Hsin Tung Yang Sesame flavored dried bean curd: Dried bean curd is one of my favorite Taiwanese snacks and is not quite like anything I've had from American grocery stores. Fried bean curd, saturated in sesame oil, is wrinkled almost like an enlarged raisin, but comes in large strips like beef jerky. It has an intensely savory sweet chili-garlic flavor and leaves your fingers and tongue slick with a (unhealthy) coating of grease, which undoubtably adds to its deliciousness. I can't say exactly where this bag was from as my parents had i... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended taiwanese asian tofu hsintungyang sesame flavored dried bean curd 4.0
Fong On Can't Go Wrong Tofu Pudding with Red Beans, Grass Jelly, and Taro Balls: Fong On is a small family-run tofu shop on Division Street in Chinatown, right next to the Manhattan Bridge. I found out about it from a profile in the New York Times a few months ago, describing how the long-standing neighborhood tofu shop, which had been open for 80 years, had recently relocated and reopened after the son took over the family business. They sell freshly made soy milk, rice cakes, and doufu hua, all traditional Chinese favorites. Doufu hua is kind of like getting frozen ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended chinatown nyc tofu doufuhua doufu fongon can't go wrong pudding red beans grass jelly taro balls 3.5
Meiji Tofu Soy Milk: On my last trip to LA, my top priority was getting to try tofu from Meiji Tofu, a small shop in Gardena that specializes in hand-made tofu. I learned about Meiji Tofu from discovering that many restaurants in LA use its product. Unfortunately, after arriving at the shop at 10:30am on Sunday morning, we found they had sold out (they open at 8:30) and were thus closed for the day. Luckily, several Japanese grocery stores in the area stock their tofu and soy milk, so we quickly drove to Maru... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks tofu soymilk gardena losangeles meijitofu soy milk 3.0
Uji Time Tofu Soft Serve: This flavor has eluded me for several months. I sampled the tofu the first time I ever came to this Japanese ice cream shop in Berkeley and loved it but opted for the classic black sesame for my first cup. Ever subsequent time I went back to Uji, the tofu was sold out. Finally, a few months ago, I was able to get it, but this time, the texture had degraded a bit, with the soft serve being uncharacteristically icy. Still, the soy milk flavor is excellent and easily identifiable to anyone ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
softserve icecream berkeley soymilk soy ujitime tofu soft serve 3.0
Kekou Almond tofu gelato: Tofu jelly with canned fruits is a classic Chinese banquet dessert made not with actual tofu but with gelatin, sugar, water, and almond extract. It was one of my favorite sweets to eat growing up, so I was excited to see the flavor at the menu at Kekou, an ice cream shop off Spadina in Toronto specializing in asian flavors. Kekou doesn’t use any stabilizers, which translates to gelato that’s more fresh but not quite as smooth. The tofu gelato was a little icy and a bit too sweet for my palat... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream Toronto kekou almond tofu gelato 3.0 dessert
Morinaga Annin Tofu: Morinaga is a common Japanese brand that can be found in the supermarket for all sorts of things, probably most popularly in the US for their Japanese instant pancake mix. Recently I've been trying their pudding sets, which are overall decent and affordable. This was their version of almond jello (called annin tofu, though it doesn't contain tofu but just resembles it in its look), the type you get in asian restaurants with canned fruit or goji berries. It has a familiar concentrated almo... (read more) 3.0/5.0
inegaya pudding japanese almond morinaga annin tofu 3.0 dessert sweets