In a factory in Oakland, California, a team of over 100 Hodo employees work on making tofu products that Americans — historically, a tofu-adverse bunch — will enjoy eating.
Many Americans know tofu as a chalky white brick that crumbles when you bite into it. Minh Tsai, founder and CEO of Hodo, set out to make tofu that's creamy and flavorful on its own.
By selling products wholesale to chains like Chipotle and Sweetgreen and partnering with fine-dining chefs across the country, Hodo lets consumers taste the possibilities.
The tour starts in the loading dock, where pallets are piled high with bags of organic soybeans. Minh said Hodo goes through 250 to 300 bushels of soybeans per day.
After soaking in water overnight, the beans are pulverized into a soupy mixture. The pulp of the soybean is separated from the bean's flesh to create a soy milk that's twice as thick as traditional soy milk, Tsai said. This step gives Hodo tofu products their soft, silky texture.
The puree then simmers. Seeing how the sausage, or in this case tofu, gets made was less appetizing than I thought it would be. The beans looked like a creamy white paste.
The tofu-to-be moves down a conveyor belt. At the end, a robotic arm presses the tofu into its rectangular shape, moves the tray to the side, and sends it back toward the workers.
Hodo has about a dozen products that nearly all originate from those plain white tofu bricks, though some would be unrecognizable as tofu in their final, tasty-looking form.
The tofu veggie burgers fold in fresh cut carrots, onions, and cabbage and are seasoned with umami-rich, ground shiitake mushrooms. Tsai said they will tempt any carnivore.
When soy milk (a byproduct of soybeans) is boiled, a film or "tofu skin" forms on the liquid surface. It's scooped up and ready-to-eat as "yuba," a delicacy in China and Japan.
Yuba that is marinated, seared on a hot surface, cut into ribbons, and glazed makes for a delectable meal as part of a salad, sandwich, stir-fry, or pasta, according to Minh.
For Chipotle's Sofritas, Hodo sends the original white tofu bricks to the restaurant chain's distribution hubs for processing. The tofu is firm and buttery-smooth to start.
Tsai worked closely with Chipotle's founder Steve Ellis (who was recently unseated as CEO) to develop a recipe that would infuse Hodo's tofu with classic Chipotle flavors.
After being cut into cubes, fried, and shredded, the tofu goes into the kettle with a blend of herbs and spices commonly used in Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American cooking.
Tofu doesn't absorb cooking flavors as well as ground beef or chicken. The reason the tofu gets shredded for Sofritas, Tsai said, is to create more surface area for taking in those seasonings.
