Tofu Yu is a gourmet tofu company based in Berkeley, Calif. that was started in 2007 by Kevin Stong, who uses traditional Chinese methods to produce creative tofu foods in the U.S.

Stong learned how to make tofu in Northern China, where he found varieties of tofu that he had never seen before, and brought tofu makers from China to make tofu in the U.S. With the growing popularity of soy vegan food products, Stong decided to open the company and experiment with creating new tofu foods that he said cannot be found anywhere else.

“You can do anything with tofu,” Stong said. “I can make tofu taste like anything.”

Stong uses carefully selected soybeans from China that are clean, organic and non-GMO.

While Tofu Yu uses traditional tofu-making methods that originated in China, Stong creates tofu that does not fit into what traditional tofu typically looks like. He said he challenges himself to make “American tofu,” which he defines as tofu vegan foods, adapting to American consumers’ demand.

“I’d like to think that our tofu is American tofu,” Stong said. “I’m creating my own tofu food products that I think Americans will like.”

Stong has created more than 50 different kinds of food made from tofu, and plans to bring about 20 of them to the upcoming Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival.

Tofu Yu provides veggie wraps, in which vegetables are wrapped inside flat tofu, tortilla wraps, which are made from brown rice tortillas that wrap around the smoked five spice tofu, and tofu nuggets that are chicken-flavored and nugget-textured tofu.

As Tofu Yu’s reach has spread throughout Northern California, Stong hopes to expand its market further to Southern California and other states in the near future.

“We are busy looking to grow much bigger,” Stong said. “We are going to be developing a new food brand under Tofu Yu …”