Tofu

[GeneChing]

We need a thread on tofu. Seems like an oversight not to have one here. This is a poor start, but we'll see where this goes over time.

Hardcore tofu consumption lands man in hospital with over 500 kidney stones
Master Blaster
2 days ago



In the food world, there a few items more innocuous than tofu, with its bland color and taste, squishy texture, and low calorie count. In fact, if you could tolerate eating tofu day in day out, most would say you’re living a pretty healthy lifestyle.

But not so fast! It would appear that looks, taste, and generally positive nutritional information can be deceiving. Just ask one 55-year-old tofu-lover who, over time, turned his kidney into a terrarium with about 500 kidney stones inside at once.

The resident of Zhejiang, China resident has had run-ins with kidney stones in the past but had them broken down by ultrasound and passed them out normally. However, in the two years leading up to this incident abdominal discomfort gradually increased for the man.

Nevertheless he continued eating his daily dose of tofu while drinking much less fluids than he should have been. It wasn’t until his pain grew unbearable and he was almost entirely incapable of urinating that he sought medical help.

Medical staff conducted a CT scan which must have revealed something resembling a fruitcake or bag of gravel. Due the danger of blockages these stones possessed surgery was ordered as soon as possible.

A team headed by Dr. Wei went digging and after nearly two hours made a small hospital pan look like something suitable for a pet turtle to frolic in. Dr. Wei said there must have been around 420 stones in the pan. It’s number that the media seems to have clung to considering the “stoned” jokes write themselves.

People's Daily,China
✔
@PDChina

Around 420 stones have been taken out from a 55 years old man's kidney in Dongyang, Zhejiang province.
6:36 AM - 6 Jun 2015

142 142 Retweets
60

However, Dr. Wei also mentioned that there were many smaller stones that were removed by vacuum and not included in the counting. In his estimate this would bring the total number to somewhere around 520.

Some readers of the news pointed out that the stones pictured were exceptionally round for kidney stones, which usually have a more frighteningly jagged surface.



It could be that the above image is a bogus one that’s been floating around with the story. There again, perhaps the unusually large number of stones tumbling around inside this patient’s kidney resulted in them becoming smooth and shiny.

Whether true or not, this still serves as a chilling reminder to drink your fluids. But before you go tossing your tofu in the bin remember that they aren’t all created equal: this man was said to have eaten tofu from Dongyang, Zhejiang, which has a higher calcium content that other varieties. Combine that with his daily habit and poor fluid intake and you have the makings for a perfect hailstorm in your gut.

Source: People’s Daily (Chinese), Mail Online, Twitter (English), Itai News (Japanese)
Bottom Image: Wikipedia – RJHall

[GeneChing]

Again, not a great start...well, maybe for the few lady members we have here...

Taiwan's 'hottest bean curd seller' identified, hunky modeling pics revealed

bean-curd-model.jpg

After images of an attractive bean curd seller in Taiwan spread across social media, fans did some digging to try to identify the rumored shop owner's son.



It turns out that the man's name is Yi Tin Chen (陳奕廷), and when he's not creating long queues of oglers outside of the bean curd shop in the Beitou district of Taipei, he works as a promotional model, according to his Facebook profile. Are we surprised?



The smokin' hot 26-year-old was captain of his high school basketball team and currently lives in Taipei.

Netizens have speculated that Taiwan's most-talked-about street vendor was only posing at the store as a publicity stunt. His modeling agency, according to Apple Daily, denies these rumors.



Chen has not yet made a statement.

[Images via Facebook]

By Sharon Choi

[GeneChing]

Tofu, kung fu, and the legend that binds them



By Jeannie Evers, Monterey Herald
Posted: 10/01/15, 2:03 PM PDT | Updated: 5 hrs ago


Eileen Hu at the Toastmaster District 4 (Northern California) Conference in 2014. (Photo by Robert Tang)

If you go

What: Talk by Eileen Hu, author of “Tofu Power”

When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6

Where: John Steinbeck Library, 350 Lincoln Ave., Salinas

Cost: Free

Information: www.victorypress.us

Salinas >> Consider it the vegetarian’s version of “wax on, wax off.”

Centuries before Mr. Miyagi used menial labor to teach Daniel LaRusso martial arts in “The Karate Kid,” Chinese nun Ng Mui taught kung fu to restaurant worker Wing Chun by having her make tofu.

Marina resident Eileen Hu recounts the legend in a new graphic novel for tweens, “Tofu Power: What Does Tofu Have To Do With Kung Fu?” It’s being published in time for World Vegetarian Month.

Hu will talk about the book, as well as the benefits of a vegetarian diet and the process of making tofu, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the John Steinbeck Library in Salinas.

Hu’s quest to elevate tofu in people’s minds from bland white blob to delicious power food began during a Steinbeck Toastmasters session a few years ago.

“Someone asked about tofu and the answer was, ‘It’s like Styrofoam.’ I felt the need to refute that,” said Hu, 52, a vegetarian.

So she gave a speech on tofu’s benefits the next week.

“Tofu is really, really good for you,” she said. “There’s a misconception among some people that plant-based protein doesn’t give as much energy as animal-based protein.”

But that’s not the case, she said. According to “The Book of Tofu,” a half cup of soybeans has the same amount of usable protein as five ounces of steak. Tofu is also rich in iron and calcium, and low in fat and cholesterol.

And while tofu, which is made of ground soybeans, is itself tasteless, it takes on the flavor of the food it’s cooked with, making it quite versatile.

Add to that the origin story of Wing Chun Kung Fu — the style Bruce Lee learned in Hong Kong — and tofu seems that much more respectable.

The legend is only a jumping off point for “Tofu Power,” which Hu intends to turn into a series. In it, five teenagers from diverse backgrounds use kung fu to help people in need. In the first book, they rescue an Alzheimer’s patient from an abusive caretaker.

The group is led by 15-year-old Tina Long, and their base of operations is her father’s South China Cafe, where they fuel up on tofu made with a mushroom sauce called ling jure.

“They each have their own style of fighting and their own special weapon, but they all come together,” Hu said.
Advertisement

The illustrations are done by a Chinese company called DesignFxPro, whose owner practices martial arts.

“I actually looked at a lot of different people and a lot of them didn’t have the correct martial arts stances” in the illustrations, Hu said.

The graphic novels are being published by her own Victory Press, which she founded in 1988 to publish her dying father’s manuscript on Zen Buddhism. That book would eventually go through five printings. The publisher’s most successful title is “The Legend of Mu Lan: A Heroine of Ancient China,” a translation by Hu that came out in 1992, five years before Disney’s animated version of the female warrior.

While Victory Press’ stated mission is to bring Asian culture to the English-speaking world, it was important for Hu that each of her “Tofu Power” characters come from different cultures.

Not only does it open up story possibilities — the mother of Mexican-American character Lupe Lopez works in the strawberry fields, and one chapter in the series will see the friends helping immigrant farmworkers get fair pay — it also gives young people a chance to see themselves reflected in the pages.

“There are a lot of reasons children might not read. One is they don’t see a character they can relate to,” Hu said. “So if they do see a character they can relate to, they might start reading.”

“Tofu Power” will be available for sale at Hu’s talk on Tuesday and at the library’s bookstore through October. Proceeds will benefit Friends of the Salinas Public Library. You can also find the graphic novel at Amazon.

Contact Jeannie Evers at 726-4340.
Jeannie Evers is the award-winning editor of GO!, Eat + Drink and Home + Garden. Reach the author at jevers@montereyherald.com or follow Jeannie on Twitter: @emdashje.

Y'all know how much I luv it when an off topic topic goes on topic.

[GeneChing]

what an odd thing to steal

'We are looking for 2 'foodlums' who have stolen tofu and organic drinks'
Thieves steal delivery truck full of tofu
KGW Staff 11:10 a.m. PDT October 7, 2015


(Photo: KGW)

PORTLAND, Ore. – A truck delivering tofu and organic drinks was stolen Tuesday morning from a Safeway at Southeast 39th Avenue and Powell Boulevard.

Hours later, police reported finding the truck belonging to R&K Foods of Seattle was abandoned at Southeast 85th and Lafayette Street, but the food and drinks were gone.

"One person most appropriately nicknamed the suspects 'foodlums," said Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson. "So we are looking for two foodlums who have stolen tofu and organic drinks."

Slava Kernogitski met the people driving it, a man and woman, he told KGW. They asked for a hand truck to unload the items.

"Nice girl, nice guy, not so bad," he said. "I thinking this is probably somebody who stole car, I call 911."

KGW stopped by a nearby Asian food cart serving tofu dishes. Has anyone come by trying to peddle the soybean cakes? "No. Ha ha ha," owner Annie Nan said laughing.

Instead, she recommended her spicy tofu fry? "You try it. It's very good!"

Simpson said it's conceivable that there might be a black market for tofu and organic drinks. "Um, it may be hard to penetrate that network."

Meanwhile, "anyone going door-to-door selling tofu: think twice," he said.

[GeneChing]

I was going to post this on our Chinese Counterfeits thread, but it's a counterfeit counterfeit claim.

Learning > Learning From News (เรียนภาษาอังกฤษจาก ข่าวบางกอกโพสต์)
Those fake (plastic) tofu skin rumours
20 Oct 2015 at 11:57
WRITER: TERRY FREDRICKSON


Tofu skin being soaked in a bowl of hot water. Photos by Melalin Mahavongrakul

Tofu skin, a common ingredient in Chinese cuisine, made headlines when it was reported that fake tofu skin was being sold in some rural markets, and even in Chinatown.

Here is an excerpt from a very informative story on tofu in today's Bangkok Post. You can read the full article here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle...c-in-your-tofu
Was there plastic in your tofu?

MELALIN MAHAVONGTRAKUL

As the vegetarian festival comes to an end, many question the content of the food they ate.

Tofu skin, one common ingredient often found in Chinese cuisine and used a lot during the current vegetarian festival, made headlines just recently when it was reported that fake tofu skin was being sold in some rural markets, and even in Chinatown.

In Chinatown, bags of tofu skin are often hung from the ceiling to keep it removed from water and moisture.

Tofu skin is usually sold dried and it can be broken easily into smaller flakes. However, the news said that what was being sold was akin to plastic. As a test, someone tried burning what they suspected to be fake tofu skin. The smell was said to mirror burning rubber.

Asst Prof Jessada Denduangboripant, a lecturer in biology from Chulalongkorn University, offered a differing opinion, that the fake tofu skin claim could be a hoax. It actually costs more to use rubber or leather to imitate tofu skin compared with the actual soy bean, which already comes at a low price.

Burning is also not a recommended method of testing, he said. Lab work is usually required as a standard procedure.

The soya product is a good source of protein and it can therefore be used as a protein substitute when many are abstaining from eating animal products during the current vegetarian festival.

There are two types of tofu skin: fresh and dried. While fresh tofu skin is usually sold in the refrigerated section in supermarkets, the dried version is easier to find in the dried goods section in general stores. The dried skins are usually soaked in water first before being cooked.

[GeneChing]

Ryan Reynolds says he has eaten stinky tofu
2016/01/22 23:02:38



Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) Canadian movie star Ryan Reynolds posted another message in the Chinese language on his Facebook page Friday, saying that he has made made good on his promise to eat Taiwan's stinky tofu.

"Stinky tofu, Deadpool is as good as his word, that's it," Reynolds wrote alongside a photo showing him holding a plate of stinky tofu.

The star arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday to promote his latest movie, "Deadpool."

Reynolds had previously said he was thinking about taking on the challenge of eating stinky tofu.

But at a news conference held in Taipei on Friday morning, he said he had not yet eaten the popular Taiwanese snack because of jet lag, though he vowed to try it if such an opportunity arose.

Reynolds also posted two Facebook messages in Chinese on Wednesday.

(By Wang Chin-yi and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/ls

More on Deadpool here.

[GeneChing]

Tofu Power and Kung Fu: Is there a relationship?
Joanna Brauer, For the Salinas Californian 4:11 p.m. PST November 30, 2016


(Photo: Provided)

"Tofu Power" (What Does Tofu Have To Do With Kung Fu?) by Eileen Hu, published by Victory Press, 543 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey, CA 93940, available at www.victorypress.us

This is a graphic novel with black and white cartoon illustrations published in October 2015 for World Vegetarian Day and dedicated to the Steinbeck Toastmasters.

A charming and informative tale, written for tweenagers, tells of 15-year old Tina Long and her multi-ethnic/racially diverse high school classmates: Phong Ha, Lupe Lopez, Eric Pitman and Joe Smith, who practice Kung Fu and "battle the injustices of the world." The friends use their own particular choice of weapons such as chopsticks, long fork and a large pot lid, extension cords, two long knives and a hair braid, and a broom and dustpan. The Wing Chun style of Kung Fu is taught to the friends by Mrs. Long, and they like to practice in the back yard of the Long family's South China Café, where tofu with ling jure mushroom sauce is served.

Using their Kung Fu skills, the five friends rescue an elderly couple who are being abused and starved by their cruel caregivers in a convalescent home, and after the rescue, with Police and Social Services involved, and all the convalescent home's residents relocated, Mrs. Long, being very proud of the strong, community-minded youths, decides to tell them where the Kung Fu they practice comes from, "And it all started with tofu."

There was turmoil in 18th century China, with a weak Qing Dynasty, and corruption all around. The Shaolin Monastery was burned down by the government, and just a few monks and nuns escaped. This monastery was important in the history of Chinese martial arts; a Buddhist Indian Master lived there for many years and was known as the father of Shaolin Kung Fu. Buddhist monks and nuns take vows against all killing: thus practice vegetarianism. Without eating meat, they eat mostly soybeans, which is the only whole protein in the plant world. A high-ranking nun named Ng Mui, who had escaped the fire and was in hiding, met a young woman named Wing Chun who served her in a tofu shop.

Wing Chun asked the nun to train her in Shaolin Kung Fu to help her defeat a mean and powerful War Lord who wanted to marry Wing Chun, and she had temporarily delayed him by saying she would marry him if he could beat her in hand-to-hand combat. Ng Mui had 6 months to train Wing Chun, and, not only did she teach the actual techniques of fighting, she also built up her physical strength, her speed and punching, her balance and circular motion to deflect blows – by having Wing Chun make tofu. Not only did she carry multiple baskets of soybeans to huge vats, and pound the beans into powder with her bare knuckles, she carried gallons and gallons of water to the vats, and stirred and stirred the boiling mixture until the powder became soft. Wing Chun added her own style to Ng Mui's teachings and was able to defeat the War Lord, in front of many spectators. She became famous, and her style of fighting became known as Wing Chun Kung Fu.

Wing Chun Kung Fu spread throughout China, and to Hong Kong. Years later, a man called Yip Man learned the style, and he taught it to Bruce Lee, who popularized Chinese martial arts in the West. Bruce Lee added his own style and created Jeet Kune Do. So, without Ng Mui, the "tofu-eating nun," the West would not have learned about Wing Chun Kung Fu.

Mrs. Long notes, that for REAL power in tofu-eating, you need the ling jure sauce with a rare "magic mushroom," grown on Mt. E Mei in China.

This volume is to be the first in a series, and Mrs. Long promises to enlarge on this "magic mushroom" at a later date!

There is much information on Martial Arts, Tofu, and sites for further reading. The author has published multiple titles for other authors, under Victory Press, a small desktop publishing business she opened in her parents' house in Monterey.

Audience: everyone.

Joanna Brauer lives in Salinas and is an avid reader of many genres. If you wish to submit a book for review, send a copy to: Joe Truskot/The Salinas Californian, 123 W. Alisal Street, Salinas, CA 93901.

Ling jure? Lingzhi! 靈芝!

[GeneChing]

Here's an interesting creation tale for those who've not heard this one before.

Daoist Liu An Accidentally Invented Tofu
By Joyce Lo, Epoch Times | January 20, 2017 AT 11:13 PM Last Updated: January 21, 2017 7:14 am


Beancurd. (Fotolia)

Liu An, the King of Huainan (in today’s Anhui provinces) lived in the Western Han Dynasty. He was keen on practicing Daoism through which he accidentally invented Tofu more than 2,100 years ago.

Liu An spent a fortune to host many talented people to discuss how to attain sainthood and the Dao, to write books about Daoism, and to cultivate energy clusters called Dan.

One day, according to legends from that time, Liu An used spring water to produce soya bean milk for keeping Dan. The soya bean milk was accidentally mixed with gypsum powder and salt and formed something like bean curd – the initial “Tofu”.

So many people found the bean curd delicious, it gradually became a popular food. Today, Tofu has become a common word in English.

Liu An is also the author-editor of “Huainanzi”, a respected collection of essays resulting from a series of scholarly debates.


Song dynasty imprint of “Huainanzi” or “Huai-nan-tzu” held in the collection of the National Palace Museum, is said to be the sole surviving Song dynasty edition. (National Palace Museum, Taiwan)

The story “The Old Man Who Lost his Horse”, included in Huainanzi, is one of the most well-known to Chinese people.

It’s said that there was once an old man who lived with his only son at the border of the state. He was fond of horses and often let them graze freely in the meadows.

Once a servant reported to the old man, “A horse is missing! It must have gone into the next state.”

His friends felt sorry for him, but the old man was not bothered at all by the loss. As a matter of fact, he said, “Who knows! The loss may bring us good fortune!”

A few months later, a strange thing happened. Not only did the missing horse return home safely, it also brought along a fine horse from the neighbouring state.

When his friends heard the news, they congratulated the old man on his good luck. But the old man said, “Who knows! This may bring us ill fortune!”

One day, when the old man’s son was riding the fine horse, he accidentally fell off the horse, broke his leg, and was crippled.

Many friends came to comfort the old man, but the old man was not the least disturbed by the accident. “Who knows! This may bring us good fortune after all!” he said.

A year later, when the neighbouring state sent troops across the border, all the young and strong men were drafted to fight the invaders, and most of them got killed. The old man’s son was not drafted because he was crippled and so his life was spared.

In this story, Liu An vividly illustrated the philosophy of Laozi that “misfortune is embedded in fortune, fortune originates from misfortune”.

Misfortune and fortune co-exist and under certain conditions they are interchangeable. For everything that happens there is a reason behind it.

Edited by Damian Robin.

[GeneChing]

This is just one of those odd stories that begged to be posted here.

Chinese tofu maker ‘turned to arms dealing’ after business was forced to close down
Former food manufacturer arrested on suspicion of running network that sold illegal air guns across 20 provinces
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 12 October, 2017, 4:59pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 12 October, 2017, 4:59pm



Alice Shen

A tofu maker accused of turning to arms dealing after his business got into difficulties has been detained by police in eastern China on suspicion of running a network selling illegal air guns.
The 34-year-old tofu shop owner, identified by his surname Zhou, set up a network that within four months had covered 20 provinces and had made a profit of over 100,000 yuan (US$15,172) before being caught, local police officer Qiao Zhining told Legal Daily.
He is alleged to have produced illegal air guns which he sold online in the coastal city of Ningbo.
The report said he used online chatting tool QQ and instant messaging app WeChat to advertise and send the parcels in collaboration with a local delivery company, which was fined 300,000 yuan and suspended from trading as police continued their investigations.
Zhou is accused of setting up the gun business with a friend named Ying, who used to work in the hardware industry, after the tofu shop closed because it was struggling to meet anti-pollution regulations.
The disposal of waste water was thought to have been a particular problem as the tofu production process requires large quantities of water.
The two are said to have downloaded weapon blueprints online and manufactured gun parts in local hardware workshops in Ningbo.
Zhou and Ying where among 10 suspects held by police. Another one of those detained was a delivery branch manager named Guo, who is accused of packaging and distributing the guns.
The gang is accused of completing over 200 deals, including the sale of more than 10 high-pressure guns that could fire bullets at a velocity high enough to kill people.
Air guns, which use compressed air or other gases to fire pallets or round balls, are banned in China if they are capable of inflicting fatal injuries on people.
The sale of legal air guns is also regulated and requires a permit.

[GeneChing]

Where Stinky Tofu Is at Its Malodorous Best
By CHRIS HORTONNOV. 19, 2017


The Dai Family House of Unique Stink in Taipei, Taiwan, has cultivated a following among aficionados of stinky tofu. Credit An Rong Xu for The New York Times

TAIPEI, Taiwan — In a small, unassuming building below the growing skyline of Taipei’s Xinyi District, Wu Hsu Pi-ying has built a shrine to stink, attracting the faithful from far and wide.

Since 1989, Dai Family House of Unique Stink has cultivated a following among aficionados of one of Taiwan’s most prevalent, and most pungent, snacks: stinky tofu.

“We’re happy,” Ms. Wu said, sitting on a low stool at her restaurant. “We give people healthy, natural food, and it’s super cheap.” Menu items range from 50 cents to $3. “I don’t need to make a lot of money.”


Wu Hsu Pi-ying, the owner of Dai’s, has spent 30 years creatively pushing the boundaries of stinky tofu. Credit An Rong Xu for The New York Times
A fermented bean curd that came via immigrants from mainland China, stinky tofu has long been a staple in Taiwan. A versatile food, it can be fried, steamed or cooked in soup, all of which are on the menu at Dai’s. Ms. Wu also pioneered cold stinky tofu, which is served covered with crispy flakes of seaweed-flavored batter, the edges of the tofu slab a bluish-gray.

Across Taiwan, deep-fried stinky tofu is commonly sold at stalls in night markets, where its odor carries for long distances.

Describing that odor is a matter of contention. As with eaters of smellier cheeses, proponents of stinky tofu tend to use the term “chou,” or stinky, in a positive context. Those who detest the dish might compare it to smelly socks or even to rotting garbage. Then again, so might those who enjoy it.


The store’s logo is stamped on every slab of tofu. Credit An Rong Xu for The New York Times

Lovers and haters tend to agree on one thing: Stinky tofu is a much less intense experience for the palate than it is for the nose.

One exception is the stinkiest tofu available at Dai’s, aptly named stink paste. Fermented at a low temperature over two years in a vegetable and medicinal herb-based brine, this tofu decomposes and attains a creamy texture and gray hue. If stench were spiciness, it would be a habanero-plus, making its presence felt long after swallowing.

Previously an artist, Ms. Wu, 70, has spent the last 30 years creatively pushing the boundaries of the stinky tofu realm. She no longer works every day — her son and daughter-in-law help run the shop when she’s resting or traveling — but she still oversees operations. She has the air of a master at the top of her game.


Chang Te-feng taking orders and running the cash register at Dai’s. Credit An Rong Xu for The New York Times

“I’m the one who’s done everything here,” she said, smiling. “If I don’t get it, no one does. I’m the only one in the world who gets it.”

She said she learned the art of fermenting bean curd from her parents, who had made it and sold it wholesale for more than 60 years. (The restaurant takes its name from her stepfather’s surname.)

After bouncing around the United States throughout the 1980s, Ms. Wu returned to her native Taipei in 1989 and decided to open a restaurant focused solely on stinky tofu. Others have followed, but hers has won an exceptional reputation.

The Sichuan-style stinky tofu noodle soup. Credit An Rong Xu for The New York Times

The first location, in the Wanhua District of old Taipei, was a tiny, standing-room-only affair that drew complaints from neighbors who took their story to Taiwan’s raucous local news media. The cramped space and bad publicity compelled her to move to a larger shop.

All of Dai’s tofu production and fermentation is done in the nearby city of Taoyuan, with the store logo stamped on every slab. The restaurant’s neighbors, a convenience store and an auto repair shop, had praise for Dai’s tofu, and said the restaurant’s ventilation system, which releases kitchen fumes three stories up, was good at minimizing odors.

When on duty, Ms. Wu takes orders and chats extensively with guests, while Chang Te-feng, her 74-year-old partner, operates the cash register.


Patrons at lunch. Credit An Rong Xu for The New York Times

Working on her tofu noodle soup with metal chopsticks, one customer, Lin Yun, said she trusted Ms. Wu’s creations more than any others in Taipei.

“The flavor of the stinky tofu here is truly different — it’s really delicious,” Ms. Lin said. Pointing at a chunk of cold stinky tofu, she praised its probiotic properties. “Some doctors will tell you that if you’re having gastrointestinal problems, you just need to eat this for three days straight.”

A framed calligraphic ode to stinky tofu’s health benefits hung on the wall above Ms. Lin, praising the dish’s ability to clear the lungs, cure constipation and increase the flow of chi, the vital life force of traditional Chinese medicine.


The cold stinky tofu is a specialty of Dai’s. Credit An Rong Xu for The New York Times

Some customers, however, are simply in it for the flavor.

Paul Hsiao, dining with two friends who had joined him from across town, has been a regular at Dai’s for more than seven years. “I love to eat it,” he said. “Whether it’s healthy or not is irrelevant to me.”

Steamed stinky tofu was one of his favorites, he said. It’s a simple, satisfying dish — a block of Dai’s signature tofu topped with enoki and shiitake mushrooms and sprinkled with green onion, sitting in a shallow bowl of umami-rich broth and edamame.

Some stinky tofu in Taiwan uses brine containing seafood or pork, while some vendors have been found to use chemicals as a shortcut to obtaining the funky odor. All of the dishes at Dai’s are plant-based, Ms. Wu said, which helps to draw vegetarians as well as vegans.

Not everyone who enters the House of Unique Stink enjoys the experience, she said. Whether customers love it or hate it, Ms. Wu doesn’t seem bothered. Just as with art, not everyone knows how to appreciate stinky tofu.

“Now and again a tour bus full of foreigners stops by,” she said. “Some of them love it. Others will spit their first bite into a tissue.”

Although Ms. Wu is no longer in the restaurant every day, full retirement is not on her agenda anytime soon.

“I’m still going to be behind the whole operation,” she said. “It’s still early days.”

A version of this article appears in print on November 20, 2017, on Page A5 of the New York edition with the headline: In Stinky Tofu Kitchen, The Vent Rises 3 Stories

I enjoy tofu, but I'm not a fan of stinky tofu - see my excerpt from 2014C KUNG FU TAI CHI DAY: Plaza de Cesar Chavez and Beyond (Part Three)

When the food truck came, I could smell it a block away. Mama Liu’s food truck specializes in that uniquely Chinese delicacy chou doufu or “stinky tofu.” It’s a pungent fermented tofu that, like many Chinese dishes, is an acquired taste. It’s sort of like the blue cheese of tofu. I don’t mind the taste of it, but I’m not fond of the aftertaste, as I’m usually burping it up for hours after eating it. So I passed on that.

[GeneChing]

I luv tofu but this just does NOT work to my palette.

WINE MADE FROM TOFU TASTES BETTER THAN IT SOUNDS—MAYBE
BY MELISSA MATTHEWS ON 11/29/17 AT 6:49 PM

Updated | Tofu has long been a vegetarian’s best friend, notably because the meatless product can take the shape of chicken nuggets, a burger, or even faux scrambled “eggs.” Now, tofu is being used to make a bean curd-based alcoholic wine.

The wine is made with a waste product known as tofu whey, according to a release from the National University of Singapore. Tofu whey is a liquid that is smelly and susceptible to harboring bacteria. Manufacturers typically discard it for this reason, and it can pollute rivers if not treated properly.


Wine shown at The Standard in New York City in October. Scientists are attempting to find new ways to make the drink sustainable.
NOAM GALAI/GETTY IMAGES FOR NYCWFF

Researchers in Singapore decided to put the waste product to good use by converting the soy whey into wine—without the use of artificial flavors. To accomplish this impressive feat, they employed yeasts to ferment the waste product just like what winemakers do to make your favorite bottle of red or white. Amino acids and minerals found in tofu whey help foster the growth of yeast in the process. The new drink is created with zero waste, meaning that there are no waste products produced in the making of the wine, so it is a sustainable choice.

Named Sachi, which means flowers and wisdom in Japanese, the beverage is not yet available. The process is lengthy and storing the drink requires substantial resources, so there’s no word yet on whether it’s feasible to produce in large quantities. The team is also fine-tuning the flavor to include more fruity and floral notes.

“This alcoholic beverage has a refreshing taste, is easy to drink and tastes like sake,” said co-creator Chua Jian Yong, a student at the university, in a statement. “Even though it is made from tofu whey, it has a very mild to undetectable soy taste. All the flavors in the drink are derived from fermentation, without artificial flavors or flavor extracts.”

Chua isn’t the only one attempting to make treasure from trash, though. Other researchers are focused on creating usable products from the waste generated during the process of making wine. As Munchies reported in 2014, Avinash Karpe, a chemist at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, is working on a technique to convert what would otherwise be garbage into biofuel. Using fungus, Karpe hopes to break the waste down into carbohydrates that can be fermented and made into usable products like ethanol.

In Italy, researchers at the University of Bologna are focusing on the waste from wine grapes. They are looking to create usable chemicals out of the leftovers, namely the skin and the seeds. Scientific American reported that the team is working to extract healthy plant chemicals and sugar, which can be used to make compounds like fatty acids. According to the magazine, five million tons of grape skins and seeds were left as waste product in 2014, making these new innovations something to toast.

Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to a student involved in the study, Chua Jian Yong, as Yong on second reference. This has been corrected to Chua to fit the Chinese convention. The article also stated the student is a postdoctoral student, but he is not. He is a student.

[GeneChing]

NO-MEIN
China would really like you to stop saying “tofu”


A man eats noodle at a restaurant in Shanghai March 2, 2009. China said on Monday food security remains "grim", despite campaigns launched after several health scares, the most recent last year's tainted milk formula which killed at least six toddlers and made almost 300,000 sick.
What should we call this? (Reuters/Aly Song)

WRITTEN BY Nikhil Sonnad
OBSESSION Language
December 07, 2017

This year, the Chinese government announced that it would up the ante in its long, hard battle against Chinglish. No longer would it accept the humiliation of tourists ridiculing poor English translations—especially for the foods of China’s storied cuisine.


Mmmm. (Reddit)

The government’s policy to clean up English took effect at the beginning of this month. It issued official translations for 3,500 phrases covering 13 topic areas, including this list (Chinese) of words and phrases for the topic “accommodation and catering.” That all-important section is also oddly political; several translations on it suggest that China is looking to wrest ownership of some Asian foodstuffs from competing nations and languages.

Here is the list:

(China Standardization Administration)

“Overall, I think they have done a decent job in coming up with acceptable English equivalents for hundreds of terms that foreign visitors to China are likely to encounter,” writes Victor Mair, professor of Chinese language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania.
But consider “tofu.” That term, which has become natural to English speakers, comes from the Japanese “tōfu.” The Chinese government insists it be referred to as “doufu,” the Mandarin pronunciation, even though “tofu” would be clearer for travelers in China.
For other terms in the list, the translations try to make it clear that the foods come from China. One example is “Sichuan pepper,” referring to the numbing spice often used in Sichuanese cuisine. The Chinese term for this is hua jiao, which just means “flower pepper,” and is not tied specifically to Sichuan. This might have been a good opportunity to provide a more generic translation, which would be useful because these “peppers” (they are technically a member of the citrus family) are not exclusively used in dishes from Sichuan. But putting a Chinese province in the name does emphasize their Chineseness.
One last thing. In some cases, it looks like China wants to try to make people more familiar with the sound and pronunciation of Mandarin, by opting to use the actual term and not a translation. That is the case for “lamian noodles.”
“Lamian” is a cognate with Japanese “ramen.” Using “ramen” could be confusing, as Mair points out, because the dish is prepared differently. Yet it’s strange that Beijing ignores the common English translation “hand-pulled noodles” for “lamian.” It also ignores the more familiar Cantonese term “lo mein.” Using the Mandarin term, “lamian,” instead of using “hand-pulled” or “lo mein” emphasizes that this is an official and China-specific dish.
Exposing people to Mandarin is probably a good thing. Many English speakers have a sense of the sound and feel of the Japanese language, for example, through popular culture, food, and other sources, but Mandarin remains a bit of a mystery.
That said, China will certainly have a hard time getting tourists to say “doufu” instead of “tofu.”

Tofu in Mandarin

[GeneChing]

This is a sad time for our community. SJTC made the best tofu in town.

San Jose Tofu Company, a Japantown Institution, Closing After 71 Years


Chester and Amy Nozaki of the San Jose Tofu Company are feeling ready to retire. (Rachael Myrow/KQED)

By Rachael Myrow
DECEMBER 9, 2017

How do you know it’s time to quit? This wasn’t an easy question for Chester and Amy Nozaki of the San Jose Tofu Company. They’re the third generation of Nozakis to run this tiny storefront in San Jose’s Japantown.

“The wear and tear started to catch up with us,” Chester says, rubbing the small of his back. “It started to get to the point where our health is a lot more important than making as much money as possible.”

Chester’s 61 years old and Amy’s 59, but they say all these years of lugging 50 pound sacks of soybeans — and heavy pots filled with soybeans and water — has taken its toll.

“We are getting old. It’s too much physical work for us,” says Amy, who often starts in the kitchen at two in the morning. “It’s so sad to say goodbye, but nothing lasts forever.”

Back in 2007, reporter Lita Martinez profiled San Jose Tofu for the KQED program “Pacific Time.” Listen here.

Amy married Chester Nozaki 25 years ago, so she hasn’t put in quite as many hours as Chester has. He grew up in the store his father ran before him, and his grandfather before that. Amy was part-time until Chester’s dad stopped working in 2007.

Chester’s dad made him takeover the family business. “Yeah, I was dragged into it. My dad convinced me not to continue with my college education and help out, because it’s a family business.”

They have two grown children, but neither of them wants to make tofu. “You know, we don’t want to put any pressure on the kids. It’s just going to end here,” Chester says.

Just the same, San Jose is sorry to see them go.

A steady stream of locals pop into the store to offer their rueful congratulations, and ask if there’s any tofu left. The store will stay open until the end of the month, but so many people are keen to get one last taste, the Nozakis run out of tofu daily around 11 a.m.

Most tofu makers use machines now, that can make up to 300 tofu bricks an hour. The Nozakis make 42 — and they use no preservatives, so their tofu lasts only two to three days. But the tofu melts in your mouth.

I ask about their favorite preparations. Chester likes mabo tofu: tofu in a garlicky, spicy meat sauce. Amy likes to eat it with a little finely chopped green onion, ground ginger and soy sauce. “You can really taste the tofu flavor.”

They do make enough to send some tofu to Santo Market in San Jose, Marukai Market in Cupertino, local Nijiya Markets, Berkeley Bowl and Tokyo Fish. That is, until the end of December.

Maybe local hipsters will want to revive the ancient tradition. If they’re hoping for a tutorial from the Nozakis, they’ll have to wait till the couple gets back from their first extended vacation in living memory.

[wolfen]

Deadpool here

"Stinky tofu, Deadpool is as good as his word, that's it," Reynolds wrote alongside a photo showing him holding a plate of stinky tofu.

The star arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday to promote his latest movie, "Deadpool."

Reynolds had previously said he was thinking about taking on the challenge of eating stinky tofu.

But at a news conference held in Taipei on Friday morning, he said he had not yet eaten the popular Taiwanese snack because of jet lag, though he vowed to try it if such an opportunity arose.


[/URL].

"Fermented vs. Unfermented Soy: Which Is Better?

One of the biggest misconceptions about soy that persists even today is that it’s a health food. While that statement may be partially correct (more about that in just a bit), for the most part, it’s a misleading and dangerous myth, and may be causing disastrous effects on the health of millions of unsuspecting consumers.
.."

"In both Japan and China, the average person eats about an ounce of fermented soy each day, a far cry from the much larger amounts of unfermented soy in American diets. These relatively small amounts of fermented soy vs. unfermented soy offer much value to health."


"Vitamin K2 – Available in Fermented Soy, Not Unfermented Soy

Researchers are discovering the many roles vitamin K2 performs in your body, along with vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium. These four nutrients work closely together and depend upon each other to function properly. Here are just some of vitamin K2’s actions in your body:

Helps keep your arteries flexible and youthful
Helps make sure the calcium in your bloodstream ends up in your bones and not in your arteries, heart valves, and organs
Helps maintain strong healthy bones
Helps support muscle and nerve health
Helps prevent and relieve muscle cramps associated with aging
Helps support your brain’s vascular flow for brain health and memory

Here’s the best part about fermented soy: it contains the perfect form of vitamin K – vitamin K2 or menaquinone, or MK for short. Bacteria produce this type of vitamin K2 during the fermentation process. Vitamin K2 stays in your body longer, and provides even more benefits than the vitamin K1 you find in leafy green vegetables.

Researchers now suspect that as many as 97 percent of the general Western population may be low in vitamin K2, so adding fermented foods to your diet is an outstanding way to help maintain normal healthy levels"

Western Girly Men?

I've seen some vids on the net claiming soy products are feminizing Western Men reducing their testosterone levels.

On the other hand I saw an video which gets into probiotics and later in the video says that unfermented foods increase testosterone levels.

"Fermenting the tofu creates healthy bacteria, called probiotics, which help populate the gut and improve digestion".

The vid mentions Sauerkraut, Pickles and Fermented Cheese.
Hmmm... I have a new theory now on 20th Century European wars...

Anyway I have been researching foods that boost testosterone levels. I think I'll give Stinky Tofu a go.

[GeneChing]

Ben Franklin May Be Responsible for Bringing Tofu to America
How a letter of 1770 may have ushered the Chinese staple into the New World


In a letter of 1770, Benjamin Franklin described tofu (“tau-fu”) to his friend John Bartram as a sort of cheese made from “Chinese Garavances”—what we would call soybeans. (Tetiana Vitsenko / Alamy Stock Photo)

By Ryan P. Smith
SMITHSONIAN.COM
MARCH 15, 2018

When you picture Benjamin Franklin, what do you see? A lovable mad scientist flying a kite in the rain, perhaps, or a shrewd political strategist haggling at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Maybe you imagine Franklin schmoozing with the French, brokering deals, or hurriedly setting type in the offices of the Pennsylvania Gazette. What you likely do not envision is Franklin the gardening **** and gourmet, writing excitedly from London on the subject of a mysterious Chinese “cheese” called “tau-fu.”

The letter in question, preserved for posterity by The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, dates to January 1770, and was addressed to Franklin’s Philadelphia bosom buddy John Bartram. “I send some dried Pease, highly esteemed here as the best for making pease soup,” Franklin wrote, “and also some Chinese Garavances, with Father Navaretta’s account of the universal use of a cheese made of them, in China…” This unassuming letter, one of countless thousands to make its way across the Atlantic in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War, is the earliest known description of tofu—the Chinese “cheese” in question—to reach American soil.

Together, Bartram and Franklin had founded the American Philosophical Society in 1743, and both were prominent members of the intellectually minded community betterment club known as the Junto, which Franklin had created in 1727 at 21 years of age. Living in the same city, the two friends had no need to write each other letters. But once Franklin’s political maneuvering brought him to England, a line of correspondence quickly opened up. In brief, amiable messages, the two thinkers discussed whatever fresh projects were on their minds. More often than not, these projects had a horticultural bent.

Bartram had his own claims to fame in colonial America. Among other things (including an avid amateur fossil hunter), he was “America’s premier botanist,” says Rae Katherine Eighmey, author of the recently released colonial kitchen odyssey Stirring the Pot With Benjamin Franklin. “He tromped—literally tromped—from Canada to Florida seeking new and unusual plants, which he would then package up and send to people in England.” And not just anyone, Eighmey says, but “the social folks, and the scientifically inclined people”—the cream of the crop.

Both Bartram and Franklin forged their wide-ranging social connections with the aid an eminent London patron named Peter Collinson, who would eventually secure Franklin his place in England’s Royal Society. It was via Collinson’s network of European intelligentsia that the two friends learned of and shared botanical discoveries and specimens.

Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin: A Founding Father’s Culinary Adventures
Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin conveys all of Franklin’s culinary adventures, demonstrating that Franklin’s love of food shaped not only his life but also the character of the young nation he helped build.

BUY

There was an element of curiosity behind the worldwide interest in novel agriculture, but more important, says historian Caroline Winterer, author of American Enlightenments, was the element of necessity. “There’s just not enough food,” Winterer says, “and there’s no refrigeration until the middle of the 19th century, so a lot of food perishes before it reaches its destination.” The solution? Import seeds from afar, then grow locally.

Bartram’s distinguished recipients would grow his seeds in their personal greenhouses, Eighmey says, and pen reciprocal letters back to the States reporting on results—often with enclosures of their own. “Everybody’s sending stuff back and forth.”

Winterer sees Franklin and Bartram’s epistolary relationship as part of a broader picture of agricultural fervor in the 18th century, what she describes as “a larger, global seed network.”

“This is a great age of food transport,” Winterer says. “Potatoes, corn, all kinds of American plants are brought into Europe.”


Tofu, as much of a staple in Chinese cuisine now as ever before, enjoys wide popularity as a vegetarian-friendly source of protein. Benjamin Franklin was a staunch advocate of vegetarianism, and adopted it periodically throughout his life. (Wikimedia Commons)

The transfer of agricultural knowledge didn’t always begin in the New World, however, as evidenced by the writing of Dominican friar Fernandez Navarrete, whom Franklin cites (as “Father Navaretta”) in a 1770 missive to Bartram. Navarrete, visiting Asia, “learned about all the ‘strange things people in China eat,’” Winterer explains, quoting the mendicant’s logs, and published his discoveries in Spanish in 1676. Among these was a method for preparing a popular Chinese foodstuff, which Navaretta termed “teu-fu.” Franklin presumably came across the reference in translated form—the friar’s logs were republished multiple times in English in the early 18th century.

“He basically says they’re making cheeses out of what he calls kidney beans—what we would call soybeans,” Winterer says.

This “cheese” verbiage is preserved in Franklin’s letter, which calls Bartram’s attention to Navarrete’s field research as well as a recipe Franklin managed to procure from a British buttonmaker buddy called “Mr. Flint.” Franklin included with his written note some “Chinese Garavances,” by which he also undoubtedly meant “soybeans” (“garavance” is an Anglicization of the Spanish “garbanzo”). In addition, he enclosed rhubarb seeds for Bartram to play with, and dry peas for making soup.

What Bartram did with Franklin’s information is uncertain. “I don’t think anyone would know whether they actually themselves made the tofu,” says Winterer—the historical record simply isn’t clear enough to draw such conclusions definitively. “But they’re clearly aware that there is tofu.”

Whether or not Bartram produced the first-ever American tofu, Franklin’s letter is a fascinating snapshot of the global 18th-century agriculture boom that paved the way for our modern food economy.

“Today,” Winterer says, “[mailed plant matter] would be stopped ruthlessly at the border. But back then it was like a sieve. ‘Try this! Try planting this in your garden. See what happens.’” This spirit of experimentation and collaboration ultimately led to the spread of exotic crops and foods all over the globe. “The result,” Winterer concludes, “is the world we have today.”



About Ryan P. Smith

Ryan P. Smith
Ryan recently graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Science, Technology and Society. His avocations include moviegoing and crossword puzzle construction.

Wow. Franklin was so ahead of his time.