Yuba Fresh Tofu Skin Kyoto Delicacy

Origin

Japan — Kyoto, Buddhist temple vegetarian cuisine from the Heian period; yuba central to Kyoto shojin ryori; Fushimi and Sagano areas of Kyoto still produce premium yuba

Description

Yuba is the delicate skin that forms on the surface of heated soy milk as it cools — lifted off with a bamboo skewer and consumed fresh (nama-yuba), semi-dried, or fully dried (kanpyo-style yuba for reconstitution). Kyoto is the undisputed capital of yuba culture: the combination of excellent Kyoto soft water, generations of tofu-making tradition, and the refined vegetarian demands of the imperial court and Zen Buddhist temples created an industry of extraordinary subtlety. Fresh yuba (nama-yuba) has a silken, barely set texture and a pure, sweet, concentrated soy milk flavour that is one of Japanese cuisine's most delicate pleasures. It is served with wasabi and soy, over rice, in clear soup, or simply as a single course in kaiseki.

III

The Thread

—Chinese doufu pi and Japanese yuba are the same product — dried soy milk skin — used in different cultural contexts: Chinese cuisine uses it primarily dried in robust braises; Japanese cuisine features it primarily fresh as a delicacy Chinese

—The same physical phenomenon — protein and fat complexing at a heated liquid surface — produces both yuba on soy milk and the skin on heated cream; both have been developed into culinary applications French

Flavour Context

Pure, sweet soy protein, delicate, barely set silken texture, neutral with subtle nuttiness, designed to be the primary flavour rather than a supporting element

Pillars V — VII

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