Mochi Mochi Mushi Pan, a steamed bread with a mochi-like texture is my current favorite Japanese convenience store junk food. (Not that I eat much from convenience stores, but I do enjoy observing their product development and marketing campaigns.) I was very happy to find a new variety of mushi pan that I like very much. Like Otokomae Tofu sweet cream bread, this one is a ‘korabo‘ between Otokomae Tofu and industrial bread maker Pasco.
Otokomae Tofu Mushi Pan 男前豆腐店蒸しパン is really good! If you are in Japan and into mushi pan and/or Japanese convenience store junk food, this is worth looking for.
Otokomae Tofu Mushi Pan Steamed Bread - Package
Otokomae Tofu Mushi Pan Steamed Bread
Otokomae Tofu Mushi Pan Steamed Bread - detail
How Did Otokomae Tofu Mushi Pan Taste?
While the Otokomae Tofu cream bread was good it didn’t really wow me, this one has some wow factor to it! Some tofu is a bit crumbly and mochi pan is sticky and gooey. I was amazed that this mochi pan was both soft and moist and a bit crumbly!
It has a slight fruity fragrance that I imagine is supposed to simulate the fresh fruitiness of Otokomae Tofu, yet I suspect that it is neither natural or the fragrance of soybeans. Nice detail though.
The texture is more silky than ‘bready’, that keeps it on the tofu concept. While chewing it becomes creamy, just like tofu.
The taste is also similar to the texture, while it feels more ‘bready’ than tofu, the taste is very much of tofu. If you took a bite of this mushi pan, not knowing what it is, you would likely think ‘tofu’!
Tastes great and seems that it must have been very difficult to get the ‘tofu effect’ in steamed bread. I imagine the Pasco product development laboratory staff gave themselves a collective pat on the back when they pull this one off.
Otokomae Tofu Mushi Pan Steamed Bread - detail
Availability
According to Otokomaedofu’s blog this product will be available until February 28, 2010 in supermarkets and convenience stores in the Kanto, Chubu and Kansai regions (roughly the area between Tokyo and Osaka). Their tofu can be found in the tofu sections of most supermarkets.
From the Company Profile Page on Website - 'DonDondoko' is the Boss
Mothers Don’t Let Your Babies Grow-up to Work at Otokomae Tofu!
Though they make crazy great tofu, this is one odd company. In Japan, this is a company from the very wrong side of the tracks and one that is not really even plausible in old Kyoto. Despite the wacky corporate identity and website, this is a company to be reckoned with. Not just because it makes amazing tofu, but because just three years after the company opened for business the boss (shown above) was giving demonstrations abroad and actually shipping tofu to the US! (See this 2007 Japan Times article for details.)
According to commenter Akiko, the company profile above is fiction.
Links
Otokomae Tofuten Corporate Website (Japanese only)
Otokomae Tofuten on Facebook (in English)
Pasco Shikishima Baking Company (Japanese)
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