Aloha Tofu Factory (Oahu)

Welcome to Aloha Tofu Factory! This is where we buy our favorite tofu products. Aloha Tofu is sold at Hawaii supermarkets, but you need to visit the factory for special items like yudofu.

This is a dream land for tofu lovers (myself included).

What Is Aloha Tofu Factory

Aloha Tofu Factory is our go-to tofu factory in Honolulu. They've been in business since 1950 (still a family run business) and sell to many supermarkets in Hawaii.

They make everything from soft to firm to deep-fried tofu, fresh soymilk and yudofu (super fresh soft tofu), tofu savory snacks, tofu sweets, and so much more. 

Where Is Aloha Tofu Factory

Aloha Tofu Factory is located on Akepo Lane in the Kalihi neighborhood of Honolulu. It's an industrial working factory so you just drive in, find a place to park (there are a few stalls right in front of the factory), get your tofu products, and then go. 

The ladies that work at the factory are so nice and helpful. Don't be shy about asking them questions (they're knowledgeable about all the tofu products) or for ideas about what to do with a certain product. 

What To Get at Aloha Tofu Factory

Aloha Tofu Factory makes many different items, and they are all tasty! Go with a plan, otherwise the options can be overwhelming. Here's what we usually get:

Fresh Soymilk

Ahhh fresh soymilk! I like to make soymilk at home but it's also very nice when someone else makes it for you 🙂 You purchase by the gallon (they prefer if you bring your own pot). We have one gallon in the photo above.

What to do with fresh soymilk? Drink, drink! You can drink it hot, or drink it cold. Drink it plain or stir in a bit of sugar or maple syrup.

You can also use fresh soymilk to make Almond Tofu!

Yudofu

Yudofu is super fresh soft tofu. It's so fresh that it's still warm when they sell it to you! Bring your own pot and order by the half-scoop. It's $7 per half-scoop. There are two half-scoops in that pot pictured above.

What can you do with yudofu? Spoon it into pork and watercress soup. Make Korean soft tofu stew. Or eat it sweet with fresh ginger syrup spooned on top. 

FYI, yudofu is not available on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Soft and Firm Tofu

In another life, I would start a tofu recipe blog. I love eating tofu and I love cooking with tofu. There's always a need for firm or soft tofu be it soups or stir fry, or even pan-frying slices and then spooning a sesame-shoyu-garlic sauce on top.

For a simple dinner, I like to heat sesame oil in a small pan till it gets real hot. Then drizzle the oil over cubes of chilled soft tofu (the heat of the sesame oil "flash cooks" the tofu). Then I put shoyu and green onions on top.

P.S. Have you ever tried to freeze and then defrost tofu? It changes the texture completely into something that's sponge-y, meat-y. You can pretty much use it as a meat substitute in stir fries. It's amazing!

Fried Tofu

Fried tofu has a bazillion uses so I always keep a block in the fridge. Need a recipe idea? Tofu Poke!

Aburage / Aburaage

Aburaage are puffy and light, deep-fried tofu pouches. I like to braise these pouches in a dashi-sugar-shoyu-sake mixture (full recipe here) and then eat with rice or put in bowls of udon. You can also stuff them with rice to make inari sushi. You can purchase them as 2-pack of big triangles or as a 4-pack of square aburaage.

Fresh Natto

I love natto (as evidenced by our many natto recipes). Most of the natto we buy in Hawaii is frozen and flown in from Japan. But at Aloha Tofu Factory you can get fresh, local natto! They sell them in two packs. I love it just with a bowl of plain rice, but there are many different ways to enjoy natto.

Snacks

Remember the Almond Tofu recipe? My recipe was adapted from the one by Aloha Tofu Factory! It's so good and easy to make. But if you'd rather buy it, they have single-serve containers of fresh almond tofu for $2.50 each. Good car snack on hot days 🙂

They sometimes have other prepared tofu-based snacks for sale such as tofu mousse, oboro tofu, and jimamidofu (Okinawan peanuts tofu, one of my favorite treats!)

Aloha Tofu Factory: Insider Tips

• Plan ahead if you want yudofu. They do not make/sell yudofu on Wednesdays or Saturdays. Go any other day of the week between 8-10am and you should be fine. Any later than 10am and they'll likely be sold out.
• Take a peek in the small clear refrigerator against the wall (right side as you enter). This is where they stock prepared treats like the almond tofu, oboro tofu, and jimamidofu. They also make tofu musubi (these are stocked near the cash register). 
• Aloha Tofu Factory is located just a few minutes drive from the "main" Costco location. Definitely check out Costco when in Hawaii - here's are the 10 things to get.

Aloha Tofu Factory: Info

• Aloha Tofu Factory | 961 Akepo Lane, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817 | 808-845-2669 | aloha-tofu.com
• Price: Tofu (20oz block, soft or firm) is $2.65, Fried Tofu (12oz) is $2.30, Aburage (2 pack) is $1.65, Soymilk is $9.75/gallon, Yudofu is $7/half-scoop.
• Hours: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday (7am-4:30pm), Tuesday, Saturday (7-11am)