All about tofu

[Ben Hong]

TP, after a quick browse of your delectable, delicious, delightful, handiwork on your website, would you care to adopt this housetrained and inconspicuous "Soo-sook"?

[Tepee]

Definitely and Doubtlessly! Yay, free French lessons!

TP, not nice to make an old man drool on his keyboard.   

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Next time I'll provide the napkins.

[hzrt8w]

Next time I'll provide the napkins.

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Need a bib.

[phage]

I posted this in the Fermented Tofu entry, but that topic forthwith faded as most people interested in it had already read it.... So I'll try again - this stuff is still cluttering my refrigerator and I'm waiting to see what y'all say before I taste it.l

I live in America and have tried different kinds of fermented tofu. I go through it much too fast so I bought several jars.... One of the jars was a ceramic pot called: Shanghai Beancurd in Brine, 16 pieces, 17.6 oz, made in China. I opened it up and this was so funky, so far beyond any of the regular fermented tofu I've had, as limberger is to creamcheese. In fact in seems rotten. Perhaps it's been in the store for years and IS rotten. Its pretty dried out. Has anyone tried this brand - how fermented can this stuff get and still not kill me. Should I call in the guys in the decontamination suits, or is this a rare delicacy of "uber-fermented tofu?"

--Phage

[hzrt8w]

[...]

One of the jars was a ceramic pot called: Shanghai Beancurd in Brine, 16 pieces, 17.6 oz, made in China. I opened it up and this was so funky, so far beyond any of the regular fermented tofu I've had, as limberger is to creamcheese. In fact in seems rotten.

[...]

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I saw the same jar, same label in one of my neighborhood Asian stores, selling at US$3.50 a jar. It is sealed and the jar is not transparent so I cannot peek inside.

Do you have pictures of the fermented bean curds for us to take a look?

Edited June 30, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[Franci]

Hello everybody!

I need a little help. I would like to replicate this tofu dish: it was spongy tofu with shikate and wood ear mushrooms and a good touch of sweet (shanghainese).

Sorry, the quality of the picture is really bad, but the camera was new and I still was practising with it

Thanks,

Franci

[stephenc]

Dunno how to make tofu "spongy" Freeze-thaw it maybe?

Reconsittue the dried mushrooms and woodears for an hour in water.

chop lots of garlic, lots of ginger, green onion

you can marinate the tofu, or not. you can marinate it in soy sauce, pepper and corn starch.

stirfry the tofu with a good amount of oil and hi heat. remove the tofu.

add garlic, ginger, fry, add woodears and mushrooms, fry. add a little soy sauce or oyster sauce, salt, sugar, sweet soybeen paste. Add tofu. Stirfry a little more, add green onion, sesame oil maybe

Edited June 29, 2006 by stephenc (log)

[Dejah]

Dunno how to make tofu "spongy"    Freeze-thaw it maybe?

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Try using deep fried tofu sold in squares. They are great for soaking up the juices!

[stephenc]

Dunno how to make tofu "spongy"    Freeze-thaw it maybe?

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Try using deep fried tofu sold in squares. They are great for soaking up the juices!

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i was thinking that, but the tofu in the picture doesn't really look like dried or fried tofu.

[yimay]

i don't think that is tofu. looks like Kao Fu to me, which is wheat gluten.

[yimay]

if it's dried out i probably wouldn't eat it. not only has it been exposed to air, but it probably isn't very creamy, which wouldn't be very good to eat.

[Ben Hong]

i don't think that is tofu. looks like Kao Fu to me, which is wheat gluten.

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It sure looks like kao fu.

[Franci]

i don't think that is tofu. looks like Kao Fu to me, which is wheat gluten.

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It sure looks like kao fu.

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Maybe I have been wrongly told that was tofu

And in fact, I found it, it's the one Ken Wang is talking about, the Shanghainese braised version

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=88653

Thanks!

[phage]

if it's dried out i probably wouldn't eat it. not only has it been exposed to air, but it probably isn't very creamy, which wouldn't be very good to eat.

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I dug a little deeper tonight and found that under the crust top, the fermented tofu was moist and in a red liquid. I took the bull by the horns and tasted it - it's something like very aged cheese that has gone past its prime - I've eaten that before with no ill effects. By tomorrow I should know whether I've survived this.

The block are in large pieces,compared to the fermented tofu I've had before. There's a kind of gelatinous coating on it that I didn't eat. I don't expect to die, but still, I wonder if this is the way it is designed to be, or is this just beyond its prime. Has anyone actually eaten this before?

--PHAGE

[yimay]

if it's dried out i probably wouldn't eat it. not only has it been exposed to air, but it probably isn't very creamy, which wouldn't be very good to eat.

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I dug a little deeper tonight and found that under the crust top, the fermented tofu was moist and in a red liquid. I took the bull by the horns and tasted it - it's something like very aged cheese that has gone past its prime - I've eaten that before with no ill effects. By tomorrow I should know whether I've survived this.

The block are in large pieces,compared to the fermented tofu I've had before. There's a kind of gelatinous coating on it that I didn't eat. I don't expect to die, but still, I wonder if this is the way it is designed to be, or is this just beyond its prime. Has anyone actually eaten this before?

--PHAGE

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i think maybe it's ok to eat. the dried top layer kind of freaks me out, but as long as you don't see any mold growing, i think it should be ok. try to scrape out and dispose of that top dried layer thoroughly though.

[mudbug]

...I go through it much too fast so I bought several jars...

How do you like to prepare/eat it? What do you like to eat it with?

[Bill Miller]

I'm sorry, it just sounds repulsive to me. Is it worth taking a chance on?

[phage]

...I go through it much too fast so I bought several jars...

How do you like to prepare/eat it? What do you like to eat it with?

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Fermented tofu is a good flavouring agent - use with rice, vegetables, meat ... whatever strikes one's fancy. I like the kind with chile and sesame oil. The recent thread on fermented tofu at http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=46375 goes into more detail.

I've eaten fermented tofu at rare intervals over the years. The previous time (a couple years back, maybe) I didn't like it much, but I realize now I likely just got the wrong brand or type. Now I'm trying different types and finding quite a variety, finding my preferences.

Okay, now as to my health, a day after eaten some of the batch mentioned in the original post. I feel fine. I had some more of it tonight - spread it on corn tortillas - okay, but not really the ideal combination, it seems, but then I just wanted something quick after an extra-long tiring day..... And, actually, I prefer it aged, but less-aged than that batch.

I did "peel" the red gelatinous coating off the cube - don't know if it's edible but seems less tasty. It has the funk but not the creaminess....

-- PHAGE

[hzrt8w]

I am just curious. If you find this jar of Shanghai fermented bean curds (which I have never tried personally) so unappealing, repulsive, and suspected that it may be detrimental to your health, why pressed on to eat or finish it? It costs only around US $3.50, right? Is that the only brand of fermented bean curds available to you?

There are plenty different brands of fermented bean curds. I have tried many different brands. I have my personal favorites but most of them taste good.

Edited July 1, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[mudbug]

How do you like to prepare/eat it? What do you like to eat it with?

Fermented tofu is a good flavouring agent - use with rice, vegetables, meat ... whatever strikes one's fancy. I like the kind with chile and sesame oil. The recent thread on fermented tofu at http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=46375 goes into more detail.

Yes, I posted to that thread. I am just wondering how you usually use it and what you enjoy it with besides tortilla chips which just sounds wrong - like eating salsa with a Ritz cracker. You don't say in that thread either. I'm asking because you obviously love the stuff if you purchased so many jars.

I did "peel" the red gelatinous coating off the cube - don't know if it's edible but seems less tasty.  It has the funk but not the creaminess....

Throw it out, not worth the lack of quality or the risk.

[gfron1]

If there were ever a thread that demanded pics...this would be it! I want pics of the possibly lethal tofu. I want pics of the test subject before, during, and after tasting. And if you end up in the hospital, then definitely, pics would be expected!

[yimay]

If there were ever a thread that demanded pics...this would be it!  I want pics of the possibly lethal tofu.  I want pics of the test subject before, during, and after tasting.  And if you end up in the hospital, then definitely, pics would be expected!

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here here, i would like to see pics as well

there should be a thread just of photos of funky looking food.

[Pat Churchill]

Commonsense says throw away, but then I think of nice stinky creamy blue cheese... I would be tempted, too.

Feed it to the cat first ;-)

[hzrt8w]

Feed it to the cat first ;-)

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Be careful, we have animal rights advocates on board!

[phage]

Here are some photos of the extreme tofu.

The jar. "Shanghai Bean Curd in Brine".

Inside the jar. I'd already scraped off the dry stuff so this is actually what was underneath:

Here's some of the tofu placed in a bowl. Looks tasty now, doesn't it - like chocolate caramel raspberry something-good....

Now here's a closeup. Looks like some fatty beef in this photo.

I haven't eaten any of it for a week or two - got a bit tired of the overstrong taste. That's saying something for me 'cause I do like flavorful fermented foods. Maybe I'll break out a bottle of the regular fermented tofu - that I know I'll eat.

But, I didn't end up sick from this. I hafta conclude it's just stuff that's way past it's prime, edible but not too palatable. So, I'm still left with this question: do folks in Shanghai enjoy eating tofu at this level of fermentation, or would they consider this to be too far gone for their taste. Wish I could ship y'all the odor too so you could tell better....

==Phage==