I’d be interested to hear more about the tofus you have in mind.
There are quite a few “great fit” varieties. The ones that seem easiest to import and have the clearest uses cases are probably:
Shanghai tofu (上海素鸡 shanghaisuji) - ultra high in protein, rich/eggy/custardy flavor, somewhat bready structure when frozen, very distinct strengths. Left whole, we’ve turned it into unique sorts of cakes, dumplings, “crostinis”, protein crumbles, etc.
Spongy tofu (千页豆腐 qianyedoufu) - a fishcake-like tofu, pre-seasoned, delicious blended or left whole as a main, can be dense and chewy or light and silky.
Fermented tofu (腐乳 furu) - a seasoning that could be as diverse in flavor as aged cheeses, but that hasn’t yet been systematized.
Yuba (油豆皮 youdoupi) - the film that forms atop heated soymilk, rich flavored, high in protein, really interesting uses as a pastry shell, probably the easiest tofu to season.
I also love tofu gan (pressed tofu 豆腐干)! We’ve found it tastes surprisingly great thin sliced and added to grilled cheese, or also cooked with apple/sugar/cinnamon spices.
There are a number of rarer tofus that I hope can one day be commercialized in the west, but that are already hard to find in China:
Juicy tofu (包浆豆腐baojiangdoufu) - a meltable tofu popular in Yunnan province.
Charcoal ash tofu (荞灰豆腐 qiaohuidoufu) - a tofu from Guizhou province that’s coated in ash and slow cooked for a few days. It’s like tofu gan, but with a very tender texture and nice smoky flavor.
Bubbly tofu (泡豆腐 paodoufu) - a thin tofu sheet from Guizhou province that’s dried then cooked in hot rocks to puff up. It needs to be reconstituted (soaked) in liquid before using and has a wonderful texture.
I’d be interested to hear more about the tofus you have in mind.
I’ve often thought that the smoked chewy tofus (tofu gan) make a great meat substitute that hardly anyone knows about.
PS I guess you might have come across this, but the world’s top restaurant has been popularising tempeh.
There are quite a few “great fit” varieties. The ones that seem easiest to import and have the clearest uses cases are probably:
Shanghai tofu (上海素鸡 shanghaisuji) - ultra high in protein, rich/eggy/custardy flavor, somewhat bready structure when frozen, very distinct strengths. Left whole, we’ve turned it into unique sorts of cakes, dumplings, “crostinis”, protein crumbles, etc.
Spongy tofu (千页豆腐 qianyedoufu) - a fishcake-like tofu, pre-seasoned, delicious blended or left whole as a main, can be dense and chewy or light and silky.
Fermented tofu (腐乳 furu) - a seasoning that could be as diverse in flavor as aged cheeses, but that hasn’t yet been systematized.
Yuba (油豆皮 youdoupi) - the film that forms atop heated soymilk, rich flavored, high in protein, really interesting uses as a pastry shell, probably the easiest tofu to season.
I also love tofu gan (pressed tofu 豆腐干)! We’ve found it tastes surprisingly great thin sliced and added to grilled cheese, or also cooked with apple/sugar/cinnamon spices.
There are a number of rarer tofus that I hope can one day be commercialized in the west, but that are already hard to find in China:
Juicy tofu (包浆豆腐baojiangdoufu) - a meltable tofu popular in Yunnan province.
Charcoal ash tofu (荞灰豆腐 qiaohuidoufu) - a tofu from Guizhou province that’s coated in ash and slow cooked for a few days. It’s like tofu gan, but with a very tender texture and nice smoky flavor.
Bubbly tofu (泡豆腐 paodoufu) - a thin tofu sheet from Guizhou province that’s dried then cooked in hot rocks to puff up. It needs to be reconstituted (soaked) in liquid before using and has a wonderful texture.
This is too cool! I might have to add a rest stop post EAG…