Neighborhood tofu: A short practical tour

[amytheorangutan]

Ah @Bibu sorry I should be more clear this is not a type of tofu but a different kind of soya product originated in Indonesia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh

 

It is made of whole soybeans so quite different from tofu. The white fuzz looks similar to the hairy tofu though ?

[mungouk]

In the Smithsonian magazine, via yesterday's SupChina newsletter...

 

The Chinese-Born Doctor Who Brought Tofu to America
Yamei Kin was a scientific prodigy who promoted the Chinese art of living to U.S. audiences

 

[abcdefg]

Interesting, thanks! Knew nothing about her before reading your link. 

 

Quote

The bureau usually worried itself with detecting adulterants in imports, but its role had expanded during wartime to investigate “meritorious substitutes” for foods made scarce by the trade disruptions and hungry armies of World War I—in particular, red meat, wheat, and vegetable oils.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/chinese-born-doctor-who-brought-tofu-america-180969977/#GKxsOYu7Ry3gOMuA.99

 

I had wondered how tofu made it to America. This makes perfect sense. 

 

Quote

McDougal was particularly impressed by an array of soybean products displayed in a row of glass jars on a long table: a white cheese, a brownish paste, a brown sauce. “Talk about dual personalities!” she wrote. “The soy bean has so many aliases that if you shouldn’t like it in one form you would be pretty sure to like it in another.”
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/chinese-born-doctor-who-brought-tofu-america-180969977/#GKxsOYu7Ry3gOMuA.99

Still true today! 

[Lu]

On 8/10/2018 at 2:42 AM, abcdefg said:

In the far left of the photo just above, in a white basket, is the notorious "hairy tofu" 毛豆腐, that has a very distinctive look, aroma, and taste.

I think I ate 毛豆腐 last week, at least how it was explained to me I thought it must have been hairy tofu. No hairs were visible, but the tofu had been fried in a crust so that could explain it.

 

I think my hosts were trying to get a reaction out of me. They ordered a dish of stinky tofu and hairy tofu. Unfortunately for them, I eat almost everything without flinching (including but not limited to pig's ears, scorpion on a stick and frog). Stinky tofu I had had before, in Taiwan, and I find the taste very unremarkable. Same as regular tofu, really, which is to say, tasteless. The hairy tofu was more tasty and I liked it.

[abcdefg]

Must be fun to be back in China, @Lu-- Welcome! Hairy tofu 毛豆腐 does have a distinctive flavor, which, like you, I find pleasant. 

 

10 hours ago, Lu said:

Stinky tofu I had had before, in Taiwan, and I find the taste very unremarkable.

 

I few years ago I went on a walking food tour in Taipei. One of the stops was a store famous for its stinky tofu 臭豆腐。You could order from a menu on the wall that listed their offerings by degrees of stinkiness. The "grade 6" and "grade 7" were strong enough for most of us. The guide, who was a regular customer there, let us taste her piece of number 9. Wow! it was really potent. Too much so for me!

[Lu]

7 hours ago, abcdefg said:

Must be fun to be back in China, @Lu-- Welcome!

Thanks! It was only for two weeks, and it was indeed great, tofu and all.