Tofu Donuts in Japan Mt Daisen Tottori
Tofu Donuts in Japan Mt Daisen Tottori
Overview
In this rainy live stream from Hokitown in Tottori Prefecture, John Daub visits Inoue Shokuhin, a shop famous for its tofu and tofu donuts near Mount Daisen. Despite the weather, John showcases the entire process of making tofu donuts, from mixing fresh local tofu and soy milk into the batter to frying them in rapeseed oil.
The video highlights the unique texture of tofu donuts, which retain moisture and offer a mochi mochi (chewy/springy) bite compared to standard donuts. John samples fresh soy milk straight from the source, explores the shop's various tofu products, and finally tastes the freshly fried donuts, including a unique hot dog-filled variety.
This episode captures the charm of local food production in rural Japan, emphasizing freshness and regional specialties. It also provides a glimpse into John's live streaming setup during travel, dealing with rain and confined spaces while engaging with viewers.
Highlights
- 00:01 John introduces the location: rainy Hokitown, Mount Daisen, here for tofu donuts.
- 01:12 Tasting fresh, unsweetened soy milk made on the farm.
- 03:06 Watching the donuts fry in oil until golden brown.
- 05:58 Tour of the shop's tofu products and pricing.
- 08:43 Discussion on real tofu donuts vs. those with just soy milk added.
- 10:26 Identifying the frying oil as natane (rapeseed/canola) oil.
- 14:05 John takes the first bite and describes the moist, springy texture.
- 15:09 Explanation of why tofu donuts are filling and slightly healthier.
Timeline / Chapters
- 00:00 — Introduction in Hokitown, Tottori.
- 01:12 — Tasting fresh soy milk.
- 02:17 — Batter preparation and frying process begins.
- 04:35 — Pricing and variety of donuts.
- 05:58 — Shop tour: tofu blocks and soy milk bottles.
- 07:11 — Meet Otsuka-san; shop name reveal (Inoue Shokuhin).
- 08:43 — Live stream Q&A: oil type and authenticity.
- 12:46 — Ready to eat the fresh donuts.
- 14:05 — Taste test and texture review.
- 16:08 — Closing and sign-off.
Japan Travel Tips
- Location: Hokitown (Hoki) in Daisen, Tottori Prefecture is a great spot for tofu specialties.
- Shop: Look for Inoue Shokuhin for authentic tofu donuts.
- Pricing: Tofu donuts on sticks are around 250 yen; smaller ones are 100 yen. Fresh tofu blocks are around 350 yen.
- Timing: Fresh donuts are best eaten immediately after frying (yakitate).
- Weather: Tottori can be rainy; prepare for wet conditions if visiting outdoors.
- Authenticity: Real tofu donuts use fresh tofu in the batter, not just soy milk flavoring.
Japanese Language & Culture Notes
- Shizen na aji (自然な味): Natural flavor. Used to describe the unsweetened fresh soy milk.
- Oishii (美味しい): Delicious. Common expression of enjoyment.
- Natane (菜種): Rapeseed. Refers to the oil used for frying.
- Na no hana (菜の花): Rapeseed flower. The plant source of the oil.
- Itadakimasu (いただきます): Phrase said before eating to express gratitude.
- Mochi mochi (もちもち): Onomatopoeia for a chewy, springy, sticky texture.
- Yakitate (焼きたて): Freshly baked or fried. Indicates food made moments ago.
- Tofu Culture: Tottori and Mount Daisen are known for high-quality water and soybeans, making them a prime region for tofu production.
Food & Drink Guide
- Tofu Donuts (Tofu Donatsu): Made with fresh local tofu and soy milk in the batter. Fried in rapeseed oil. Texture is moist and springy. Price: 100–250 yen. 04:35
- Fresh Soy Milk: Unsweetened, thick consistency (like eggnog), no preservatives. Made on the farm. Price: ~250 yen/bottle. 01:12
- Fresh Tofu Blocks: Various textures (soft to hard). Kept on ice. Price: ~350 yen. 05:58
- Hot Dog Donut: A donut with a hot dog inside, similar to a corn dog. 14:05
People
- John Daub: Host. Enthusiastic about local food, live streaming the experience despite rain.
- Otsuka-san: Shop staff/owner. Assists John, confirms the shop's fame for tofu in Daisen.
- Vaughn: Viewer mentioned via super chat comments during the live stream.
Key Takeaways
- Tofu donuts are distinct from regular donuts due to the moisture retained by the tofu, creating a springy texture.
- Fresh soy milk is thick and unsweetened, differing significantly from packaged versions.
- Rapeseed oil (natane) is commonly used for frying and does not have a strong smell when fresh.
- Tottori Prefecture, specifically the Daisen area, is a renowned region for tofu production.
Notable Quotes
- 01:12 "It's not sweet. There's no preservatives. It's just squeezed out from the soybeans. It just tastes fresh."
- 03:06 "These are healthy donuts. Heresy donuts."
- 04:35 "A lot better than Krispy Kreme."
- 08:43 "A lot of the tofu donuts are not real tofu donuts. They kind of just add the soy milk and they say it's tofu."
- 14:05 "The tofu retains the moisture which retains a springy texture to it, which gives it a mochi mochi nests to it."
Related Topics
- Tottori Prefecture Travel
- Japanese Street Food
- Tofu Production in Japan
- Live Streaming Travel Vlogs
- Mount Daisen Tourism
Search Tags
#only-in-japan-go #tottori #daisen #tofu-donuts #soy-milk #inoue-shokuhin #hokitown #japanese-food #live-stream #mount-daisen #rapeseed-oil #yakitate
Full Transcript
00:01 John Daub: Good morning everybody from rainy Hokitown. This is in Mount Daisen in Tottori Prefecture, and I've come here for tofu donuts. Yes, they make real tofu donuts here, and I'm gonna show you how the process goes. So he's mixed in some tofu with flour, sugar, flour, butter. Look at that. And he's used the tofu that's fresh from here, the fresh tofu from this area. And soy milk. Yes, from soy milk also. This is all fresh made from this area.
01:12 John Daub: Gonna try some tofu. We're gonna try some soy milk. I've been looking forward to trying these donuts. When I walked in here, I could see them and smell them. Okay, look at this. So this is real Japanese soy milk. It's all made here on the farm. Let's give this a try. Fresh. It's not sweet. There's no preservatives. It's just squeezed out from the soybeans. It just tastes fresh. Shizen na aji desu ne (natural flavor, right?). And if you can see in the cup, it's really thick. It sticks to the cup. It's like eggnog thick. Oishii (delicious). Oishii desho (it's delicious, right?). Haha. Hai, arigatou gozaimasu (yes, thank you very much).
02:17 John Daub: You can see the donuts all around. This is a big deal. That's not a milk mustache. That's a soy milk mustache. So this is what the batter looks like and then after we get to this state we start to make the donuts. Kore kara donatsu tsukuru desho (from here we'll make the donuts, right?). We make the donuts over here. Yeah, this is gonna be awesome. Fresh tofu donuts. Really excited because you know donuts are good. They're really good. But when you eat them fresh. Ah yeah. Ah ima yatteru (ah, doing it now). Show me, show me.
03:06 John Daub: Alright, we're taking it from here. Ah, that's a thing of beauty. And they end up turning golden brown. These are healthy donuts. Heresy donuts. Imi, imi (meaning, meaning). Hahaha. That's so beautiful. I like just watching them swimming in the oil. How long do you need to boil them? About 10 minutes. Alright. So we put these in oil for about 10 minutes and then it's donut time. So I want to get one right out of the oil. These look like donuts. More salt? About 5 minutes. You're gonna eat them right away? Yeah. A little more. Good morning. You're okay, you're okay. Haha.
04:35 John Daub: You can see these big ones on the stick are about $2.50 or 250 yen. And these are 100 yen each. Which I think is pretty reasonable. A lot better than Krispy Kreme. Hahaha. What kind of donut do you want? The Chinese one. I want the Chinese one. I want the one with the top. There's a typhoon that's kind of affecting this area. It's been raining for the last two days. It's been raining most of the time I've been here in Tottori Prefecture. But next week looks like it's gonna be pretty good. Oh gosh, this is so good. I have to tell you, it smells awesome in here. It smells so good. Like the oil and tofu dough boiling in oil over there.
05:58 John Daub: So it's just gonna be a couple of minutes before we have some donuts. Hang with us for a little bit longer and we're gonna get some fresh ones. That's what I want, a fresh donut. Wow. So they have different kinds of tofu. Let me bring you to the front. Yeah, I'll bring you to the front. Let's take a look at some of the products that they have here. The donuts are being made. So this is really soft tofu. It's really heavy. This one's about $3.50 or 350 yen. And they keep it on ice to preserve it. Here's the soy milk. A bottle of this is about $2.50. I drank that before. It's pretty good. And they have other kinds of tofu. The texture and the consistency also changes the price. This one is softer and then this one is a little bit harder over here. In general, I like the tofu really...
07:11 John Daub: Oh, there's a line. I'm gonna have to jump the line. Ah, okay. Oh, okay. That's Otsuka-san again. Yeah. Good morning. Good morning. Tofu is a specialty. Yes. Famous. Famous tofu in Japan and Daisen. Yeah. Mount Daisen's famous tofu. This is called Inoue Shokuhin (Inoue Food Products). Awesome. And they make some of the best tofu in Daisen. And they also make some of the best tofu donuts. We're gonna eat this. This looks so good. I just wanna put the phone in there and eat the phone. I'm streaming off of an iPhone 7 right now. I don't have the stabilizer on because it's just too rainy and too confined. It's really tight in here. So I hope you don't mind the shaky video footage, but this just looks so good. Are you getting hungry? I'm really hungry. I'm really, really hungry.
08:43 John Daub: I've had tofu donuts before. I'm really excited to try these because a lot of the tofu donuts are not real tofu donuts. They kind of just add the soy milk and they say it's tofu. I'm gonna skip the tofu. The reason why the tofu donuts are so good, I'm gonna tell you when I eat it. Just wait a second. We're gonna get there. These are getting close. Huh? That's awesome. Wow. This is an interesting shape. Did you see that? So we're live right now in Hoki town in Daisen. There's a festival going on here and I've come here for the tofu donuts. Eh? What kind of oil is this? What kind of oil are you using? Natane oil (rapeseed oil). Natane. What's natane? Na no hana (rapeseed flower). Sunflower? No. Kanola (canola)? Okay. I'm gonna figure this out. But that's the oil. Hahaha.
10:26 John Daub: If I don't figure it out in time, I have an app that I'm gonna search it on. But I'll put everything in the description. In fact, I'll put the name of this shop, if you're in the area, and the link to their website in the description. Rapeseed sounds a lot better than mustard oil. Rapeseed. It doesn't stink at all. I'm getting some comments that it might stink. It smells really good. Okay, so rapeseed oil. Got it. Same as canola. Boom. We figured out the mystery. Ah, no, no, no. It's done. Arigatou (thank you) very much. I will eat some for you. I appreciate the super chats very much. Oh, that looks so good. Thank you, Vaughn. How many can I fit in my mouth? I might have to try that out. I think I will. Thanks for that, Vaughn.
12:46 John Daub: I've been ready for like 12 minutes since I started this live stream. So it's time to eat a donut. Let's eat. Otsuka-san, you should eat one too. I think he should eat one too, right? Yeah. Okay, let's eat. John, give me some. Do you have yakitate (freshly baked)? I want one right out of the canola rapeseed oil. There you go. It's hot. It's kind of hot, they're telling me. They're warning me. I'll take any. I don't want to burn my mouth, but. Do you want some chopsticks? Here you go. Wow, it's warm. It's hot. It's warm.
14:05 John Daub: So that's what it looks like. It's like a big ball. Okay. It's kind of heavy. It's got some volume to it. Now, let's eat. Itadakimasu (let's eat). It's good. This one has a hot dog in it. That's why he wanted me to eat that one. Okay. It's like a corn dog. All right. That's what it looks like on the inside. You can see it's a lot more moist than a normal donut and the tofu retains the moisture which retains a springy texture to it, which gives it a mochi mochi (chewy) nests to it. It's a word that I use a lot. It's kind of a really springy taste to it. That's why I like tofu donuts. Not because it's just the tofu in it. But it's because of that springiness to it. And the tofu fills you up so you don't eat as many of the donuts.
15:09 John Daub: Oh, man. It's so good. I know it's not the best food for you. It's not the healthiest, but it's really good. And it's a little bit healthier than normal donuts, I think, because the tofu will fill you up so you don't eat as many of them. I probably can eat two of these and I'm done. And I already ate one before I started this live stream, for full disclosure. Because they made me. When I got here, they made me. All right. I'm going to finish this one. Oh, more came out. They got quite a good business going. Hot. Yeah.
16:08 John Daub: Okay, let's go. So to close this up. So that's it from Hokitown. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed the tofu special. It was really good, wasn't it? When you're in Daisen, have some of the tofu donuts. Or just eat everything because it's so good. See you, everybody. I'll save the last 20 seconds with the tofu donuts. Bye-bye. Arigatou (thank you). Woohoo.