Yuba Wraps (Beancurd Sheet Rolls) – a Traditional Chinese Vegetarian Dish | Hong Kong Food Blog with Recipes, Cooking Tips mostly of Chinese and Asian styles (2024)

FAQs

What is Yuba wrap? ›

Tofu Skin Roll (Yuba) also known as '腐皮卷' (Fǔ pí juǎn) in Mandarin or 'Fu Pei Guen' in Cantonese, is packed with crunchy vegetables and braised in a savory broth which makes it the perfect cold or hot dish for any meal.

Bean curd sheets are used in soups, stews, wraps and dim sum dishes. One dim sum dish you may have tried is steamed tofu skin rolls, which are usually filled with a mixture of mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and meat. The rehydrated sheets are layered and the filling is wrapped inside.

What is Beancurd (Tofu skin) roll? As the name implies, it's a roll made by wrapping the filling with a beancurd sheet or yuba or tofu skin. Traditionally, it is filled with meat most likely pork and seafood along with other vegetables such as carrot, water chestnuts, and mushrooms.

Often called tofu sheets, bean curd skins, or tofu skins, bean curd sheets are a byproduct of the tofu-making process. They're used in Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and other Asian cuisines. When you heat soy milk, a thin film forms on top. That film is removed and hung up or laid out on mats to dry.

Tofu and yuba are soybean products, but they are made differently. Tofu is a by-product of coagulating soybean protein using a coagulant, such as nigari (にがり). Yuba is made by heat-coagulating without using a coagulant. It's the wrinkly layer that forms on the surface of soy milk.

Bean curd is a healthy meat alternative, high in protein and low in calories and carbohydrates.

The Nutritional Benefits of Eating Yuba

Here are just a few of the nutritional benefits that can come with eating yuba: Yuba Is Protein Rich: Soy foods, like yuba, include all nine essential amino acids and offer high-quality protein comparable to animal sources.

Dried yuba needs to be rehydrated before using. Sticks should be soaked in water for a few hours, but sheets just need to be hydrated with a damp towel or dipped quickly in water first. Once rehydrated, yuba can be used as wrappers, stir-fried, braised, or even deep-fried.

First rehydrate the dried bean curd skin sticks. In a large shallow dish, pour over boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes until soft. Cover with a small saucer if needed to keep the bean curd sticks submerged. Drain and discard the soaking liquid, gently squeezing out any excess water.

Bean Curd Sheets – Fresh/dried (腐皮, Fǔ pí)

What is dried beancurd stick in Chinese? ›

Dried bean curd sticks, also called bean threads (fǔzhú in Mandarin and foo jook in Cantonese – 腐竹) are made by cooking soy milk until a film forms on top.

What Does Yuba Taste Like? Like tofu, yuba doesn't have a strong taste, and it tends to pick up flavors based on what you're cooking with it. You will get nutty, slightly sweet nuances if sampling raw, but really it's the texture that stands out.

When making yuba at home, the best cooking method is also the simplest: Heat soy milk in a large nonstick skillet—the larger, the better—over direct heat until a skin forms, then carefully remove the yuba sheet with a wooden dowel and hang it to dry.

You can make yuba either by soaking soy beans or buying soy milk. I don't buy soy milk and instead purchase soy beans online from a farmer in Midwest. Plan on spending some time making yuba. You can skip 1-4 in directions if you are using store bought soy milk for making yuba (don't use sweetened soy milk).

The word yuba means dried tofu skin, a staple of Chinese and Japanese cuisines. This somewhat buoyant, and rubbery ingredient naturally forms on top of soy milk, and simply put, it's made of coagulated soy proteins.

Tofu skin, yuba, beancurd skin, beancurd sheet, or beancurd robes is a food product made from soybeans.

Yuba is mild, chewy in texture, nutty in taste, and delicate but resilient at the same time. It readily soaks up flavorings and takes well to dressings and sauces. Fresh yuba can be eaten as is with no further cooking, so it's great to use it like noodles in salads or as fresh spring roll wrappers.