New York Times Spotlights Artisan Tofu Company

The New York Times named Hodo Soy makers of “the trendiest tofu” in a recent profile of the Oakland, CA company. The purveyors of fresh tofu, yuba noodles, and spiced, braised tofu nuggets have long been a local favorite in the Bay Area, but expansion along the East and West Coasts have helped the company reach new heights of success. Hodo products are even used in the menu at Superiority Burger, the New York City restaurant with GQ’s Burger of the Year—the first time a meatless burger has earned the distinction. The piece also featured owner Minh Tsai’s efforts to showcase the ingredients’ diversity by hosting Tofu Disruption, a workshop at the San Francisco Cooking School that gathered chefs and culinary thinkers to demonstrate new techniques and to change the way people think about tofu. “Sometimes,” Tsai said, “I see what I’m doing as nothing unusual. Tofu is a traditional food made for thousands of years … I think I’m doing this because of my upbringing, my culture—the culture of shopping for ingredients the same day as you eat them.”