Ok, before we get into the notes… naming conventions. Sometimes, on menus and the like, you might see this product that we were talking about in the video as ‘tofu skin’. We don’t like using that English name for this stuff, seeing how it can quite easily get confused with *another* tofu product that’s usually translated with the same name: Fupi (腐皮). Fupi - tofu skin - is made in an entirely different way, using the coagulated skin from soy milk. Referring to tofu sheets as ‘tofu skin’ definitely isn’t *wrong* or anything (as I’ll explain in a second), but IMO it can be quite confusing. So on this channel, the naming conventions/translations we chose to go with are: - Tofu Sheets = Qianzhang = 千张. Made by pressing layers of tofu pudding into firm sheets. - Tofu Skins = Fupi = 腐皮. Made from soymilk skin. 1. So. Why do some people translate this stuff as ‘tofu skin’? Well, as Steph touched on in the outro, up north it’s quite common to see this stuff - Qianzhang - referred to as “Doupi” (豆皮), which is a word that could also be conceivably translated as ‘Tofu Skin’. In order to explain all of this stuff clearly we’d have to give you a quick Chinese language lesson, but I’m worried that I’m already bogging down these notes with this stuff. If anyone's curious, drop a line and I'll edit in an explanation. 2. For any of these recipes, you can cut your tofu sheets into any shape you like. 3. For the red braised tofu sheets, we decided to re-test the recipe after filming one more time (it’s a pretty easy dish - most of the testing here was dedicated to the vegetarian duck, so we only had a couple tests with the braise), and decided on 25 minutes instead of 20. Also, be sure to do the cover with the lid ajar. We make this clear in the recipes in the description, so always trust those written recipes over anything. 4. Covering with the lid ajar isn’t a super common practice in Chinese kitchens - this is a practice where our background in Western cooking is kind of shining through. See, traditionally for braises claypots tended to be the vessel of choice, and with claypots you just simmer with the lid on. Of course, claypots breathe a lot better than metal cookware, so still allow for reduction even with the lid on. We’ve gone back and forth on this channel between choosing to braise covered or uncovered… I think in the future we’ll just be a bit more self-confident and do the lid ajar thing. 5. I think if I was cooking for a vegetarian, like, tomorrow… the red braised tofu sheets with eggs would probably be my go-to centerpiece. What an awesome dish. 6. There’s many ways to prepare the tofu sheets for the vegetarian fried duck - we’ve seen a lot of people soak the tofu sheets in water w/ baking soda instead. One of the hard things with that dish is making sure that the tofu doesn’t shred. We simply found that the blanch was able to keep things intact a bit better. That’s also why Steph added the sauce to the stir fry before adding the tofu sheets - even in a brief stir fry, it’s very easy for the tofu sheets to get ‘caught’ on the wok and break. 7. Note that for whatever reason, using Kan Sui or Sodium Carbonate instead of baking soda does *not* seem to work. We assumed that the textural difference was due to a pH thing, but… nope. Kan Sui seems to firm things up, not make them fluffy and soft. Honestly, I’ve got no clue why and if there’s anyone out there with a chemistry/food science background, I’d love to hear an explanation.
Thanks for the explainer on how the language use varies by region. That kind of stuff is really fascinating to me. When I used to live in Jinan, my roommate and I used to have similar conversations about how restaurant menus were always so idiosyncratic in terms of the names they used for dishes. Case in point: a hot dish using tofu sheets (where we were in Shandong it seemed like it was usually referred to as 豆腐皮) stir fried with garlic, dried chilies and cilantro that had about a million different names depending on where you were ordering it (香辣豆腐皮, 炒辣豆腐丝, 酸辣豆腐皮, etc.). All basically the same dish, but no consistent name. Made it difficult to find a good recipe for it when I moved home (even though it seems like the kind of thing that should be pretty straightforward). Anyway, this was an awesome video, giving some well deserved spotlight to one of my favorite ingredients that is criminally under appreciated outside China!
I'm not anything like an expert, but I do know something about the chemistry of pH in cheese, which is amusingly similar to tofu in a number of ways. For cheese, everyone knows that some cheeses melt better than others, but what they don't know is that the poorly melting ones exist on both ends of the pH spectrum. It's mediated by calcium, but the short version is cheeses that have not been acidified at all, like juustoleipa aka bread cheese and halloumi, do not melt and can be fried, and cheeses that are very acidic, like feta, also do not melt, but in a different way. Mozzarella can be tricky to make because you have to balance the pH just right or it will have the wrong texture. This explains more: www.cheesescience.org/melt.html
It looks great indeed; reminds me of the döner-like seitan that some restaurants have had here. A question to both of you (Andong and CCD): How long does Chinese-style fried onion oil keep in the fridge? I've spent a while researching this and no-one seems to know. I'm referring to the risk of botulism with infused oils and the lack of an acidification process as described in this paper: www.extension.uidaho.edu/publishing/pdf/PNW/PNW664.pdf There seems to be little to no documentation on whether the acidification step (which I think reduces flavor) is necessary if the onion and/or oil is heated high & long enough. Most sources just vaguely state that c. botulinum spores require "above 100 °C" to destroy, as though it isn't possible to heat something beyond that temperature. (Hello, oil can go over 200 °C... 🙄)
@@S3lvah We're not Andong, but ultimately when it comes to flavored oils you simply need to evaluate how paranoid you are about botulism. The vast majority of botulism cases come from improper canning, not flavored oils. As Steph told me once "if stored chili oil could kill you, there'd be no one left in the province of Sichuan". But flippancy aside, it's certainly theoretically possible to get botulism from flavored oils. I don't have any sources to back this up at the pull of the finger, but you're pretty much always safe consuming flavored oil within the month. After that, it really depends on your risk tolerance. For Steph that risk tolerance is "eh, relax! It's fine!" and she'll happily consume stuff that's approaching a year old. For me (Chris), I start feeling a bit uneasy around the 2-3 month mark. At some level, it's kind of like asking 'how fast is too fast driving a car?' The answer's going to be alot different depending on who you are.
My family is keto and I was thinking it would be a good noodle replacement. I don't mind just using cabbage in place of noodles, but I would legit like something more like the real thing.
Overlooked? Overlooked? I didn’t even know it existed😂😂😂 Very interesting!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your dog is so adorable. Sitting there thinking “give me the tofu sheet”!
Last time I was in harbin while flying to Russia, there was a lady selling mian jin skewers. The sauce she put on them was so good. Would you two be able to make a video on that?
I picked up a bag of tofu sheets in the Chinese grocery store just this weekend, but couldn't figure out what I'd do with it. Now your video magically has appeared... What great timing. I'll buy some next time.
Yeah we've been feeling it too. Moving forward, out of our three videos a month we're thinking that I (Chris) will narrate two, and Steph will narrate one.
Made the vegetarian fried duck today and wow that was delicious. The texture was divine and the flavour was a lot more complex than I had expected from scallion + soy sauce + liaojiu + not much else, like first encountering scallion oil noodles all over again. Thanks for sharing these amazing recipes!
I'd seen a couple of RU-vid recipes for tofu skin but until I saw some in my local Asian market I never thought I'd try cooking with it. Your video may be the one to get me to finally try it. Thanks so much! (Also, I had a schnauzer as a kid...yours is gorgeous!)
Commenting on the most recent video for visibility: have you both ever thought of writing a cookbook? You both have such extensive culinary and contextual knowledge-I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Please consider it!!
LOVED these while living in Beijing. We had a lot of dishes that would serve small squares of it that we would use to make tiny burritos with whatever we were eating. Went really well as wraps for the peking sauce pork. I always hated tofu and legit thought these were a kind of noodle at first. This was definitely the thing that made me go "maybe this tofu stuff isn't so bad". Very hype to know what they are now. Now I just need a recipe for the spicey dry pot potatoes we used to get and you'll have hit most of my favorites haha
99 Ranch Market confirmed! Lol! We have those all over outside Seattle. There is also a Chinese restaurant in South Center that has a menu that is pretty much every recipe you two make!
I must second this. The Tofu sheet knots soak in so much of the sauce and the flavor can be explosive when you bite into it. When these knots are cooked with meat, I often enjoy the knots more than the meat just because how much flavor they are able to absorb.
What! I am from mid Jiangsu and thought 百叶结 was an all over China thing. I watched this whole video wondering if 千张 and 百叶 are the same thing. Maybe it is similar but different regions have different names for it
I‘m really happy Steph is doing more narrating! Also I‘ll never forget the exact word order of you describing longyau (or 滑锅?) One thing I‘d wish for tho! If you could include the tones in your pinyin that would be awesome for people learning Chinese like me :)
I love tofu sheets, so versatile. I haven't thought about it in a while so, thank you for the reminder recipes. The nearest Asian store is about an hour away so I looked it up on Amazon and these are around $29 each!!!! Unbelievable.... I'll wait till my next Asian food haul :-(.
Yes I was about to say they’re my favourite in Vietnamese braised pork (thịt kho tàu). My family would poke them with fork when they were just fried, so they absorbed the sweet sticky flavour of the braise liquid. It does make the eggs look ugly if you go overboard, but it’s so worth it!
I love tofu sheets (and tofu) too! especially the vegetarian duck, I loved ordering it at restaurants when I was younger :") and the method of frying the eggs is really cool and innovative, thank you for sharing these!!
Thank you for this video! I've been a huge fan of tofu skin since I was introduced to it by my friend a couple of years ago. Then when my wife and I were laid over in a hotel on the outskirts of Beijing we had the cold salad and have been obsessed with trying to recreate it ever since to no avail, but now we can finallty have it again. I can't wait to make these other dishes as well!
The tofu skins most known in the west are the peeled skin of simmering soy milk, the very thin layer that dries-thickens at the contact of air and gets carefully collected and then most often dried (well, real aficionados will get them fresh or make them or get them frozen). I had never seen these sheets probably because I haden't paid proper attention. I will for sure because I think I'll like them much more than the skins which I was getting bored of, I ate soooooo muuuuuch but I still think they're awsome in a thick sauce or broth :/ So thank you for this amazing video!
I tried them the other day, and I love them they’re so tasty!! Unfortunately I can only find them in the Chinese supermarkets here but I don’t go there that often. It’s funny cuz now I see tofu noodles popping up in Korean diet food vlogs, and I’m pretty sure it’s more of a recent new trend since I hadn’t seen it before in their videos before, but I think some Korean brands must manufacture them now, but yeah still can’t find them in Korean stores over here. The Korean market is closer to me than the Chinese grocery store.
This is exactly what I needed! I love tofu sheets but the only way I knew how to prepare them was to steam them and then smother them in chili oil. These recipes will be great for the rest of my family who aren't so...... spicy tolerant.
Great video as usual! Was looking at this the other day in my local Asian store wondering what I could do with it. Now I know! Love how your cat magically changes into a dog at 8:00 btw!
I was just intrigued by the title of this video hence I watched it, and now I know I shall thank Heaven for doing it!! :D I made liangban qianzhang using your recipe and it was so ridiculously easy, and yet tasted so good! Me and my partner both loved it and I'm pretty much sure it wasn't the last time I made it. I'd love to try your other recipes with qianzhang, but... I'm afraid next time I buy it I just won't be able to stop myself from doing it liangban again! Thanks a lot and you are guys having new fan here :) :)
I love the technique of frying a hard-boiled egg... I feel like I don't see it very often but I love how it gets that lacy crunchy coating on the outside, so delicious. Also I love how the braised egg and tofu sheet dish kind of ended up looking like spaghetti and meatballs after plating!
Love it! "Vegetarian duck" could also refer to the Buddhist tofu skin (not sheets) rolls stuffed with mushrooms that you see in Shanghai. Video one day maybe?
This is what I came here to find out about, thank you for sharing. Have you only used them in place of Chinese noodle applications or in other cuisine's noodle dishes as well?
Haha I know it's usually a bit more on-brand for us to cook an seemingly vegetarian dish... only to then fry in lard and finish it off with oyster sauce ;) If you ever have any questions for how to veg-ify something, definitely drop a line - we're always happy to help. A ton of Chinese cooking we do is meat-light, and can be easily made into tasty veg food with a simple tweak or two.
My (Shanghainese) mom gets and cooks this somewhat frequently; it's one of the few things on this channel I was familiar with before seeing the video. Usually she cooks them as soup in knots, so it's cool to see other preparations.
Hi folks. Huge fan of yours out here in Sausalito, California. You both are great teachers and mentors. I'm subscribed, of course, and have many videos bookmarked, but I'm confused about why the written recipes are on Reddit. Do you have a website where all your recipes are aggregated? Better still, would rush out to buy your cookbook, plus a couple extra copies for friends . . hint, hint. Any plans for a hard-copy cookbook?
Back when we first started the project the written recipes for /r/cooking were basically the content (and the videos the side content). Over the years that sort of flipped, and these days I usually just do description box recipes (which're a lot less taxing on our end). The recipes are aggregated pretty well here on the channel, I think :) I don't think the world needs another blog. Re a cookbook, we've got some long term plans, but it's a lot of work. Slowly slowly
thank you for posting this. There's a lot of items I see at the local asian groc store that I'm curious about but don't know about how use/cook. This was definitely one of them!
Thank you so, SO much for this-I’ve bought them from my local Chinese market and experimented enough to know that they’re awesome but I don’t know what I’m doing! The confusion with the other tofu skin doesn’t help-the other might be better known by its Japanese name, yuba (assuming I’ve got this right...), so you might want to mention that in the future. I once had a dish made by a friend of a friend (Chinese, not sure from where) they called “vegetarian goose”. I think it was the skin, not the sheets, and it was wrapped around little minced bits, cut into rounds, and braised (?) in a spiced brown sauce. I’ve been looking for a recipe with no luck, and I would love you forever if you made it!
I saw the dog, but I never saw the cat untill reading the comment section! I guess I was so intrigued by the sheet looks (because it does look like a towel on the small screen).
When i was working in china i was addicted to this Sheet Tofu , at Wallmart i always took it cold as salad and in restaurant warm with pork meat and spicy bell pepper. At California Beef Noodle King Retaurants they also had a very good salad of Tofu but theses Tofu looked similar like the Italian Penne Noodles (i think it was the String or Stick Tofu you can also get dried in supermarkets here). I agree that this kind of Tofu is pretty much unknown here in western countries and i am also sure if asian restaurants would just offfer dishes made by this Tofu it would become very popular soon ..not only by vegetarians but also as alternative for noodles. In the supermarkets i always saw the dried String Tofu
Been re creating so many of your dishes at home and they've all been incredible ! Would you maybe be able to do a beef in black bean sauce or just "things in black bean sauce " vid? Would love to add more takeout classics to my repertoire !
So yeah! Doing a video strictly on it would kinda feel like cheating haha, simply because we've done so much stuff using that flavor profile before. Beef in black bean sauce is here in our 'stir fried beef 101' video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C1QLbJnkpo0.html Steamed squash with black bean sauce is here in our 'over rice dishes' video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g5Qq_w7hLR8.html And we've got stir fried clams in black bean sauce here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ciLCT_7oOG0.html Coulda sworn we had one more, but I'm blanking. Maybe not Definitely a possibility to do a dedicated video if we've busy one week and are fresh off a spate of failed test batches of something ;)
I sear, i've nevee seen these before in any supermarket in my town! So many people say Brasília is a big city, but honestly we live in caves here hahaha Accidentaly naturally vegan/vegetarian recipes for the win!
