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Yuba (Japanese) = uba
= bean curd skins = soy milk skins = bean curd
sheets = Fuzhu (Mandarin) = Foo pi (Cantonese)
This is the sweet, protein-rich skin
that forms on warm soymilk as it cools and skimmed
off with a stick in a single swoop, and this is hung
up. When it dries, it forms a flat sheet.
Japanese and Chinese cooks like to
add it to soups or use it as wrappers for spring
rolls, and when it's deep-fat fried, it makes a
fairly realistic "skin" for a mock holiday turkey.
You can buy very thin fresh sheets of it (called
nama yuba) in Kyoto, Japan, and thicker round sheets
that look like fruit leather in some Chinese
markets. Elsewhere, you'll have to get it dried or
frozen. Dried yuba comes as sheets, rolls, knots,
and many other forms. It needs to be reconstituted
with water before you can use it, unless you're
planning to add it to a soup.
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Bean stick
This is made from the skin that forms
on the top of heated soy milk by rolling the skin up
while still warm, then leaving the sticks to dry.
It's rich in protein, and used by Chinese and
Japanese cooks in soups, vegetarian dishes, and are
also cooked with meat in braised dishes and
casseroles. Look for it in Asian food stores.
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Tempeh
( Indonesian) = tempe
This Indonesian meat substitute is made
from soybeans and other grains that have been
injected with a mold and allowed to ferment. It's
rich in protein and fiber and has a chewy texture
and salty, nuttier, more savory flavor. Before using it, steam or
simmer it for about twenty minutes. Then use it
just like tofu or meat--either by marinating it and
grilling or by crumbling it into pieces and frying
them. Look for tempeh among the frozen foods in
supermarkets or in health food stores. It will keep
in the freezer for a few months, or in the
refrigerator for about a week.
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Gluten = mianjin
(Mandarin) = Ming Gun (Cantonese) = Fu (Japanese)
Also known as "mock meat", gluten is
another source of vegetarian protein. It is made
from a mixture of wheat flour, salt and water, from
which all the starch has been washed out. What
remains is a sponge-like gluten. Its Chinese name
literally means "muscle or sinew of flour"
Like beancurd, which is often cooked
with meat and fish, gluten is regarded as a pure
Buddhist ingredient, and as such, no non-vegetarian
item may be mixed with it. Gluten is often used with
beancurd to produce dishes such as "mock chicken",
"mock abalone", "vegetarian duck" or "Buddhist pork"
- which are all said to look and taste very much
like the real thing.
Flavored and cooked
gluten is available in cans from oriental stores. It
only needs to be reheated before being served.
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