When I was writing a post for the Nihon Sun, and needed a typical regional food, yuba from Nikko was the first thing that came to mind. Yuba is made from soy milk. The milk is boiled until a skin forms, which is then removed in a thin layer. While Kyoto is best known for this vegetarian dish, yuba is also Nikko’s meibutsu. I was not sure what distinguished the yuba from these two regions.
Whenever I arrive in Nikko around lunch time, I like stopping at my favorite soba joint, Uoyou, across the tourist information center on the way to Toshogu. The other day was freezing cold and clear in Tochigi, so I wanted something warm and ordered yuba soba: buckwheat noodles in a hot bonito and soy sauce based soup with vegetable stuffed yuba rolls. As I was slurping the noodles, I noticed the little card on the table with a bit of Nikko yuba history.
According to legend, Shodo Shonin, believed to have established Nikko as a center of Buddhist religious activity during the 8th century, brought this soy based food to Nikko for Buddhist ascetics living on a strict vegetarian diet 1,200 years ago.
After a tasty lunch, I walked across the street to the Nikko Information Center and asked if the story was true. While they could not verify the specific facts, they could explain yuba in Kyoto vs. yuba in Nikko.
They are both made by boiling soy milk to form a film on the surface, but that film is removed in different ways, resulting in a different consistency and texture. In Kyoto, the skin is removed by pulling it from the side in a single sheet. On the other hand, in Nikko, yuba is pulled up in the middle hanging over a stick or bar, making two layers. The kanji for the two varieties also vary: in Kyoto is yuba is written as 湯葉 or “hot water” and “leaf”, but in Nikko, it is written 湯波 or “hot water” and “waves”.
My informant at the tourist desk continued on and said that by pulling out the film in the middle, the Nikko-style skin of boiled soy looks like creamy waves, but the thinner (Maybe stretched?) Kyoto-style membrane looks like a leaf. She also recommended to visit either Fujiya Yuba or Ebiya Yuba, specializing in yuba in the area, to verify the story.
See how yuba is made in Nikko at the tourist information website.
Go here for historical background on yuba.
Restaurant Information: Uoyou
593 Gokomachi, NIkko
Hours: 11:30 am～3:00 pm 5:00 pm ~ 7:00 pm
TEL: 0288 (54) 0333
They mill their soba right in the store!
Read more about other Japanese regional foods in the Nihon Sun.
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Hello Et-chan,
Thanks for your comment on our yuba donburi article on KyotoFoodie.
I looked at the piks on the Nikko’s English website. I don’t quite see the difference, those piks just seem to be a more automated process. What I saw handpulled and dried as a flat sheet. Piks coming soon.
I can’t see how the taste or cooking prep would change based on how they pull it. But of course, I know that Kyoto has the original and it is better than all those hillbilly imitators out in Tokyo and etc. (ha ha ha. I have gone native and drunk the kool-aid.)
Seriously though, in Kyoto I see dried, semi-dried and nama yuba in all sorts of forms. I was told about the difference in the Chinese character between Kyoto and Nikko, that is the only difference that I recall hearing about.
Also, historically, Enkaku-ji on Mount Hiei, above Kyoto is the originator of yuba in Japan.
Hi Peko,
Somehow, I must have sent you email, not a comment. Now, I have to go visit a yuba producer in Nikko to defend my fellow Kanto people, tall tale, and food! Maybe, Nikko wanted to be different from stuffy ancient capital, ha!?