Old Capitol Food Co. in Iowa City built its business on a firm foundation: organic tofu.
Writer: Mary Jane Miller
Iowa grows about 600 million bushels of soybeans a year. But until recently, nearly all of our soy-based foods were made out of state. For Iowans who love tofu and miso, the local options didn’t amount to a hill of beans.
But now, at least two Iowa businesses are combining Iowa abundance with Japanese tradition, producing handcrafted products that are fresh, flavorful and proudly homegrown.
Jake Gratzon (left) and Matthew Mesaros (right)
OLD CAPITOL TOFU
Jake Gratzon and Matthew Mesaros in Iowa City launched Old Capitol Food Co. in 2014. They decided to make organic tofu because they wanted it for their own kitchens.
They make it almost like artisanal cheese, with organic Iowa soybeans, filtered water and nigari, a natural coagulant of magnesium chloride, traditionally derived from seawater. (Big-batch tofu producers often use calcium sulfate, which can impart a chalky texture and sour or bitter flavor.) The nigari sets the curds, which are then crumbled and pressed into “firmer” and “firmest” varieties available at grocery stores throughout the Midwest, including Whole Foods and many Hy-Vee stores.
Old Capitol tofu is great in stir-fries. It also can be crumbled into egg salad or formed into burgers, which hold up well on the grill. Look for marinated tofu steaks to hit stores soon.
IOWA MISO
Tomie Sasaki-Hesselink grew up in Miyako, on Japan’s northeast coast. When she moved to Iowa, its lush fields of soybeans inspired her to make miso, first as a family project and then as business. The savory paste is a salty staple of Asian cooking, like soy sauce, with the consistency of peanut butter.
The process she uses to make the paste is similar to winemaking. She soaks organic Iowa soybeans in water and blends them with koji rice, which has been inoculated with a white mold (Aspergillus oryzae) to kickstart the fermentation process. The starch breaks into sugars, while the proteins break into amino acids, adding depth, sweetness and umami. She then adds more water and sea salt and lets the mixture age like a wine.
Sasaki-Hesselink sells miso in three variations: amber (aged one year, with a light flavor), ruby (two years, with a richer flavor) and gold (three years, with a more robust flavor). You can get all three varieties directly from her at the Cedar Falls farmers market or mail-order them year-round from iowamiso.com.
Miso is good whisked into salad dressings to add creaminess and flavor, or melted onto grilled chicken or fish as a substitute for butter.
MIX IT UP
If you’d like to combine these two products at home, it’s easy to make a comforting cup of miso soup by stirring a dollop of miso into a cup of boiling water. Add a few cubes of tofu and some strips of nori (roasted seaweed) for a light breakfast or snack.
Both miso and tofu are vegan, but there’s no law that says they can’t complement meat and dairy products. Maybe it’s time to sauté a few slices of tofu in bacon fat. After all, as Gratzon put it, Old Capitol Foods is “not anti-meat, just pro-tofu.”
MISO-GLAZED TOFU BOWL
Ingredients
2 tablespoons amber miso
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoons chili garlic paste (like sambal oelek)
1/2 pound firm tofu, cubed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Serve with rice and/or vegetables, such as pea shoots, green onions and pickled carrots
Instructions
Whisk together the first five ingredients in a bowl, as a marinade, and add the tofu.
While the tofu soaks up the marinade, heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high and add the vegetable oil. Lift the tofu out of the marinade and place it in the skillet, browning it on all sides until it doesn’t stick to the pan. If you’re cooking vegetables, toss those into the pan, too.
Whisk a little water into the marinade and drizzle the mixture over the cooked tofu and vegetables. Serve with hot rice.
Mary Jane Miller of Indianola has worked as a food writer, chef, cooking teacher and food scientist for various clients, including Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and the Food Network.
