FU RU - Fermented Tofu/doufu

[dougery]

I bought about 5 jars of fermented tofu (packed in chili, salt, sesame oil). I have been using this to exclusively marinade chicken in and then coat it with Panko and fry it. I really haven't used it much beyond that.

Does anyone have any traditional chinese dishes which utilizes this tofu? Because of the salt content I'm sure it has quite a shelf life but does anyone know how long it would be safe for?

Thanks

[Laksa]

Are you talking about "foo yu", little 1 inch cubes of fermented tofu in a chili/sesame liquid? I like to eat it stirred into congee, or as an accompaniment to it.

I think it goes well with lamb stew as well, and I've also had it stir-fried with "eng chai/kang-kong" or chinese water spinach.

[dougery]

That's exactly it! Congee eh? that sounds good.

Do you know that lifespan of this product? The jars I have left have little white specks appearing in the water (it doesn't look too promising).

[Chev]

while you're collecting recipes for foo yu, you should store the jars in the fridge for anything up to 6 months but you may want to check on those white spots....

here are a few ideas, mainly stews:

chicken marinated with foo yu for an hour, stir-fried with shiitake mushrooms, spring onions and ginger, then left to stew gently in its own juices for another hour

pork cubes similarly marinated with foo yu, cooked with taro cubes, garlic and sping onion

yummmmmm!

[Susan G]

I've served it as an appetizer dish on it's own, with other side dishes of sweet-hot pickles, fried peanuts and "golden needle" mushrooms covered in sesame oil. In summertime in the Chinese city where I studied, the restaurants would all reek of this dish and cheap bai jiu..........see if you can find some bai jiu - I understand the flavors work well together!

[Hest88]

As Wongste said, it's one of the traditional "sauces" for ong choy. I use it for that and for stir-frying amaranth leaves.

[Dejah]

foo yu = Chinese cheese, as hubby calls it.

I have never had the kind with sesame oil in it. The jar that I have is tofu, chili, salt and

wine. When I have a queasy stomach, or just cooking for myself, I have acouple of squares with steamed rice.

For cooking, my family loves green beans stir-fried with foo yu.

I always thought my hubby was crazy...as every time we have roast chicken, he asks for Chinese cheese with it . Now I see he knew something I didn't...chicken and foo yu DO go well together!

I will have to try marinating chicken with foo yu now.

[hzrt8w]

As said by some other readers before, foo yu is good as a chicken marinade or condiment for roast chickens and plain rice and jook. Also good is to use it to stir-fry certain vegetables. I use it to stir-fry bitter melons and "budda's feasts" (vegetable combination with fu jook, cellophane noodles and such).

I don't think I am alone on this, but I sometimes use foo yu instead of butter to spread on my toasts or plain bread. I figured if the Frenches can love eating blue cheese by itself, I can eat foo yu just as it is.

If you are into grilling or barbecuing chickens, in addition to using foo yu as a marinade you can also use it to make your basting mixture: some foo yu, some honey/sugar, some soy sauce. Use it to bast your grilled chicken.

[Jeannie]

Can anyone clear this up for me? This is the stuff that people eat with plain congee for breakfast right? Kind of soft and slimy.

Is this the same stuff as Japanese natto? I've had my suspicions that it might be the same for a while but I'm not sure.

[dougery]

Wow, I never realized that this tofu was so popular and versatile.

Has anyone ever used this in any type of soup?

I'll have to try all of your suggestions (but I decided to toss my old tofu with white specks).

[dougery]

Jeannie,

They are both soy based but that is the extent of the similarities, Natto is fermented soy beans and end up looking like slimy beans (which I love by the way) and the foo yu is tofu which is fermented and packed in a solution.

Tastes and textures are totally different.

Does that answer your question?

[Ben Hong]

Some of my family's favourite fu yu dishes are simple stir fried green beans, spinach, ong choy, pea greens, zucchini, etc. A little garlic and crushed chilis add some zest.

[aprilmei]

It's fabulous as a marinade for pork spareribs. Mash up a couple cubes of it with soy sauce, a little rice wine (or some of the liquid from the jar) and sliced garlic and mix it with the spareribs (which have been cut into 1-inch pieces). Marinate for a few hours then dip in corn starch and fry. This also works well for small chunks of chicken, preferably dark meat.

FYI, there are several types of fermented bean curd. I think the kind in jars is fu yu if it doesn't have chilli; the type with chilli is known as naam yu.

[dougery]

I truly love this forum. You folks are THE best.

[Ben Hong]

aprilmei, I believe that the red nam yu is not normally made with soy beans, but with a fermented rice. Nam yu is generally not chili-fied, but the red colour is traditional. Nam yu is indispensable with a lot of moist cooked or stewed Chinese dishes. For stir fried veggies I use fu yu.

[aprilmei]

aprilmei, I believe that the red nam yu is not normally made with soy beans, but with a fermented rice. Nam yu is generally not chili-fied, but the red colour is traditional. Nam yu is indispensable with a lot of moist cooked or stewed Chinese dishes. For stir fried veggies I use fu yu.

Wow, that's interesting - never realised it. I should have checked the ingredients label; I thought it was made from fermented bean curd as well.

There are places that make their own fu yu and it can be incredible; really different with a very fine, silky texture. Yung Kee - a restaurant famous for its roast goose - makes fu yu and they serve it with a wonderful winter dish of mutton casserole with bean curd sheets and mushrooms. They also serve it with crispy-skinned chicken.

[Laksa]

There are places that make their own fu yu and it can be incredible; really different with a very fine, silky texture. Yung Kee - a restaurant famous for its roast goose - makes fu yu and they serve it with a wonderful winter dish of mutton casserole with bean curd sheets and mushrooms. They also serve it with crispy-skinned chicken.

aprilmei, where is Yung Kee?

[Jeannie]

Jeannie,

They are both soy based but that is the extent of the similarities, Natto is fermented soy beans and end up looking like slimy beans (which I love by the way) and the foo yu is tofu which is fermented and packed in a solution.

Tastes and textures are totally different.

Does that answer your question?

Thanks Dougary, I've been wondering about this for ages.

you can also use fermented beancurd to cook belly pork with

[Sleepy_Dragon]

We mostly ate this with... not sure what the Cantonese or Mandarin pronounciation is, but it's "poh veh" in Shanghainese. Basically, leftover rice with boiling hot water added to it, to have as breakfast with leftovers from dinner, plus pickles, foo yu and pork sung on the side to jazz it up.

Pat

[dougery]

Well, since we have all of these great Chinese chefs available, does anyone have a good recipe for Law Bock Gow? There is a place in Seattle called King Cafe which serves mediocre dim-sum but their law bock gow is the best. It's always really fresh and tender.

I'll give anyone my right kidney and spleen to boot if they have a good recipe.

[Bond Girl]

In Taiwanese, we called it dao-zu. I eat it with rice or plain congee made with water rather than stock.

[aprilmei]

aprilmei, where is Yung Kee?

Oops, sorry. It's in Hong Kong. One of the most famous Chinese restaurants here.

[Laksa]

Well, since we have all of these great Chinese chefs available, does anyone have a good recipe for Law Bock Gow?

My mum makes a kick-ass lo bak gou. In her version, you can actually bite into pieces of taro. And being Sarawakian, she adds lots of pepper and dried shrimp. Nobody makes it like she does. It'll put hair on your chest!

[Laksa]

In Taiwanese, we called it dao-zu. I eat it with rice or plain congee made with water rather than stock.

I've always wanted to know, but have been afraid to ask until now. What is Taiwanese? Is this the language spoken in Taiwan before the Chinese arrived there?

If not, why isn't the language called Fujianhua or Xiamenhua? Or has it evolved so much in Taiwan that it justifies a new name? Just curious...

[dougery]

Wongste, so... what is your mom's recipe? You can't just hang that line out there and cut me off like that. I'm salivating at the moment.