Feeding The Homegrown String Band: Fermented Tofu

Spicy Fermented Tofu  - photo by Rick Jackofsky

We make a lot of our food "from scratch" and try to buy as little packaged food as possible. This not only keeps the bellies of us "starving artists" full on a low budget, it also provides us with healthier and better tasting food than the pre-packaged versions of traditional foods available from the supermarket. My Dad calls me "Dr. Fermento." There is always something bubbling away or incubating in our kitchen. Today I am starting a batch of tempeh, while Georgianne is making feta cheese. Earlier this week Georgianne made a half gallon of yogurt and I baked two loaves of bread, made a pound of tofu, and bottled up a half gallon of kombucha. Yesterday I made kefir, hard cranberry cider, and a batch of fermented tofu, which is basically moldy tofu marinated in shaoxing wine, sea salt, and hot pepper.

To make fermented tofu you cut up a block of firm tofu into one inch cubes, put them on a baking sheet between two tea towels and press them under a two pound of weight for two hours. The pressed tofu is then placed in a glass baking dish covered in plastic wrap (with a few holes poked through.) Then the fun(gi) begins: you leave the tofu out in a warm room (I used a bread proofer since our house is so cool this time of year) for two or three days until the tofu passes the three S test. When the tofu is Slimy, Splotchy, and Stinky it's time to marinate and refrigerate. You should let it sit in the fridge for at least a week or more; then you will have a creamy, spicy, pungent, delicious condiment that keeps indefinitely.