You know how the old proverb goes: “when life hands you some funky chicken, throw that junk away and use tofu instead.”
McDonald’s has discovered the wisdom behind this phrase, and responded with what we’ve all been waiting for: Tofu McNuggets.
Following a food scandal involving tainted chicken from the Shanghai Husi processing plant, which has drawn in McDonald’s along with Burger King, pizza franchise Papa John’s, companies under the KFC umbrella, and Starbucks, the fast food chain pulled Chicken McNuggets from its menus last week. But as a species, we do tend to like our bite-sized fried morsels, which leads to the profound question—what else can nuggets be made from?
According to a McDonald’s spokeswoman interviewed by Wall Street Journal, soybeans, minced fish, carrots, and onions, and served alongside a ginger-flavored sauce. “Because it isn’t meat, it tastes a bit different. It’s a bit softer,” she explains, adding that “calorie-wise, it is a bit lower than chicken as well.”
The Tofu Shinjo Nuggets, which went on sale today, had been in the works for some time, the spokeswoman stated, and were not hastily whipped up to deal with the tainted meat brouhaha.
A seasonal offering for now, the Tofu Shinjo Nuggets will be on sale until the end of September, probably making them one of those temporary items that fast-food otaku will be pining for until the next rerelease—we’re looking at you, Bacon Potato Pie…
Here are a few candid shots of the Tofu McNuggets, out in the wild:
Twitter user @mottori
Value set with another seasonal offering, the Chicken Tatsuta (covered with ground daikon and dashi) sandwich. Photo from Twitter user @pxqyxzx
–Alec Jordan
Main Image: McDonald’s Japan
Tofu McNuggets, Tofu Shinjo Nuggets, McDonald’s Japan, Japanese fast food
