Tofu Traditions

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Tofu was invented over 2,000 years ago in China. The story goes that an adventurous chef of the time decided to flavor some soymilk with a saltwater by-product called nigari. Rather than flavor the soymilk however, the nigari caused it to curdle. Tofu came to Japan from China under Buddhist influence, being first recorded in Japan in A.D. 1183. It is thought that the tofu was originally an offering for Buddha, but it became a great standby of Zen vegetarianism (shojin ryori). The religious people ate it, it became popular among the Japanese nobility, and soon everyone wanted to eat tofu!

Tofu is also known as soybean curd. Soybeans are soaked for 20 hours. The tofu shop owners have to wake up at 4:00 am each morning. Then the beans are ground, mixed with water, and boiled for twenty minutes. The soybean milk is strained and then traditionally nigari is added to the milk to make it clump together. This clump is called a curd. The curd is cut into blocks and used in many ways as a very nutritious and tasty food. Tofu is easy to digest.

The residue from the straining the milk, okara, is also very nutritious and is eaten – sometimes mixed with green vegetables or even the chrysanthemum leaves.

Tofu can come in any shape or size. The most common is rectangular. Tofu can be in sea water or mixed with sesame seeds. The two main kinds of tofu are momendofu, the regular kind, and kinogoshidofu, with a much finer texture and mostly made in summer.

Tofu can be grilled, soaked and fried.  The most expensive is yosi dofu. Among the many delightful ways of serving tofu, two stand out: yudofu in winter and hiyayakko in summer.

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Tofu section written by K.Clarke 

Sources:

Many thanks to Kendall, Sean, Saarthak, Hanna, Isabelle and Joshua for their research.

http://www.bento.com/kyototofu.html

A Dictionary of Japanese Food, by Richard Hosking. 1996

http://www.hikyaku.com/dico/histxtg40.html

Japanese Recipe
Yu-dofu
(tofu hot pot)
 

Ingredients:

• 2 block silk tofu (kinugoshi)
• 6 inches konbu (kelp)
• 5 cup water

For dipping sauce:

• 2 cup dashi soup
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin

For toppings:

• dried bonito flakes
• chopped scallions

How to Cook:

1. Clean the konbu with wet towel.
2. Put the konbu and water in a donabe pot and leave it for a few hours.
3. Cut tofu into small cubes.
4. Put the pot over low heat at the table.
5. Add tofu in the pot and simmer.
6. Put dashi soup, soy sauce, and mirin in a pot and heat to make dipping sauce.
7. Pour the dipping sauce into individual bowls.
8. Add some topping in the bowl and eat boiled tofu, dipping in the sauce.

*Makes 4 servings

Recipe from Japan for Visitors, with Shizuko Mishima
http://japanesefood.about.com/library/recipe/blyudofu.htm?once=true&