We all know about the leading characters created by the humble soy bean, tofu, soymilk and edamame. But from the seeds of Glycine max, we also derive okara and yuba along with shoyu, miso and aburaage. In some cases, it almost seems like these products are the unacknowledged children of soybeans, the offal. The Offal […]
Third annual Northern Calif. Soy and Tofu Fest a hit
June 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival held its third annual event June 1 in San Francisco’s Japantown, focusing on educating attendees about the versatility of soy and tofu products. While promoting a healthy lifestyle by featuring food vendors like Hodo Soy Beanery, Rau Om and cruncha ma-me, the event also highlighted the use of […]
THE GOCHISO GOURMET: If at first you don’t succeed, soy again
May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
After consuming countless blocks of tofu with shoyu or downing little cubes of tofu in your miso soup, you’ve probably lost interest in adding tofu or other soy products back into your regular diet. I don’t blame you. Tofu doesn’t look exciting. Plain tofu doesn’t really taste exciting. It’s just a non-descript wiggly mass of […]
GOCHISO GOURMET: The joy of soy
May 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The humble soybean is so versatile; a multitude of food applications can be employed to satisfy any soy craving. From slightly sweetened okara served simply “as is†or formed into fried croquettes to slightly sweetened soy milk as a morning vegetarian milk substitute to that ubiquitous curdled soy milk product, tofu, to the refined textured […]
Soy to the world: Small businesses explore varied tastes, textures
June 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Megumi Natto It’s sticky, stringy and it’s stinky (but in a good way). Like the ripest of natto will shock people initially, but reward those that don’t shy away from it with its depth of flavor and multiple health benefits. Often found on a Japanese sushi maki menu, if you haven’t heard of it […]
Culinary chameleon
May 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
There’s a silky-textured ingredient commonly used in Asian cuisine that unfortunately is overlooked. It never wins the culinary Oscar for Best or even Supporting Actor and is usually simply found in the credits after the movie (or dish) is finished. Full of protein and healthier polyunsaturated fats but with enough bulk to “beef†up dishes […]
MORE THAN A HILL OF BEANS: Hodo Soy Beanery Opens New Factory in West Oakland
October 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment
OAKLAND — Dressed in a bright yellow plastic apron and blue-striped engineer’s cap, Minh Tsai, the founder of Hodo Soy Beanery, is leading a tour of his company’s new West Oakland factory. With one hand, he presents a palmful of re-hydrated organic soybeans, and with the other he gestures enthusiastically to the large silver soymilk […]
More info visit: Digital.Nichibei.org
Baking a new recipe for journalism
You’ve heard of biofuels, but how about a newspaper that runs on tofu? That’s the groundbreaking experiment being conducted by the Nichi Bei Weekly, a modest, yet historically significant newspaper that serves the Japanese American community in Northern California. On June 2, in San Francisco’s Japantown, the newspaper’s staff and a host of volunteers will […]