I keep being told by proud Chinese people that China has 2000 types of tofu. I don’t know about that, in fact I don’t believe a word of it. But, embolded by my decision to investigate vegan textures, and by the fact I’m hanging around in Beijing with nothing much to do, I thought I’d see how many types I could buy in the fairly shit local supermarket.
The answer: about 25, though I “only” bought 16:
Problem is, some of it’s going to start going off pretty quickly, so I’ve got to start to cook it right away. The race is on.
Highlights of the above haul include the bizarrely rubbery “worn out building tofu” (in the green bag at the front) and the “complex mixture tofu” (one of the unappetising brown ones nearer the back); but most exciting of all, the jars, which include the excitingly named “foul bean curd”, “pockmarked spicy rotten milk in oil”, and “big chunks of rotten milk”. Bring it on!
A Vegan Called Bacon :: Pockmarked old woman | 22-May-08 at 10:29 am | Permalink
[...] Talking with a meaty person, they said the pork is a pretty important part of the dish. They told me it adds a slightly crunchy, chewy texture, and a slightly smoky flavour. I got pretty excited in a tofu geek kind of way when I realised I could try substituting ground smoked tofu for ground pork. It meant I could use two types of tofu in one dish and make a good start to my tofu marathon. [...]
A Vegan Called Bacon :: Recipe: fried, firm tofu | 23-Jun-08 at 7:48 pm | Permalink
[...] good outcome of my tofu binge: I discovered I like Chinese five spice seasoning. Normally I think it makes everything taste of [...]