age pockets)

champuru (Okinawan tofu with scramble egg)

chigae (Korean spicy tofu soup)

tofu steaks

u no hana (tofu fibers in tabouleh)

Tofu can also be an ingredient for desserts.

Days of yudofu (+ a quick pasta)

It’s getting chilly. It’s time to “boil” the tofu.
Well, you need tasty tofu, hand-made style :

Then a broth, very hot to bath it :

It’s simply the boiling water of my pasta, transfered to that bowl, just too keep the tofu hot. You don’t cook it. It’s already cooked. You need sauces or toppings :