Tofu

[liuzhou]

 

Whatever you call it - Tofu, Beancurd, 豆腐 (dòu fǔ, dau6 fu6), Đậu phụ, 두부, etc. it's a lot more than just that wobbly white stuff you see above. There are literally dozens of kinds. Here are some pictures. I will add more as I see them.

It would also be nice to discuss uses and ideas for using tofu.

Fried Tofu Puffs

 

Fried Bean Cream Skin Rolls

 

100-Layer Tofu Cake

 

Smoked Tofu

 

Dried Tofu

 

Five Spice Dried Tofu

 

Tofu Roll

 

Tofu "Noodles"

 

White Dried Tofu

 

Spicy Fermented Tofu (Furu)

 

More to follow...

[SusieQ]

Wow, thanks for posting these -- I had no idea there was such a diversity of preparations for tofu!

[liuzhou]

Wow, thanks for posting these -- I had no idea there was such a diversity of preparations for tofu!

 

There are many more. Eg;

 

Stuffed Tofu

 

Red Tofu Noodles

 

Dry Tofu Shapes

 

Red-cooked Tofu

[liuzhou]

 

"Flower Tofu" (豆花) is the softest of all tofu and is usually used as a dessert. There is also a black version.

[Lisa Shock]

I was at an Asian market and saw tofu shaped as rolled up ribbon about 1cm wide and very thin with a scalloped edge, each roll was about 3cm in diameter and there were maybe ten rolls in a pack. Does anyone have an idea how these are usually cooked?

[dcarch]

I was at an Asian market and saw tofu shaped as rolled up ribbon about 1cm wide and very thin with a scalloped edge, each roll was about 3cm in diameter and there were maybe ten rolls in a pack. Does anyone have an idea how these are usually cooked?

 

Frequently in Chinese stores on the same shelves they have items which may look like tofu, but they have nothing to do with tofu. They are various items made with gluten .

 

dcarch

[teonzo]

 

100-Layer Tofu Cake

 

 

 

Can you give more infos about this, please? I tried a quick google search but didn't finf anything. Thanks.

 

 

 

Teo

[liuzhou]

Can you give more infos about this, please? I tried a quick google search but didn't finf anything. Thanks.

 

 

 

Teo

 

百叶豆腐 (bǎi yè dòu fǔ) is a semi-dry variety of tofu which is made in relatively flat sheets, which are then layered together and compressed to extract more moisture and set it into a 'cake'.

The cake is sliced and used in stir-fries or in hot pots etc.

 

(Google has little on it in Chinese either,)

Edited August 15, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

I was at an Asian market and saw tofu shaped as rolled up ribbon about 1cm wide and very thin with a scalloped edge, each roll was about 3cm in diameter and there were maybe ten rolls in a pack. Does anyone have an idea how these are usually cooked?

 

Not something I've come across, but I'd guess they are used in hotpots.

[Alex]

The "wobbly white stuff," when frozen and thawed, can be turned into an acceptable substitute for ground meat in red sauce or chili.

[liuzhou]

The "wobbly white stuff," when frozen and thawed, can be turned into an acceptable substitute for ground meat in red sauce or chili.

 

Frozen/thawed tofu is a very popular addition to hotpots. I've never come across it in any 'ground' form; it is usually sliced before adding.

 

I have some in my freezer right now. The freezing changes the texture and appearance, giving it a honeycomb look.

Edited August 15, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[Alex]

Frozen/thawed tofu is a very popular addition to hotpots. I've never come across it in any 'ground' form; it is usually sliced before adding.

 

I have some in my freezer right now. The freezing changes the texture and appearance, giving it a honeycomb look.

 

When I use it, it's not ground per se, but I chop it into chewy little bits of wonderfulness.

[growninbrooklyn]

shio koji fermented tofu is quite unique. It's made by fermenting tofu with shio koji for a few weeks first it turns into a hard sliceable cake then it turns creamy and it is sweet and salty. You can do the same thing with a combination of miso + sake + sugar. Left in the refrigerator for a month it turns into something like parmesan cheese and as it changes the texture is unique.

[liuzhou]

 

Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐  chòu dòu fǔ )

[SusieQ]

I'd love to try the fried tofu puffs and the spicy fermented tofu. The stuffed tofu looks intriguing, too. What is it usually stuffed with? Oh yeah, I"ll take some smoked tofu, too.  What about the stinky tofu? Is it an acquired taste?  Is it really all that stinky? That 100-layer tofu cake is really beautiful.

[liuzhou]

Dried Tofu Roll  豆腐卷

 

Fried Tofu Skin  炸腐竹

[liuzhou]

On 8/16/2015 at 1:53 PM, SusieQ said:

I'd love to try the fried tofu puffs and the spicy fermented tofu. The stuffed tofu looks intriguing, too. What is it usually stuffed with? Oh yeah, I"ll take some smoked tofu, too.  What about the stinky tofu? Is it an acquired taste?  Is it really all that stinky? That 100-layer tofu cake is really beautiful.

 

The stuffed tofu is usually stuffed with ground pork mixed with some kind of green vegetable. It varies.

Stinky tofu stinks, yes. When I lived in Hunan province, the town had only one street where it was permitted. You could smell the street blocks away. Stinky tofu is banned on SHanghai's metro system.

 

The taste is rich and creamy and bears no resemblance to the smell - a bit like durian or some cheeses. I took to it immediately. Getting it past my nose and into my mouth was an effort the first time, but once there I was hooked.

 

There are different varieties. The one pictured is Changsha Stinky Tofu and that is what I first ate - in 1996 in Changsha, in what I was told was Chairman Mao's favourite tofu stinky shop. But then Changsha also had Mao's favourite DVD store etc.

 

Here, I buy it on the street from this woman.

 

Here is the tofu cooking (and draining)

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Frequently in Chinese stores on the same shelves they have items which may look like tofu, but they have nothing to do with tofu. They are various items made with gluten .

 

dcarch

 

Without seeing it, I can't comment on what Lisa has encountered, but there are certainly a number of products purporting to be tofu, which aren't. Here are two from my local convenience store.

 

 

Instant tofu? A contradiction in terms. In fact, it's just a soy bean milk product.

 

 

This is a popular snack "food". 鱼豆腐. Fish Tofu!

Apart from sounding somewhat unappealing, it isn't tofu in any way, shape or form. It has 26 different ingredients (mostly food additives: preservatives, anti-oxidants, colouring etc.) but not a hint of tofu. It does contain a little soy bean protein.

 

豆 (dòu) means 'bean' and 腐 (fǔ) means 'rotten' or 'putrid'. Tofu is fermented. Neither of these products contain anything fermented.

[GlorifiedRice]

Jimami Dofu!

Peanut tofu with sweet soy sauce!

YUM

 

[liuzhou]

嫩豆腐  nèn dòufu

 

Apart from the Flower Doufu in post #4, this is the softest of the white wobbly type.  Very soft. As you can see, it breaks up if you look at it too hard.

 

老豆腐  lǎo dòufu

 

This is the next in terms of firmness. It is still soft but, if handled reasonably carefully, maintains its shape when sliced or cubed.

Here it is in a dish of 麻婆豆腐 mápó dòufú, the Sichuan classic.

 

These two batches of tofu are now sitting in my freezer. Tomorrow, I'll show you what happens when you freeze it!

[kwankapang]

I would like to add on tempeh, popular in Indonesia and Malaysia.It is similar the Chinese tofu but is harder,  

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh

[SLB]

The pictures are extremely alluring.  I need more recipes, please.  Also, I like that street-vendor's wok setup, with the flower-like strainer thingy.  Nice! 

[Raw/Cooked]

 

 

 

 

豆 (dòu) means 'bean' and 腐 (fǔ) means 'rotten' or 'putrid'. Tofu is fermented. Neither of these products contain anything fermented.

The etymology of the word "tofu" is interesting, considering that fresh tofu is not a fermented product. I wonder if in the past, tofu was fermented post-production as a matter of course to preserve it?

[liuzhou]

AS I said, 豆 (dòu) means 'bean' and 腐 (fǔ) means 'rotten' or 'putrid'. It is easy to imagine a batch of soymilk coagulating and being considered to have 'gone off', hence 'rotten' or 'putrid'.

A lot of tofu is fermented. Again, this probably first happened accidentally, but the fermentation resulted in a new desirable product.

Many foods which are preserved now were originally done so to see people through winter. We have no need off that now, but we still eat bacon, ham etc.

[dcarch]

AS I said, 豆 (dòu) means 'bean' and 腐 (fǔ) means 'rotten' or 'putrid'. It is easy to imagine a batch of soymilk coagulating and being considered to have 'gone off', hence 'rotten' or 'putrid'.

A lot of tofu is fermented. Again, this probably first happened accidentally, but the fermentation resulted in a new desirable product.

Many foods which are preserved now were originally done so to see people through winter. We have no need off that now, but we still eat bacon, ham etc.

 

Soy sauce?

 

dcarch