yuba

[YOO-bah] The "skin" that forms when soymilk is heated. The delicate skin is carefully removed and usually dried in sheets or folded and dried in sticks. Yuba sheets are rehydrated by covering with a wet towel; yuba sticks are soaked in water. Yuba, with its creamy, nutlike flavor, is often used in vegetarian dishes as a meat substitute. It can be found in most Asian markets. Sheets of yuba can be used to wrap other foods that can then be braised, deep-fried or steamed. The sticks are sometimes deep-fried to a crispy brown, to be eaten alone or broken into pieces for use in other dishes. Yuba sticks are sometimes called bamboo because of their look-alike quality.