Yuba from Hodo Soy Beanery

If you shop at one of the many farmers’ markets in the Bay Area, you may have seen this booth from Hodo Soy Beanery. They sell tofu-related products, and only at farmers’ markets (there’s no retail store).

The products are organic, fresh and really tasty (for tofu!). They sell ingredients for you to take home and use, or prepared dishes like Spicy Tofu Strips or Kung Pao Tofu Salad.

The company also has an interesting history. It was started by a group of office workers on the Peninsula who wanted quality tofu and tofu-related products and couldn’t find them. So they decided to make it themselves.

What I like to get from Hodo Soy is their yuba, which if you’re not familiar with this, it’s the skin that’s skimmed off the top of soymilk. They’re sold in flat sheets and look a bit crinkly. It’s used a lot in Chinese dishes, but when I buy them in Chinatown they’re usually dried and imported from China. So it’s nice to occasionally get them fresh.

It tastes like tofu but to me feels lighter because of the thin nature of the yuba. Hodo Soy’s version is a bit creamy and has a fresh milky taste, which is probably because of the quality of its ingredients. (Of course, this means you pay a heftier price tag for them. A packet of yuba cost $7 for what feels like 6 to 8 ounces.)

Because of my eating binge lately, it’s nice sometimes to make a healthy dish like the simple salad I made below with yuba I got from Hodo Soy Beanery. This salad is also an easy dish to make to take to work for lunch. Of course, if you’re lazy you can just buy their prepared dishes (I like their Sesame Tofu Strips). Enjoy!

Yuba Salad with Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper

Copyright 2009 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
1 packet yuba (tofu skin, about 6 to 8 ounces), cut into strips
1 broccoli crown, cut into florets
1 red bell pepper, julienne

Dressing
2 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 T sugar
1 t chili sauce (optional)

Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Place yuba, broccoli and red bell pepper in a large bowl. Then make dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Toss with the yuba and garnish with sesame seeds. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

TIP: If you can’t find fresh yuba, you can go to an Asian grocery store and buy dried yuba, which might be labeled as dried tofu skin. Just look for flat sheets of the cream-colored tofu or long crinkly sticks. They’ll be hard like a thin sheet of plastic but will crack easily at the slightest touch. Soak them in water until they’re softened (about an hour) before using.