Have a favorite soy or tofu dessert dish you’d like to share with the world? Then enter it into our annual Soy and Tofu Dessert Competition!
Your dessert entry will be judged by a panel of chefs and community figures, as well as the audience at the ninth annual Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival on June 29, 2019 at The Event Center at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco’s Japantown.
At least one of the top three ingredients must be a soy product (i.e. tofu, soy milk, kinako, etc.).
Applications must be received by the Nichi Bei Foundation by May 8, 2019. Semi-Finalists will be selected from the entries. Semi-Finalists will be informed of their selection by May 13, 2019.
Finalists at the Festival will be judged by a panel upon: taste, creativity, presentation and incorporation of soy, and the Audience Judges will select a People’s Choice winner.
General American knowledge about tofu begins and ends with “barely understood meat substitute.” Thankfully, my mom took a lot of notes from my Chinese godmother, so I’ve been eating tofu most of my life in just about every way you can slice it — pun intended. But after attending the Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival this past weekend, I had no idea how versatile this little bean curd could be.
The Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival recently made SF Tourism Tips’ list of “Nine Top Events for Foodies,” in a list of their top food festivals in San Francisco.
The Soy & Tofu Festival made No. 4 on the list, after Oysterfest, Outside Lands and Taste of Potrero. It listed above Eat Drink SF, SF Street Food Festival, A Taste of Greece, Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival and Pacific Heights Wine & Food Festival.
The site said, “The Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival is a Japantown favorite. This annual event gives you the chance to sample the latest soy and tofu products, and learn more about these healthy ingredients. There is also a tofu eating contest, a dessert competition, and live entertainment by well-known Asian American performers.”
WHERE
Event Center at Saint Mary’s Cathedral
1111 Gough St. (at Geary Boulevard)
San Francisco’s Japantown
The mission of the Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival is to educate the public about the health benefits and various uses of soy and tofu. In adhering to these goals, the Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival — an annual fundraiser for the Nichi Bei Foundation — strives to be a vehicle for community-building and leadership development while adhering to the Foundation’s mission of keeping the community connected, informed and empowered.
This exciting culinary and cultural event showcases soy and tofu vendors, provides an educational forum on the various uses and benefits of soy and tofu, offers live music and cultural entertainment, interactive games and tofu eating contests, and culminates with the Soy and Tofu Dessert Competition.
Proceeds from the Festival help to publish the first nonprofit ethnic community newspaper of its kind in the country, the Nichi Bei Weekly.
Schedule of Events
Main Stage in Patrons Hall
11:30 a.m. Cooking Demonstration:
Shio Koji Tofu with Dengaku Miso with Mariko Grady of Aedan Fermented Foods
12:05 p.m. Tofu Eating Contest 12:15 p.m. Curt Yagi & The People Standing Behind Me 1 p.m. Cooking Demonstration:
Sisig made with Grilled Mushrooms and Tofu with Reina Montenegro of Nick’s Kitchen and Nick’s on Grand
1:30 p.m. Tofu Eating Contest 1:45 p.m. Cooking Demonstration:
Tofu and Yuba Making 101 with Henry Hsu of Hodo Foods 2:15 p.m. D’Groove
3 p.m. Tofu Eating Contest 3:15 p.m. Cooking Demonstration:
Soymilk Mochi Dusted with Kinako with Kaori Becker of Kaori’s Kitchen 4 p.m. Tofu Dessert Competition
Community Stage in St. Francis Hall
12 p.m. MeAN (Members even After NiCE — a capella) 1 p.m. Wesley Ukulele Band 2 p.m. Ito Yosakoi 3 p.m. Reigne
Cooking Stage in Hall C
12:15 p.m. Miso-Making Workshop with Mariko Grady of Aedan Fermented Foods ($25) 2:15 p.m. Soymilk Mochi Dusted with Kinako, as well as Odango made with Mochiko and Tofu, glazed with Mitarashi Sauce Workshop with Kaori Becker of Kaori’s Kitchen ($45)
Thank you to all those who either attended the 2017 Soy & Tofu Festival or helped run it! We could not have held the festival without you, and we hope you had a fun time celebrating the joy of tofu. Here is a retrospective video created by the Nichi Bei Foundation that recounts the fun throughout the day. Thanks for being a part of the Soy & Tofu Festival, and we hope to see you next year!
