ONE of the first items to ‘go off’ when I pulled the plug on my refrigerator on New Year’s day was the tofu. I couldn’t complain. The storage instructions made it clear that, although the expiry date wasn’t until the end of January, refrigeration was necessary. Even so,  I was surprised that it became unusable after only two days at room temperature.

Tofu is a key part of my diet; so I needed to find one that would last, or turn to an alternative source of protein pretty quickly. I found a product from the ‘Nutrition House’ company of Bangkok (http://www.spa-foods.com/about-us.htm). They sell tofu products under the J.V brand.

The pack said “No Preservative, No Borax, and No MSG”. I bought one. It’s a concentrated form of tofu: 90% soy protein, 3% seaweed; 3% coconut sugar; 2% coconut oil, and 2% salt. I could do without the salt, the sugar, the seaweed and the coconut oil, but the protein is just fine!

They want you to refrigerate it once you’ve opened it. Not an option for me now. So what I’m doing is taking it out of the packet and keeping it in a small tub of rice bran oil. The oil prevents any bacteria getting to the product.