This meat(?) was in my “Gyoza Soup with Vegetable Dumplings”. It came from a 10-star Japanese takeout place. I hadn’t ordered from them previously. I eat pescatarian, so I called before ordering to ask if the broth was vegetable stock, and not chicken or beef or another animal broth. The person on the phone went and checked, and said that “it’s made with fish stock, and not chicken or pig”. I just opened up the lid (ordered it yesterday, so it’s sat in the fridge for 1 day if that matters for IDing it). It has been so long since I’ve had chicken or other meats other than fish, and I don’t eat tofu much.. it smells strong of soy sauce. I truly can’t tell what it is. Tl,dr; what is this thing in my soup? Could it be fish or tofu?
6 comments
That is tofu skin. Vegan. Yuba
Beancurd skin (tofu). Great stuff for getting some texture and protein in a broth.
Yuba! Absolutely delicious! Definitely eat it next time.
First two definitely look like yuba. The last one is hard to relate. It is a fairly common practice to roll stuff in yuba skin, kind of like an egg roll. I think that is what this might be. Wheat gluten/ fu looks like this, ( the inside). I think if it was chicken you would be able to tell
Unless they specifically called the dumplings vegetarian or vegan, a lot of the time even “vegetable” dumplings in Japan contain meat. A lot of people are saying it might be yuba or fu, but as someone vegetarian who has lived here for close to 20 years, I really doubt it. If it happens to be from a chain restaurant, a lot of places will have an allergen chart online that would help you to have a better idea of what it could be.
That’s bean curd sheets. I think in English it’s also called like sheet tofu or something idk but anyway it’s just thin tofu that’s then balled up kind of and cooked. It’s good and it’s good for you, feel free to eat it.