[Photograph: Chichi Wang]

If you shop at Asian markets, you may have seen packages of tan-colored, wrinkled bundles resembling gnarled sticks. While its dried appearance may not look particularly appetizing, tofu skin, also called yuba, dried beancurd, or soybean skin, is my go-to vegetarian option to serve to vegetarians who miss the taste of meat.

Tofu skin is a misnomer; more accurately, it can be thought of as soybean milk skin. The product is actually formed during the heating of soy milk, during which a film or skin forms on top of the liquid and is lifted away.The films are collected and dried into sheets. If they are bundled together in the manufacturing process, the sheets are commonly referred to as dried beancurd sticks. When stewed, beancurd sticks are succulent with the juices of the simmering liquid.

Like most Asian soy products, beancurd sticks are well suited to adopting a wide range of flavors. Stewing the sticks in a light vegetable or meat broth will retain the soy-intensive taste of the product as well as a softer texture, whereas simmering in a stock with soy sauce produces a meatier flavor and a firmer chew. The classic Chinese red-braise (hong-shao) of soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, star anise, and cinnamon is a particularly good option for the dried beancurd sticks, yielding results that leave my vegetarian friends befuddled and thankful.

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Happily, a red-braise preparation for bean curd sticks is also the easiest. After an initial rehydration in water, the sticks are tossed into a pot along with the soy sauce, sugar, wine, and aromatics. Requiring just thirty to forty minutes of non-monitored simmering, the sticks emerge from the pot wholly softened, juicy, and flavorful. Serve hot, tepid, or even cold for a palate-fooling change from meat.

About the author: Chichi Wang took her degree in philosophy, but decided that writing about food would be much more fun than writing about Plato. She firmly believes in all things offal, the importance of reading great books, and the necessity of three-hour meals. If she were ever to get a tattoo, it would say "Fat is flavor." Visit her blog, The Offal Cook.