Posts Tagged ‘soybeans’
I haven’t figured out exactly what percentage U.S. soybean exports make of the entire trade picture – especially involving ports on the West Coast.
But I’m sure those in the trade industry – who deal with the roly-poly bean needed for tofu – are keenly aware of the Wednesday announcement by the federal government:
This year, U.S. soybean farmers could have the highest yield recorded on the books.
The Associated Press moved a story, which cites the U.S. Department of Agriculture and many news outlets are picking up.
Moderate weather and rain apparently have helped the crop.
The news agency assigned four reporters to the story and quoted Darin Newsom, an analyst with Nebraska-based DTN, who talked about the soybean market having “tight supplies and strong demand.”
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Life is complicated these days. So, it is easy to overlook that tofu made its debut in China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).
That makes it older than the modern version of the hamburger, which started showing up around the 1800s. Yes, Egypt’s pyramids are more senior. But tofu predates the Gutenberg printing press and American-style democracy.
Not bad for food that starts with a roly-poly bean a bit smaller than the size of your fingertip.
As the story from China goes, Liu An, the grandson of a Chinese emperor, lived in Anhui province, which is west of Shanghai. Liu believed in Daoism (Taoism) and sought a long life. So, in 164 BC, he instructed eight of his assistants to discover a medicine, an elixir in a sense, to accomplish his goal.
During this process, the assistants went to the province’s Huainan area, which is north of the capital city of Hefei. There, they used fresh mountain water and soy beans to make milk. They took the milk and added coagulants. They worked feverishly to find the magical formula.
Instead, as the story goes, they created the wiggly mass known as tofu.
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For too long, bean curd has flown under the radar for too many people in the West.
Derided as a bland, squishy mass, it has earned the reputation in some circles as something to be avoided. It’s not meat. It can show up in a tub of water. And few wine sellers, if any at all, have assistants stand next to Italian or California vintages to recommend a nice bottle to go with, well, a soybean concoction.
Welcome to TofuWatch.com. I’d like to change this perception – at least to a degree. This blog marks a new beginning of sorts because I recently was a newspaper reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which stopped printing in March. I hope my former colleagues are well.
This blog will be an amalgamation of various takes on this vegetarian food, as well as current events and other pressing subjects. I’m launching from the Seattle area. But I welcome notes, especially about tofu dishes, from people worldwide.
So, why tofu? Why pay attention to it?
When prepared just right – say cubed in a piping hot fish broth on a frigid day, or chilled with preserved duck egg and green onions resting on top, or marinated in soy sauce and barbecued – you’ll likely have two reactions: Wow. Nice.
If you don’t, that’s fine. But please invite me to your meal.
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