I was curious about the popularity of tofu in other countries, so I’ve been talking to international students and Moscow citizens who travel abroad. It’s been interesting learning about various places that either embrace or disregard tofu.

Zsu Zsu is a friend from Hungary. She is a meat eater and didn’t pay much attention to tofu when she lived at home. She said, “I am sure that it is available in the grocery stores since our system changed (after 1990); before that probably it was only available in the capital city (Budapest). Also with the expanding Asian population in the country, tofu became more available and known to people as an alternative protein source. I would think that people eat tofu if they are vegetarian or like an Asian diet and if they can afford it. Average worker families, students and people in the countryside are less likely to eat tofu, because it is not part of Hungarian cuisine and expensive. Nobody in my extended family and friends eat tofu; they are not vegetarian and Asian cuisine is not popular among them.”

Australia is another place that is much more geared to meat than tofu. My sister Stacie can verify that. While vacationing there in August, she ate kangaroo pie, kangaroo tail, camel pie, crocodile, and witchity grubs, but nothing tofu. And Alison, who lived ‘Down Under’ several years ago, told me the rule used to be “a pound of meat per person per meal.”

My friend Mark recently spent six months in Australia. He said there were lots of markets selling fresh vegetables and meat and that the larger towns (Sydney, Melbourne, Townsville) all have organic food places and vegetarian menus at restaurants, but they are usually not that interesting. He also said there is “Definitely no tofu. Not a big thing there. Not a lot of vegetarians in Australia ... you won’t find ANY vegetarian foods in most smaller towns (less than 15,000).”

I guess it’s no surprise that a country that serves everything from emu to kangaroo on the menu would not be especially oriented towards vegetarian cuisine. However, at the risk of displeasing Australian carnivores, I’m sharing a recipe from Mori Nu that has taken a popular Australian soup and given it a tofu twist.

Obviously, Asian countries are much more tofu friendly. I had the pleasure of meeting two Korean girls, Kim and Kang, at Saturday Market. The girls were so sweet and helpful when I asked about tofu in Korea. They said people eat tofu almost every day in Korea and shared the recipe on this page that is very popular there. They said tofu tastes different in Korea than it does here and that Japanese tofu is usually softer than Korean tofu. The girls even offered to cook me a tofu meal so I could get a first-hand taste of their culture. As a side note, they told me their favorite American food is pizza and coffee. They think our coffee tastes better and said coffee is twice as expensive in Korea.

I also heard from people who have lived or currently reside in England, Japan, Denmark and Canada, but I have used up my allotted space for this month, so look for more “Tofu Around the World” in next month’s newsletter.

Korean Tofu
(Kim & Kang)

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. firm tofu, sliced in 1/4” slices
3 Tbsp. kochujang - Korean red chili pepper paste*
2 Tbsp. sugar syrup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
4 or 5 cloves of garlic
4 green onions, sliced
1 Tbsp. sesame oil

Fry the tofu in the olive oil until lightly browned on both sides. Remove from frying pan. Mix the pepper paste, sugar syrup, soy sauce, water and garlic in a small bowl. Pour into fry pan. Heat to a boil and carefully add tofu slices. Cover pan and boil for a few minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle sesame oil and green onions on top. Can be served over hot rice.

*(can substitute: 2 tsp. red pepper flakes or hot sauce for kochujang)
**Kim and Kang said to add spices, but didn’t specify which ones. Other Korean recipes sometimes add dry mustard or cayenne pepper.

Australian Pumpkin Soup
www.morinu.com, Akasha Richmond
Pumpkin or squash soup is served everywhere in Australia. In this version, the tofu puree replaces the heavy cream that is traditionally used.

8 cups (2 qts.) water or vegetable stock
6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash or Japanese pumpkin
1 large medium-white onion, sliced in moons
1 leek, sliced thin
1 Tbsp. peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 package Mori-Nu Silken Lite Firm Tofu, cubed
1/4 cup white or yellow miso
Chopped fresh chives or parsley

Bring ingredients except tofu and miso to a boil in a large pot. Once boiling, cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. Let cool. Add tofu and miso. Puree well in the container of a blender. Pass through wire mesh strainer to remove any fiber. Garnish with chopped chives or parsley.

Nutritional Facts
Fiber: 7g Calories: 105 Fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 22.5g
Sodium: 188mg Cholesterol:: 0mg Protein: 5.2g

Terri Schmidt encourages readers to be adventurous and try some new foods from different countries, with the possible exception of witchery grubs.