In our first soybean series post, we soaked dried soybeans and made soy milk, which is a necessary step in making other soy products, like tofu. In this post, we take the next step, which is take that fresh soy milk and make tofu skin, also called yuba in Japanese or fu pi in Chinese. 

This delicate skin is made by simply heating soy milk over low heat, and collecting the skin that forms on the top of the liquid. It is a time consuming, patience-demanding enterprise, so before proceeding, note that you've have been warned!

But the result is something that is delicious, and distinctly not tofu like. It's also quite versatile -- just by way of example, two things you can do with tofu skin include yuba sashimi, which is fresh yuba, served sashimi style (with wasabi and soy sauce) and using layers of tofu skin to create rolls, as served in dim sum. I've also had a Western-inspired dish of tofu skin, piled into a mini tower with layers of pureed olives and green beans. Simply delicious. 

If you're not sure you want to commit to this endeavor right now, you can also buy it in dried form -- look for "bean curd sheets or skin" -- and do a little experimentation with that. Or, look out for bean curd skin rolls when you're next at dim sum, or  "yuba" when you're at a Japanese restaurant. 

But the taste of fresh beancurd skin is quite different from the dried, reconstituted kind, and not to be missed.