Tofu! What can’t it do? 豆腐1 - While tofu needs no justification beyond being its own fabulous self2, for people who grew up in cultures without tofu, I will liken it to the Original Non-Dairy Cheese. Tofu is coagulated soy milk, with the freshest versions made out of soaked and ground soybeans set with a coagulant (nigari in Japanese aka magnesium chloride) that can be simmered, fried, and mashed into sauces.
Today, a discussion of tofu as a dip for your chips.
David travels a lot, which means a good number of dinners alone. While I always feel that it is worth the effort to cook something cohesive for at least one other person (cohesion is relative and for me could mean a dumpling salad of shredded bagged romaine, the dregs of a with pan-fried dumplings), I am like many people for whom eating alone becomes an eclectic exercise in snacks and upgraded instant noodles. I very much admire my friend Janet, who rolls out kimbaps and scallion pancakes for her solo meals. I think this says much about how she sees herself and I love this about her.
We must think that eating habits say a lot about a person. I’ve been reading American Prometheus since finally snagging tickets to the IMAX 70mm screening at Lincoln Plaza (they were sold out for weeks) and am tickled that it includes the detail that Oppenheimer’s diet while a student at Harvard “often consisted of little more than chocolate, beer and artichokes. Lunch was often just a “black and tan”—a piece of toast slathered with peanut butter and topped with chocolate syrup.”
For this solo dinner, perhaps because I spent the last week hearing a friend rail against clients who filled up on potato chips 20 minutes before his carefully curated lunches, potato chips have been very much on my mind. They are an absolutely perfect food (along with Pirate’s Booty, watermelon, and salmon sashimi). For today’s solo dinner, I badly wanted to feast on potato chips, but I also wanted to not be hangry-scarfing popcorn at midnight.
The inspirational lamentation
Enter tofu!
One thing I did pick up from David is a love of dips. Given the opportunity, he will fill the fridge with containers and containers of every kind of labneh and hummus from Carmel, Sahadi’s, and anything in-between. For one long weekend to Vermont, I am convinced that he bought out every cream cheese on offer at Shelsky’s to accompany 36 bagels. Moreover, dips seem trendy generally, with every menu from Mischa or ZouZou’s featuring an onion dip, whipped feta, or taramasalata of some kind that he will order with unwavering consistency. Never a dip person, I was finally swayed by the onion deep at Mischa.
With a new appreciation for dips, I thought back to this BA piece on whipped tofu, and threw it in my Vitamix. If people can get so excited about whipped feta, they can get excited about whipped tofu too!
I generally use tofu most frequently broken up in soups (the silken variety) or stir fried, but today, I whipped my firm (the Whole Foods variant is especially firm) in my Vitamix with a pinch of salt, a splash of water, and some lemon zest. On the side, I quickly boiled some eggs (lower them in boiling water, lower the heat to a bare simmer, clamp the lid, and let sit for 8 minutes). I assembled a plate of chips, a hard-boiled egg, tofu dip, and cabbage (the only vegetable in the fridge aside from some half-frozen kale).
My very wonky egg
I’d love to play around with seasonings more (I’m thinking sauteeing onions and adding a splash of vinegar and mustard, or turning it Japanese with shiso and umeboshi), but even when doctored with little more than salt and lemon zest, it was reminiscent of a whipped ricotta and a happy dip for my chips3. Chips alone do not a meal make, but with WHIPPED TOFU and some greens? Yes, they do.
Other Bites, Other Notes
TOMO
Janet has been singing the praises of Tomo for ages, but we had somehow never managed to step in together. I was so glad to be able to do so this time (although she noted that the location we stopped by near the very Japanese Rue St-Anne is missing the parfaits of the 6eme location. I usually find Japanese sweets to be disappointing (to be frank, the wagashi in New York are sorely lacking), but the Tomo dorayaki. are delicious, even if I did not get to try their namagashi this time.
I was so charmed that he bought. me their cookbook! I can’t wait to try their dorayaki. The book includes wagashi recipes as well, but I am so spooked by steamers.
REYS
I flew to Paris several weeks ago and introduced David to REYS, an amazing gelato shop that Janet and I had stumbled upon earlier this year. He ordered a hefty sampler that we all shared. The coconut gelatos are amazing, as are the sorbets, although the tzatziki gelato and the harissa gelato were more challenging. The staff here are the absolute sweetest, generous with samples and suggestions.
REYS gelato sampler, split between five people
We also stopped by La Glacerie Paris (I love the candied almond and orange flower flavor) and Maison Aleph (saffron), Glace Bachir, and Glacier Baltis, so the sugar high was real.
Glace Bachir, pistachio coated and crowned with chantilly. I don’t love the texture of these mastic flavored ice creams, but loved the efficiency of the line. Glace Bachir (I am told) always has a line, but it moves fast and they share samples as you wait.
Back in New York…
Gage & Tollner
I know, should really try other spots, but I can never turn down an excuse to drop by Gage & Tollner. The booth seats and the bar seats are my favorite.
Always perfect, especially the seasonal peach sundae.
Eric Kim’s gochujang cookies! I used half brown sugar in the dough, because I will never say no to a chance to put brown sugar in my cookies. Everyone who tasted them preferred them to my favorite Alison Roman preserved lemon shortbread (which I sprinkled with sumac for thsi second round).
Long Island Bar
We are probably the last in the neighborhood to do so, but my friend and I finally made it to the Long Island Bar for martinis and fries (I ordered these after the martinis hit). The fries are battered, which is a bit odd, but the martinis are icy cold and the vibe is diner-retro.
Battered fries + martini, Long Island Bar
I’m going to read this as fermented bean, even if the second character is more literally the character for decay.
I wrote a piece for Bon Appetit arguing in favor of silken tofu. Tofu gets a bad rep stateside, with vegans wringing and marinating it into pellets that taste like anything but tofu. Not paying any mind to the fact that silken tofu is so delicate in simmering soups and refreshing on a summer day adorned with little more than a splash of soy.