I hope you all in the US are having a great and safe Labor Day weekend…
Yes, this is something that you might have never seen…and I must admit that it does not look that pretty. As a matter of fact, when my husband saw these sticks for the first time he was like “what the heck are these?”
These sticks are made by drying tofu skin. Yes, what I mean by tofu skin is by boiling soy milk, a film forms (like in milk) and these films are collected and dried under various shapes (sheets or sticks). Since it is in its dried form, it can be stored longer, much longer than the fresh ones available in the refrigerator section of most Asian grocery stores.
Okay, you are right, the name “tofu skin” does not give justice to this product because tofu should be like cheese, coagulated from soy milk, and tofu skin is made with only soy milk without any coagulant…anyway, it is not up to me to challenge its name.
The tofu skin is very popular in Asian dishes especially for vegetarians as they can mimic any kind of meat (chicken or fish) although I always question, why do vegetarians want to mimic chicken or fish? Moreover, these tofu skin absorb all kinds of flavor, therefore they can be very tasty and the texture after cooking is kind of chewy and at the same time tender…it is hard to explain, so if you have a chance try it!
Ingredients:
I package of dry tofu stick
2 tablespoons canola oil or light olive oil
1 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 pinch ground all spice
Chili oil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Soak the tofu stick in lots of water for 8 hours or overnight to rehydrate the sticks. Change the water a couple of times.
Drain the tofu sticks and cut into 1 ½ inch length and dry using paper towel.
Heat the oil on a frying pan and brown both sides of the tofu sticks (which are not sticks anymore). Set aside.
In a medium pot, place the water, soy sauce, sugar, ginger and all spice and boil. Add the browned tofu stick. Add salt and pepper and chili oil to your taste. Let it boil and lower the temperature to simmer for approximately 10 minute.
Remove from the heat. Serve warm or cold.
I hope you enjoy this simple Asian inspired recipe…check on Pork and Dry Tofu and Pan Fried Tofu recipes.
Did you know that tofu skin has high content of fiber and is cholesterol free? Because it is a product of soybean, tofu skin is high in protein and can be a substitute for gluten fee pasta.
