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America doesn't know tofu

asteriskmag.com

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Re: America doesn't know tofu

#71

Post by solardev »

FrustratedMonky wrote: post #47
ecshafer wrote: post #36

This is a nice article, but it does have some parts that seem off base. First you can walk into any chinese grocery store (in america) and get 20 kinds of tofu, thats really not an issue, and chinese restaurants (in chinatown) will sell many kinds of tofu. The other is that the author makes the mistake of over emphasizing the vegetarianism aspect (which i think some comments here also are). Many chinese dishes with t…

Since meat is expensive, maybe it is more about 'stretching' a dish. If you can only afford one cut of meat, but need to feed four, the tofu is used to get more protein in cheaply. That has always been my impression.

Is tofu actually cheaper than meat in China? Here it usually seems to cost more per pound.

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#72

Post by Spivak »

globular-toast wrote: post #67
wouldbecouldbe wrote: post #31

The best meat replacer really isn't tofu, it's Seitan. It has the umami quality certain meats & cheeses have, you just need to have another bite, that I've not have had with other meat replacements. I've eaten the most delicious vegetarian chicken made of Seitan over a decade ago in a monastery in Xiamen. Still not sure why it hasn't made it's way to the West. Maybe because of the fact its basically pure gluten.

Tofu isn't a "meat replacement". It's just tofu. You can get the umami quality with soy sauce or just pure msg.

Anything you stick in the "meat" slot of a recipe originally written for it is a meat replacement and for anyone getting their protein from primarily meat any non-meat they stick in the "protein" slot in their diet is a meat replacement.

It doesn't mean tofu doesn't stand on its own but that "of things people use to replace meat in their diets with intention" tofu is the most popular.

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#73

Post by solardev »

PoignardAzur wrote: post #5

If anyone else's wondering whether the author followed up on importing tofu in the US, here's what his webpage says: > It’s nice to meet you. I’m working on promoting Chinese tofus in the States. If you’re not familiar, China has over 20 types of tofus. They taste nothing like conventional white blocks. Some are bready. Others taste like aged cheese. Some bake up like pastry crust. Others melt. > I’m writing a book t…

FWIW, there are a number of decent US-based tofu manufacturers too. Just the ones I'm familiar with:

Asian style:

- (Seattle) Northwest Tofu: https://maps.app.goo.gl/omGVAsunK79BH1SYA

- (Cupertino, CA) Sogo Tofu: https://sogotofu.business.site/

American/fusion style:

- (Arcata, CA) Tofu Shop: https://www.tofushop.com/

- (Chicago) Phoenix Bean: https://www.phoenixbean.com/products.html

- (Nationwide) Nasoya: https://www.nasoya.com/about-us/

- (Nationwide) Wildwood: https://wildwoodfoods.com/

- (Nationwide) Hodo: https://www.hodofoods.com/

Wholesale distributors of fake meats:

- (San Jose, CA) Ecovegan: https://ecovegan.com/

- (NYC) Lily's Vegan (former May Wah): https://www.lilysveganpantry.com

--------

IMO Sogo Tofu and Northwest are worth going out of your way to try out if you're ever in the Bay Area or Seattle. They're just wonderful.

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#74

Post by turtlebits »

solardev wrote: post #71
FrustratedMonky wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since meat is expensive, maybe it is more about 'stretching' a dish. If you can only afford one cut of meat, but need to feed four, the tofu is used to get more protein in cheaply. That has always been my impression.

Is tofu actually cheaper than meat in China? Here it usually seems to cost more per pound.

If you're talking about block tofu, it's like $1.50/lb where I live (Seattle), which is considerably cheaper than meat.

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#75

Post by Spivak »

Decabytes wrote: post #16

There are plenty of people in America of Asian descent that know lots about Tofu. There are also plenty of articles about secret off menu items at Chinese restaurants, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you could get some of this Tofu there. This stuff just takes time. I remember reading a news article where someone talked about drinking bubble tea in NYC before it was popular as a kid, as a treat. Now you can get bubble…

I've never been told no ordering any american-chinese dish with tofu instead of chicken at any Chinese restaurant. The best fried chicken beats the best fried tofu but your average fried tofu beats you average fried chicken so I usually get it at places I'm not super sure of.

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#76

Post by solardev »

wouldbecouldbe wrote: post #31

The best meat replacer really isn't tofu, it's Seitan. It has the umami quality certain meats & cheeses have, you just need to have another bite, that I've not have had with other meat replacements. I've eaten the most delicious vegetarian chicken made of Seitan over a decade ago in a monastery in Xiamen. Still not sure why it hasn't made it's way to the West. Maybe because of the fact its basically pure gluten.

You can very often find fake seitan meats in natural food stores across the US. They're usually just reprocessed into something else (like a sausage or nugget). You can also get it in powder form in the bulk aisle.

If you want something prepared Asian/Buddhist style, 99 Ranch or a similar Asian store should have that. You can also get similar things online from Lily's Vegan Pantry (formerly May Wah): https://www.lilysveganpantry.com/Vegan_Chicken_s/1516.htm

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#77

Post by dendrite9 »

solardev wrote: post #69
downut wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. I've been eating tofu in the US all my adult life, since about 1983 or so. Everywhere I've lived (FL, GA, NC, AZ, CA) it's been available in standard grocery stores, generally with several varieties. Asian markets, as you note, have many varieties. I have a number of vegetarian tofu recipes I like but... my favorite Ma Po tofu recipes (there are innumerable versions) have meat in them. I really dislike how com…

> until I discovered Fuschia Dunlop What's that? A purple tire? A recipe?

http://www.fuchsiadunlop.com/books/

She's a British author and cook who has written extensively about Chinese cooking.

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#78

Post by solardev »

turtlebits wrote: post #74
solardev wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is tofu actually cheaper than meat in China? Here it usually seems to cost more per pound.

If you're talking about block tofu, it's like $1.50/lb where I live (Seattle), which is considerably cheaper than meat.

Oh really? Where I live (central Oregon), tofu is like usually like $2-$4/block, while meat (chicken, ground beef) is about $4/lbs.

And if you get any sort of processed food (nuggets, sausages, etc.), the fake meats are way more expensive than the real stuff :(

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#79

Post by dendrite9 »

ben_w wrote: post #9
PoignardAzur wrote: post #5

If anyone else's wondering whether the author followed up on importing tofu in the US, here's what his webpage says: > It’s nice to meet you. I’m working on promoting Chinese tofus in the States. If you’re not familiar, China has over 20 types of tofus. They taste nothing like conventional white blocks. Some are bready. Others taste like aged cheese. Some bake up like pastry crust. Others melt. > I’m writing a book t…

There's tofu that melts? Huh. That (I thought) it didn't melt was the one thing holding it back from being a true vegan cheese[0] alternative to me. [0] Process for making {cheese, tofu}: take {milk, soy milk}, add some acid to make the proteins coagulate, then draw the rest of the owl to get your sliceable high-protein block of controllable firmness and flavour.

The process similarity between the two has always been interesting to me even though there are obvious differences as well. When I read this article the first time a few months ago I thought how interesting it would be to read a similar but inverted article "China doesn't know cheese" (translated of course).

Re: America doesn't know tofu

#80

Post by viewtransform »

solardev wrote: post #68
MilStdJunkie wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, saying you're making tofu for dinner is interpreted ideologically in the rural US. Along with your choice of beer and snack chips. I'm not surprised that ideology (and anger!) has been commoditized in the states; after all, if there's a single founding principle in our nation, it's staying out of my way unless your way involves me making a buck. But it's more than a little depressing how easily people get schno…

What does "scoop into Oreo cookie crust" mean? Like spoon the mixed glop onto individual Oreos? Or do they sell some sort of pie crust made of Oreo cookies...? Have a hard time imagining what the finished product is.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/OREO-Chocolate-Sandwich-Cookie-Pi...
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