There are two type of basic Tofu in Japan. One is Momen Tofu and it is firmer than Kinugoshi and discribed as firm Tofu in US. And mostly used for cocking purpose. Kinugoshi is softer than Momen tofu and discribed as Silky Tofu in US. Mostly consumed raw form. Momen means Cotton in Japanese and cotton was used to make momen. Kinu means silk and goshi means texture in Japanese.
Difference is production method, which result different nutrition.
- Momen
Soybeans are soaked in water and then milled while more water is added. The resulting soybean soup (“Go”) is heated to be separated into soy milk and okara (“lees”). In this way protein and other nutrients are extracted from the soybean, with the filtered fluid being known as soy milk.
A coagulant is added to the soy milk. Once the soy milk has set it is broken down and placed into molds lined with cotton cloth to be pressed. The molded product is cut to a specific size, immersed in water and finally packed.
The texture of Momen Tofu is slightly rough, and cotton cloth or mold imprints typically remain. Since it is pressed to remove excess water, this type of tofu has lower water content.
- Kinugoshi
Kinugoshi Tofu is soft and has a very fine texture. For production, rich soy milk is needed since the thickness of the soy milk is equivalent to the solid content of the tofu.
Our Premium Freeze-dried Tofu was made with Kinugoshi Tofu which is used very rich soy milk to make. It is made for human consumption so if you want to try, please added to soup (any soup would fit) and wait for a minute. You can enjoy smooth texture!