life is so automated that it seems almost natural to seek out convenience
tofu is a prime example of that. it's become a largely automated process but
if you want to make it perfectly
you have to craft it we're going to meet with a master tofu maker
Koki at meiji tofu strive to keep the process alive that utilizes knowledge
and technique
I mean there's no such thing as a perfect day or perfect production
you know I think there's always something that can always be tweecked or
worked on it's hard because you constantly have to keep an eye on
different aspects
it took me a while i mean i was constantly breaking Tofu
because it's so soft you know?
today we're at the Meiji factory
And we're going to make Tofu! Alright so where do we start
we start with soybeans that I soaked overnight
first thing we have to do right now --- grind these down
So how long you doing this
I've been doing this for 16 years now
right out of high school now My dad and I we took over in the year 2000
what the business itself has been here since '79. like this machine
right here in 1971
come here and 3 the morning about 2--230 in the morning
just you? just me for now it's just a one-man operation
after high school graduation I was trying to figure out what i want to do
with my life right now
my dad just pretty much came in and said hey we got a tofu business and I need
to help. And I just took over. And you father is a chef?
my dad growing up -- he was making tofu at his restaurant with his parents
so he always had like an idea we learned it from our previous owner about just
the basics of it is out and then we just kind of scrapped the idea just kind of took
a little parts of it and just you know through in our own
What are we look for right now? Just getting a taste of it
I like to keep my taste doughy because it will turn into a thicker soy milk and
with a light soy milk you won't be able to calculate
yeah
so essentially all three of these are connected
yeah everything has been transferred into our steam cooker and then we're going to be
cooking this for about couple minutes okay
and we're gonna be running that through the press
I was actually able to get in touch with a tofu maker in tokyo and he invited me
to work under him. Same equipment or different? Oh when i walked in because I
didn't know what to expect but I was actually surprised to find out what we
were doing is pretty much the same except he was more of a like a
mad scientist he pretty much taught me about numbers,
you know temperature, humidity, you know how long I am supposed to be soaking the bean in the water
what's the temperature of the water that you're soaking in. he pretty much taught
me how to perfect my craft
the soybeans that we use today from Ohio 16 years ago were they from
you know what that was one of the main things that we have to change from the
previous owner huh
every week we were getting different soybeans from different parts of the
world
it's like one week we will get soy beans from Argentina
next week we get to be some Chile the other week you might get from like
Michigan
The Tofu company that we work with now be used to be run by Honda
that's funny
when the containers would come in from Japan filled with cars they will ship
the containers back with the soybeans in them. Japan's actually
buying American soybeans now? they'll never tell you that they'll never
admit that
so after you fully cook it you give it a little time you pull it down a little
bit
it actually eliminates a lot of the bubbles that are actually inside
Bubbles are bad because when you're coagulating you're trying to
make the smoothest tofu.
yeah and now what's coming out is the cooked product and we're now separating
literally the curd from the soy milk. yes this is called Okara the by product of tofu
Can we eat it? Oh yes. It's good
I'm gonna open this valve
okay now this is pure soymilk it smells amazing
and now this cheese cloth i'm using two different types of grates
the one underneath is the finest ok one on top is a little rough but we're going
to filter out is the final version of the tofu that's insights now if it gets
too cold what happens if it starts to coagulate
can you restart or feel good on once it gets cold it is you're done
yeah you messed up
this is a crucial part right here right this is very sure
cool alright so now we're going to take the hot soy milk and add quadrant
correct now what is that this is deep sea water keeps you from Japan yeah so
there's a company to sell it keeps the water
yeah that's cool and then just go let's go
oh well I'm not hurting me already right Wow
there you go we take fresh hot soy milk or tofu packaging airtight and then we
instantly pull it down this completely closed down the window of bacterial
growth
it's freezing and training how's it go ahead
why there's nobody making television yeah you know what I don't know that is
a dying art or is it just more like you want a smooth in Japan is a diner
mhm twenty years ago there were like three thousand total shops right and
then 10 years ago it was doing down to 1,500
well and now I think they don't may not even have 300 soldiers machines robots
yeah you never dreamed of you know being a tofu house or to a total maker know
now that you are
what girls do what excited about it what is it that makes it beautiful
I think for one it's its taste
I mean I just love the taste you taste it
the new gotti are you see water right and how bitter is but then when you
taste the finishing product it's kind of like oh my god
right you know it's the harmony between sweet and yeah but this is pretty much
the purest go through you will ever find in the market today we have to make it
look pretty
yeah
nice and silky right
but this is what I every morning every morning every morning
really breakfast of champions and that's total for you
that's it so would you ever replace all this which is brand-new electronical
just cruise ship but your butt doesn't know never met never so that's what you
love you love the process
I like to see something through it I meet you there it is
like I have stolen you want to see more shopping look here we go get some khat
big snowstorm coming so hopefully they're gonna bite you
all clear you know
right York City
go get you some better
yeah