You may remember the article we posted earlier this year when a Mobile-Suit machine from the popular anime series Gundam was turned into a tofu product. People in Japan were surprised and amused by the idea of edamame-flavored green tofu shaped like the head of Zaku, one of the large humanoid battle machines that appear in the anime. Despite its unique appearance (or maybe because of it), “Zaku Tofu” was a big hit, selling out in many stores across Japan, and in very short supply at one point.

Well, to the delight of fans, the Gundam tofu saga continues, thanks to tofu manufacturer Sagamiya coming out with new additions to the Gundam tofu family. Yes, Sagamiya proudly announces their new mobile-suit inspired creation, the “Z’Gok Tofu for Hot Pots” (Nabe-yo! Z’Gok Tofu), now available at supermarkets and shopping malls in the Kanto Area around Tokyo.

The sale of the new Z’Gok tofu was officially announced on October 2nd. Apparently, the new tofu is made specifically for hot-pots, or nabe in Japanese, which involves cooking different meats or seafood with a variety of vegetables in a pot of boiling water.

▼The new Z’Gok Tofu, made for hot pots and seaweed (konbu) flavored

Like the Zaku Tofu, the Z’Gok Tofu is made in the shape of the head of a mobile suit, and like its predecessor is also expected to sell very well. To date, 1.4 million Zaku Tofu have been sold, which is an exceptional number for a tofu product. We guess the people at Sagamiya have good reason to be optimistic about the sales of the new tofu as well, since many Japanese around the country will be enjoying warm nourishing nabe during the coming winter months. Although tofu is a common enough ingredient in nabe, using this particular type of tofu would certainly make for a fun, if not unusual, looking hot-pot.

▼The Z’Gok Tofu in a nabe

In addition to the Z’Gok Tofu, Sagamiya has also come out with “Zaku Tofu – Dessert Version” (Zaku Tofu Dezato Shiyo), which they say is vanilla-flavored, believe it or not. Dessert Tofu? Now, I would really love to see how that tastes! Who knows, it may be nice with honey or jam, or maybe even chocolate syrup?

▼The vanilla-flavored “Zaku Tofu – Dessert Version”

Both types of tofu could sell out quickly, so if you want to try either one of them, you may want to hurry to the supermarket to get your hands on one (or more) before they’re gone. Those of you outside the Kanto Area may have to wait a little while, but they will eventually be selling the new tofu in other areas throughout Japan.

Sagamiya has once again set up a nifty special website introducing their two new tofu products, and although the site is in Japanese, you may want to check it out, just to take a look at the cool graphics and pictures!

▼The Z’Gok Tofu and Zaku Tofu – Dessert Version shown side by side on Sagamiya’s special website

Source: Sagamiya website (Japanese)
[ Read in Japanese ]