Yuba Rolls with Koda Kokuho Rose Rice
From Koda Farms, a Family History in Rice by Elizabeth Linhart Money
Yuba sheets being pulled off vats. Photo by Cheryl Angelina Koehler
This recipe, published in Edible East Bay Spring 2009, was included in Elizabeth Linhart Money’s Spring 2010 article, Koda Farms: A Family History in Rice. The recipe was created by the test kitchen at Hodo Foods in Oakland.
Shari Arai DeBoer, Rice and Morning Glory, watercolor.
Hodo means “good bean” in Chinese, and at the Hodo Foods production facility in West Oakland, it’s only healthy, non-GMO soybeans that get turned into the company’s silky-smooth fresh tofu. Tofu master Minh Tsai founded his company in 2005, following his desire to re-create a much-loved experience from his childhood in Vietnam, when his family made daily trips to the local tofu maker for fresh tofu. He says, “like bread out of the oven or freshly made cheese, tofu is at its peak of flavor when eaten fresh.” The following recipe is one of the delicious ready-to-eat dishes dreamed up by chefs who work with Tsai at his facility.
This recipe features yuba, the tender “skin” that forms on the top of heated soymilk. In Hodo’s production line, this skin is pulled off the vats at three different stages in tofu production to create yuba products that range from very soft (like fresh cheese) to firm sheets that can be used like wraps or pasta. This recipe uses the firm hikiage yuba, which is shredded and stir-fried as part of a filling and also used as the wrap.
Serves 4
- 1 cup Koda Kokuho Rose rice (white or brown)
- 2 cups water
- 4 sheets fresh Hodo Hikiage Yuba
- 1 small jicama root, julienned
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
Cook rice with water in a steam rice cooker or on the stovetop. Finished rice should be a bit moist.
Cut 1 sheet of fresh yuba into thin strips. Stir-fry jicama strips in olive oil until they sweat (4–5 minutes). Stir in the soy sauce and then add strips of fresh yuba and stir-fry until yuba is slightly brown (4–5 minutes).
Unroll remaining yuba sheets one at a time onto a 6 x 8-inch sushi mat. Spread cooked rice and then spread stir-fried jicama and yuba strips onto the yuba. Roll tightly and cut into sushi-size pieces.
