Fish Facts: Tofu (yes, we know)

Tofu isn’t fish. We know that. But tofu is an essential part of many of our best dishes. It’s what makes Sticky Balls happen, and for that, we are *so* thankful.

Tofu is made of coagulated soy milk curds, and is called tofu because that sounds a lot better than “coagulated soy bean curds.” Tofu’s origins can be traced back to the Bencao Gangmu, an ancient Chinese medial text (“materia medica”) dated to 1578. Our tofu dishes, fortunately, are much fresher than that, but it’s good to know where your A-Game comes from. Tofu’s spread from China to the rest of Asia (and, most important to us, Japan), likely followed the spread of Buddhism & the subsequent vegetarian lifestyle. We definitely love our vegetarian customers, and as such, we’re doing Sushi Heaven for vegetarians on Wednesdays in April! 1/2 price vegetarian sushi tonight, from 10:30p-12:30a, as part of our Earth Month Celebration!

Our A-Game of tofu comes in two forms: inari (tofu pockets) and momendofu, firm white tofu. We serve inari as-is, and in one of our best known dishes, Sticky Balls:

This picture is a good example of a creative use of inari, and also of bokeh, which is not sushi ingredient at all but a fascinating concept nonetheless. Inari traces it’s roots back to 1782′s Tofu Hyakuchin, a japanese cookbook by Ka Hitsujun. We use white tofu in other dishes; we serve it fried as Tofu Bites with teriyaki sauce, and sauteed in several noodle dishes. The bottom line? We love tofu.