Tofu

In the thousand or so years since it was first developed, in China, tofu has established itself as an essential ingredient in many Asian cuisines. Some cultures (like the Japanese) adopted it along with Buddhism’s vegetarian tenets, though today it is regularly combined with meat and fish in soups, stir-fries, and noodle dishes.

Tofu starts as rehydrated dried soybeans, which are ground to a slurry, traditionally in a stone mill. The slurry is separated into the “milk” that will become tofu (and is, of course, soy milk) and a mix of solids used as animal feed in rural areas or, frequently, as a meat extender” (in hamburgers, etc.) for the processed-food industry.