Restaurant: Kyusu Restaurant
City: San Jose, CA

My coworkers and I had Burmese for lunch! It was a first for many of us; a few of us had Burmese at Burma Superstar, which is more of a fusion style. Kyusu has more traditional dishes.

We ordered Kyusu’s Tofu Gyaw, or Fried Shan Tofu, as our appetizer.

Deep fried homemade yellow tofu served with house blend red sauce. A brownish sauce was served alongside the red sauce, which is similar to hoisin sauce but thinner. The tofu was also served with a small shredded cabbage salad.

Burmese tofu is primarily made of chickpea flour whereas Chinese, Japanese, and Korean tofu is made of soy. The texture is firm, yet the inside was soft.

Read on for more info about Burmese tofu and this particular fried Shan tofu, from Wikipedia:

Burmese tofu (Burmese: တိုဖူး; IPA: [tòpʰú] or [tòhú]) is a food of Shan origin and is different from Chinese tofu in that it is not made from soy milk and not set with a coagulant. Shan tofu is produced in a similar fashion to polenta, with its primary ingredient being water and flour ground from yellow split peas and the Burmese version from chickpea flour, also known as besan flour. The flour is mixed with water, turmeric, and a little salt and heated, stirring constantly, until it reaches a creamy consistency. It is then transferred into a tray and allowed to set. It is matte yellow in colour, jelly-like but firm in consistency, and does not crumble when cut or sliced. It may be eaten fresh as a salad or deep fried. It may also be sliced and dried to make crackers for deep frying.

To hpu gyaw is yellow tofu cut into rectangular shapes, scored in the middle, and deep fried. Tofu fritters may be eaten with a spicy sour dip, or cut and made into a salad. They are crispy outside and soft inside.