Maureen B. K.
Google
Took a tour of about 20 students there one summer. Owner Paul personally escorted us around, even showed us short videos in his office and his wonderful wife let us sample some flavorful tofu desserts. Amazingly delicious.
From the moment you step in to the factory, that warm soy flavor fills the air. You can see and smell the aburage instantly, and there's nothing like buying tofu right off the line. It's cold because after all, it's iced the minute it's made but the soymilk can often be bought steaming hot and you can also get a big bag of okara (by product) which is little more than $1.00.
Broken or slightly off shaped pieces go for 20c less although I have purchased the off grade and saw absolutely nothing wrong with it but a slight ripple. The taste of fresh tofu us incomparable. It's almost sweet and milky tasting. My co~worker claims that up to a week after you purchase it, it has the aroma and flavor of just bought, although no block I've ever bough has lasted more than 2 days in my fridge. The firm tofu is still mouth tender and the soft tofu is delectable!
I've made shiitake okara salad, sushi, sukiyaki, layered ground pork and tofu, fried tofu patties, stir fry, veggie burgers, teriyaki tofu, stewed hot pot, Korean chige, and even drained, cubed and lightly salted the tofu for a cool snack! I love Aloha tofu. There is a definite difference and I can blind taste test and still find the Aloha because of it's creamy flavor. Their soft tofu makes excellent tofu pies you would swear is cream and gelatin. Some other tofus are very bland and have no soybean flavor whatsoever but not this brand!
The only criticism I have is their natto which I have bought in 10 box lots. It's not as fermented as I would like and does not have the gooey stuff that natto is valued for. It tastes good enough but I've always ended up throwing it into a hot pot because the slime factor was just not there for eating on hot rice. I have also experimented with stuffed, seasoned tofu in aburage and then steamed. Delicious!
I used to buy konyaku there as well but I haven't seen it available for a while. They sell t shirts, bags and portioned dessert tofu and the most wonderful cookbook imaginable. Their recipes are really tried and true. I do tweak them a bit to my taste as the recipes are very forgiving.
You can arrange for small tours by calling Paul, who is most gracious, kind and very giving of his time. His wife is a sweet dear woman! I continue to go to the factory now and again to purchase tofu for our staff and students who love to eat it in miso soup and cabbage and stir fried with ground beef. The teacher's favorite? Tofu, salmon, watercress salad. A real treat!
Mahalo to Paul, the Mrs. and the kind staff at Aloha Tofu. Every visitor is met with a smile, quick service, great prices, quality products and best of all, there is no minimum purchase. One block? No problem. Someday I'm going to try their bowl tofu which they sell to customers who bring their own vessels. That sounds like a very interesting product!