Viet Tofu

Ha! It turns out I'm not crazy.

I knew there was a place in South Philly that made their own tofu and sold it at very reasonable prices, but when I tweeted for help in remembering the name of the place, people chimed in, "Check any Asian grocery or Whole Foods for Nature's Soy."

Nature's Soy is made in Philly, and their plastic tubs of reasonably priced tofu are abundant in the city's grocery stores, but I was just sure I had heard of some other place making and selling tofu cheaper, and doing it specifically in South Philly.

That place is Viet Tofu!
In the large Vietnamese shopping center at the intersection of 11th St. and Washington Ave., you'll find Viet Tofu (right across from Nam Phuong on the 11th St. side), a Vietnamese store selling housemade banh mis, bubble teas, sweets, snacks, and quick lunches. Viet Tofu's specialty is their housemade tofu and soy milk, though. Right when you walk in the door, there is a tub filled with blocks of fresh, firm tofu. The tofu blocks (which are larger than the blocks you get in the white plastic containers) are $1 each, or 6 for $5. This is the tofu I was looking for!

And, the fresh tofu is individually wrapped in plastic, in case you're one of those that are skeeved out by sticking your hand (where did those tongs go?) into water to pluck tofu out of bulk tofu bins.Over on the hot bar you'll find assorted fried tofu creations. Tofu Viet takes their housemade tofu and blends it with ingredients like lemongrass for lemongrass tofu, or cilantro for vegetable tofu. Not all of the tofu creations are vegetarian; for instance, there is a shrimp and tofu blend, as well as some other meat and tofu blends, so be sure to read the labels before you start loading up.

Viet Tofu is pretty good about labeling their food with English so non-Vietnamese speakers don't have to guess at what that package of ambiguous food is, but, for some reason, English labeling doesn't quite make it to the food in the refrigerator section.
Prices vary on the fried tofu, but these lemongrass and vegetable fried tofu pieces were 5 for $1.
Don't miss the housemade soy milk over in the coolers. There are gallon, half-gallon, and single-serving sizes of sweetened and unsweetened soy milk (a red string on the handle denotes that it's unsweetened), as well as green soy milk (made from edamame). I picked up a single-serving bottle of green soy milk for $1 — thick, fresh, and very bean-y tasting, but in a good way.

Locally-made tofu and soy milk bargains! Vietnamese yumminess! Go, go, go!

Viet Tofu
1110 Washington Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19147

Fu-Wah's Tofu Hoagie

Every vegetarian and non-vegetarian alike will tell you that Fu-Wah makes the best tofu hoagie in town. I know this because anytime I mention or write about a banh mi, a Vietnamese sandwich that is clearly the inspiration for Fu-Wah's hoagie, someone will chime in with, "Aw, man, you gotta try the tofu hoagie at Fu-Wah!"

After sitting in my to-do list for over two years, I finally made it over to Fu-Wah, a West Philly neighborhood grocer, to try the infamous tofu hoagie. I've got good news, bad news, and good news.Good news - Fu-Wah's 6-inch tofu hoagie for $3.75 is a tasty little sandwich loaded with fried tofu pulled straight from a warm vat of soy saucy sweet juices; a nice big pile of thin, pickled strips of daikon and carrots; a couple sprigs of cilantro; shake of black pepper; and a healthy squirt of sriracha sauce. I've heard talk of jalapenos, but there were no jalapenos on mine, even though I asked for everything.

Bad news - The bread is all wrong. The soft, 6-inch hoagie roll is not a thin, long, crispy crusted baguette that is usually used for a banh mi, and perhaps that's why Fu-Wah doesn't dare call this sandwich a banh mi, but instead calls it a tofu hoagie. In the ten minutes it took to get the sandwich to my dining destination, the juices from the tofu made a soggy mess of the soft roll. If you're really jonesin' for a traditional banh mi on a baguette, Fu-Wah's not going to do it for you.
Good news - OMG, this is the best little neighborhood grocer I've ever seen! Besides serving up sandwiches and hot eats, Fu-Wah has a mix of Asian foods, vegan and vegetarian foods, European foods, American grocery store standards, and fresh produce. You can pick up toilet paper, mochi, trail mix, Kinder Chocolate, Newman's Own cookies, bean sprouts, spaghetti sauce, and inari all at one place! And, get this, you can even pick up a package of active dry yeast! Swoon.

OK, now I know the Fu-Wah tofu hoagie is a beloved institution in Philly, so before you lambaste me with nasty comments, let's be sure you're picking up what I'm putting down. The sandwich is tasty and cheap, and I would gladly gobble one up any time you want to put one in front of me, but a person walking in there looking for a banh mi is not going to be happy with the bread. Fu-Wah's tofu hoagie is a hybrid of a banh mi and a hoagie. Philly is a hoagie town, so I guess it's only fitting.

Fu-Wah Mini Market
810 S. 47th St., Philadelphia, PA 19143
215-729-2993
open 7 days a week, 9am-9pm

Tofu Banh Mi

It’s pretty much a guarantee that five days a week I’m eating a homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a veggie turkey sandwich for lunch. If I’m feeling particularly lazy, a sandwich is on the menu for dinner, too.

Sandwiches for dinner sounds a little pathetic, but not if you’re making Banh Mi, the Vietnamese hoagie brimming with Asian flavors thanks to carrot and daikon slaw and cilantro.

This usually meat-filled sandwich gets a vegetarian makeover with fried tofu. A little prep is involved in making this sandwich – time is needed to marinate the tofu – so plan ahead. If you want to cut prep time, buy already marinated tofu. And the slaw will be ready before you are.

This ingredient list looks long for a sandwich, but it’s just a list of all the yummy fillers…and their marinades.

Tofu Banh Mi

1 baguette
1 block firm tofu, drained
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup, plus 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stalk lemongrass, diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ lb daikon, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
½ red onion, sliced thinly
1 bunch cilantro
lettuce
mayonnaise (can substitute vegan mayo)

• Combine soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, garlic, and lemongrass in a container with a lid. Slice drained tofu into ¼-inch slices and place in soy sauce marinade, turning container upside down to coat the tofu. Marinade tofu in refrigerator for at least one hour, or overnight. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, fry marinated tofu in oil until browned on each side, about four minutes each side. (Save any leftover marinade to brush on inside of baguette)
• In a small bowl, stir together ½ cup vinegar, salt, and sugar, and toss with shredded carrot and daikon. Let marinade for 15 minutes, then drain.
• Meanwhile, heat split baguette in oven, about 5 minutes.
• Assemble the sandwich: Brush inside of baguette with soy sauce marinade. Top bottom layer of bread with jalapeño, onion, cilantro, tofu, slaw, and lettuce. Spread mayonnaise on the top layer of bread.
• Slice the sandwich crosswise into fourths, and serve.

Favorite Asian Market Mock Meats

Asian markets are amazing! The variety of mock meats, alone, is astounding. And prices for mock meats are generally less than half of what you’d pay at a regular or natural food store. Here are my favorite picks:


At the market, you’ll find all forms of tofu: fresh, baked, fried, puffed, string, dried, and seasoned. My favorite form to pick up at the Asian market is fried tofu. Save yourself from cutting, pressing, and frying fresh tofu, and just pick up a package of fried tofu. Go ahead and join the legions of lazies.

Seitan is generally found in cans at Asian market. Oh, and there are lots of them - vegetarian abalone, vegetarian pork, vegetarian chicken, and vegetarian duck are just a few of the styles. They’re all a little different in taste and texture. I’ve found that I like the vegetarian chicken and the vegetarian duck. What I like the most is that a 10-ounce can currently costs $1.49 at my market - super cheap compared to buying White Wave at the natural food store.

The most entertaining section is the frozen food aisle. Amongst the more mundane veggie hot dogs and chicken nuggets, you’ll find packages of mock meats in the style and shape of fish, eel, shrimp, whole chickens, logs of ham, lobster, and just about anything you can imagine. (Vegetarian ear, anyone?) This is where I suggest open-minded experimentation, but be forewarned that some are weird.

There are some gems, though. My absolute, all-time favorite mock meat buy at the Asian market are the frozen packets of Citrus Spareribs from May Wah in NY. These soy-based nuggets don't look exactly like spare ribs (check the intro picture), but have an exceptionally chewy texture, making them more meat-like than most mock meats. The sauce is the best part, though. It’s spicy and sweet - similar to the sauce on general Tso’s chicken or sparerib bbq sauce. (Imagine that!) Slosh some water around the empty package to make use of all the sauce, add to your stir fry, and you’re golden.

Vietnamese Hot And Sour Soup

I’ve been known to do some crazy things for food – like drive over three hours to eat at a favorite restaurant. Sometimes these trips are shorter. When I lived in SC, I would make the 1 ½ hour trip to Charlotte, NC to eat at Huong Viet, an excellent Vietnamese restaurant tucked away in a dinky strip mall. What dish made me drive so far? The hot and sour soup! This soup had to be good, because there's nothing to do in Charlotte, and I don’t normally order soup at restaurants, much less drive over an hour to eat soup.

This hot and sour soup has a tanginess that is imparted by tamarind (key ingredient), and is chock full of tofu, veggies, and pineapple. This is one of my favorite soups, but, it turns out, it may not be your favorite. I raved about this soup to my partner, and when he tasted it he was unimpressed. He also didn’t like the pineapple, which is my favorite part of the soup. I’ll put the recipe out there, though, in case there’s someone else out there that would enjoy the soup. This is not Huong Viet’s recipe, but one I found that is similar. I have no idea where I got the recipe from; I’ve been using it for about ten years.

Vietnamese Hot And Sour Soup

3 tablespoons tamarind pulp
1 shallot
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ tablespoon chili paste
½ medium onion, cut coarsely
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
5 cups water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup pineapple, cut into chunks
1 can straw mushrooms, drained and rinsed
½ can baby corn, cut lengthwise, drained and rinsed
½ pound tofu, fried
3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
tops of celery with leaves
1-2 cups mung bean sprouts
fresh basil

• Pour ½ cup of boiling water over tamarind pulp and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain and save water from pulp. Discard pulp.
• Heat oil, and fry shallot. Set aside.
• Add chili, onion, garlic, and soy sauce to hot pan and sauté.
• Add water, reserved tamarind juice, sugar, lime juice, and salt to sautéed onion mix, and bring to a boil for a couple of minutes.
  
• Right before serving, add pineapple, mushrooms, baby corn, tofu, tomatoes, celery tops, and bean sprouts. You don’t want to really cook the vegetables, or else the tomatoes will fall apart, and the celery leaves and bean sprouts will lose their crunch.
• Garnish with fried shallots, and fresh basil.

Tofu Turkey

Tofurky Roasts allows vegetarians and vegans to take part in holiday feasts without feeling left out. Nothing worse than a crying vegan! Tofurky Roasts are dense, football-shaped loaves of gluten and tofu, filled with stuffing. Quite tasty, but a bit pricey.

Last year we decided to try our hand at making a tofu turkey. The recipe we used called for blending tofu and seasonings together, pressing the tofu into a mold, filling with stuffing, and baking. We nicknamed our tofu turkey “The Brain” for obvious reasons.

"The Brain" was an unappetizing color, even with a glaze. There must be some way to add color. Maybe a little soy sauce blended with the tofu?

While this recipe was flavorful after extra salt, garlic, and spices were added to the tofu, the texture was not meaty enough. To remedy the lack of meatiness, we vowed to make a seitan turkey in 2006. True to our word, we did.

Stay tuned for “The Brain of Seitan”…

Cleaning Out The Fridge

When you're moving you start thinking about downscaling. Food in your kitchen cabinets and freezer that has been in there for quite some time has got to go.

You may have been waiting for the right occasion or just unsure what to do with that interesting package you picked up at the market. Case in point with the tofu skin sheets that have been hibernating out the winter in the freezer. They had to go!

After scratching our head about what to do with the sheets, we pulled the package out and finally put it to good use by making tofu rolls. Tofu rolls are basically an eggroll. This whole wrapping of fillings is a universal food theme - eggrolls, ravioli, pierogies, empanadas, pasties, etc.

We started by thawing the sheets in warm water. Then filled rectangular tofu sheet with a mixture of cooked mushrooms, onions,carrots, and tvp. We steamed the rolls for about 10 minutes before browning the rolls in a pan with a few tablespoons of oil.

We gave it the double whammy when we cooked it, but there are recipes for both steamed tofu rolls and fried tofu rolls, so take your pick.

Verdict: Not bad! Just like an eggroll, but with a chewier skin. Wrapping our rolls tighter would have kept the filling in better and made handling while eating less cumbersome.

More Than Tofu

Oh, and indeed it is!

I found these little babies by Sunergia Soyfoods in my boyfriend's fridge, and they're rocking my no longer bland tofu world. Don't come a knockin'. You get yourself to a market.

I tofu-ed myself out many years ago. I would rather eat tempeh or seitan almost any day, but, by golly, I could eat these uncooked as a snack. Only freaks can say that about ordinary tofu.

The secret is that they integrate ingredients like mushrooms and peanuts INTO the tofu and then give it a marinade. Try marinading plain tofu for hours and it never really seems to soak up enough flavor. I've tried other flavored tofu, but this is much better. Sunergia Soyfoods actually put the flavor in there for you. (See the hunks in the picture.)

They have ten different flavors of tofu. My favorite is the peanut and ginger tofu used in pad Thai.

Their package says that if you contact them, they'll give you a $1 off two packages coupon. Try it.