How many types of tofu are there? There isn’t an...
Read MoreLearn about five Chinese tofus
That taste like cheese, pastry crust, fish cakes, bread, and more, and how cooks can approach using them in western cooking.
Hi, I'm George Stiffman
I’m the lead author of Broken Cuisine and an expert on Chinese tofus. Back in high school, I gave up meat and instantly regretted it. Most vegetarian foods felt lessor: subtractive – meat dishes without the meat – or substitutive – meat replaced with lackluster plant-based meats.
Everything changed when I spent a summer living in China. My host parents, who I’m forever grateful for, would take me out to a new restaurant each night, sampling a different Chinese subcuisine. I was amazed by all the vegetarian options. Suddenly, plant-based eating meant adding something into my diet, not taking something away.
After that summer, I spent a couple years living in China. I learned to cook in Buddhist restaurant kitchens, studied at Chinese university, lived with Chinese godparents, apprenticed under a fifth generation tofu master, and ate my way across too many cities, towns, and villages to count. All with the goal of learning about the incredible culture of vegan Chinese food, so one day I could share a part of it with friends and family back home.
Broken Cuisine isn’t about Chinese food, but it’s about the soul of vegetarian cooking in China: tofu. It explores varieties that are popular in China, as well as several that aren’t. It describes how to find high quality tofus, how to cook them just right for that perfect texture and flavor, and how to incorporate them into whatever cuisine your family most enjoys. I really hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did, and that we can appreciate these foods together.
–George
Our team: David Lespron, George Stiffman, Vanessa Lauren, Elisa Leone, and Ryan Tanaka.
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