Shima-dofu (island tofu)

The traditional method is namashibori, raw squeezing. Makers grind soaked beans into a slurry and press the okara out before they cook the milk, which costs more work and yields less, and the low temperature is said to keep some of the bitterness out. The milk then boils for about an hour before seawater or nigari sets it. The soft curd at that stage is yushi-dofu, and pressing it in a cloth-lined box gives shima-dofu.

Naha has sold tofu since at least 1683, when a Qing envoy recorded many shops selling it. After reversion in 1972, Japanese food law required tofu to be sold soaked in water, and in 1974 Okinawa won an exemption so shops could keep selling it warm and dry. MAFF notes that newer HACCP temperature rules have cut the hours when warm tofu can be sold, so the bags now go early. In a 2014 survey, 43% of Okinawan respondents bought warm bagged shima-dofu at least once a week.

Champuru is the main use. Cooks also serve it as yushi-dofu, in miso soup, under sukugarasu and as tofuyo fermented in awamori. Minaaiya on Miyako makes its own island tofu, and Tofu no Higa on Ishigaki serves the morning's batch at breakfast.