Aug 15, 2020 20:00:00

A movie of the oldest tofu store in America that has been making “handmade tofu” in the United States for over 100 years

Tofu is a traditional ingredient that is indispensable for Japanese cuisine, but many Japanese people have never seen it actually. Looking at the movie of '

Ota Tofu ' which has been making tofu for over a century since 1911 in Portland, Oregon, USA, a tofu craftsman who inherits the tradition and technology that has survived World War II to the present day You can peek at his passionate thoughts.

How the Finest Tofu in America is Handmade Every Day — Handmade-YouTube


Ota Tofu – Portland, Oregon-Gastro Obscura
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ota-tofu-oldest-tofu-shop-united-states

'The freshness of handmade tofu is like that of freshly baked bread. At our shop, we try to sell the tofu that was freshly made 30 minutes or an hour ago to our customers. It's delicious,' says Jason Ogata, the owner of Ota Tofu.

Mr. Ogata, who has also

been active as a professional baseball player, grew up eating tofu at Ota Tofu, a tofu store founded in 1911.

The craftsmanship of Ota Tofu's artisans to make tofu has reached the level of art. In this movie, you can see Mr. Ogata actually making soybean milk from soybeans and making it tofu.

Ota Tofu uses only organically grown soybeans that are not

genetically modified .

They are particular about the production area and choose high protein soybeans from Ohio.

Ota Tofu's only ingredients for tofu are soybeans,

bittern and water. “Oregon's water is the most delicious in the United States, so it complements the taste of tofu,” says Ogata.

Tofu making begins with soaking soybeans in water. The soaking time depends on the temperature of the water, but soak it in water for about 15 hours from 2:00 to 17:00.

Once soaked, the soybeans are then placed in a grinder and crushed finely.

Crushed soybeans become muddy like this.

Then put in a pressure cooker and boil. The high temperature of 210 degrees during boiling not only kills bacteria, but is also the optimum temperature for making tofu. However, these processes change daily depending on the condition of beans and the temperature of water, so it seems to be extremely difficult to control accurately.

After boiling, use a special bag for filtration to separate soymilk and okara.

A squeezing machine is used for filtration, and it is filtered in two steps.

Yuba is formed on the surface of soymilk. Although it is not sold at Ota Tofu, there is a tofu store that sells the yuba made in this way.

Shake the filter containing okara well to make soy milk as thick as possible.

Regarding the taste of tofu made from rich soymilk, Mr. Ogata said, 'Some people think that tofu sold at supermarkets has a light taste, so 'tofu has no taste', but that is a misunderstanding. Real tofu must have a nutty bean flavor and a slight sweetness.'

You can make okara by squeezing out soy milk. Okara is used as a cooking ingredient, but Ota Tofu uses it as a feed for cattle and other livestock.

Adding bittern to soy milk and stirring it by hand is the most important step in making tofu. If you do not stir it properly, it will not solidify, but if you stir it too much, the beans and water will separate.

By performing this difficult process by hand, the tofu craftsmen will confirm the tofu quality of the day.

After stirring for about 15 minutes, it will solidify like this.

Finally, put it in the mold and squeeze to drain the water.

It seems that Ota Tofu's 'hand drawing' technology cannot be duplicated at other stores or major manufacturers.

After draining the water to some extent, use a machine to squeeze it.

If you squeeze out the water all at once, there will be a difference in thickness between the center and the periphery, so cut the outside, put it in, and squeeze it repeatedly.

Cut the hardened tofu...

After packaging, handmade tofu is completed.

Ota Tofu is a man named Mr. Ota who emigrated to the United States from Japan, was established in 1911 (1911), and the Japan-US relationship is exacerbated by the war, Ota and his wife, et al., Which has been cut and fill the time the store is

Japanese American housing It will be put in place . His husband, Ota Saizo, died in 1943 at the Minidoka concentration camp in Idaho, but Mrs. Sina continued to operate. After that, Mr. Ogata, who was a grandson of Mrs. Sina, heard that the couple was about to close the store, Mr. Ogata said that he would have to do it if he did not do it.

Not only Mr. Ogata, but the tools ordered from Japan over 50 years ago and the veteran employees who have worked at Ota Tofu for over 40 years still support Ota Tofu's tofu making.

It seems that the wave of mechanization is rushing to make tofu in the United States, but Mr. Ogata said, 'It is time-consuming to make tofu by hand, but it is important. I inherit this tradition and technique. I want to leave it.'