What is a Tofu Pudding?

  • It is a Chinese snack made with very soft and silky tofu.
  • The recipe has been developed and changed by Chinese people in different locations to suit their taste.
  • It can be sweet, savoury or even spicy, depending on the cuisine.
  • It can be called as Soybean Pudding, Tofu Dessert, douhua or daufufa.
  • It is a healthy snack as tofu is high in calcium, magnesium and fibre.

What is a Tofu Pudding Made of ?

  • Soft Tofu
  • The rest of the ingredients depend on where the recipe originates from:
    • Cantonese
      • Sweet Ginger Syrup
      • Brown Sugar
      • Black Sesame Paste
    • Northern Chinese
      • Soy Sauce
    • Sichuan
      • Chili Oil
      • Soy Sauce
      • Spring Onion
      • Sichuan Pepper
      • Peanuts
    • Taiwanese
      • Cooked Peanuts
      • Tapioca
      • Mung Beans

History of Tofu Pudding

  • Back in 202 BC, the emperor of Han dynasty in China, Liu Bang’s grandson, Liu An, was looking for elixir for immortality one day.
  • Instead, he accidentally found that when soy milk meets gypsum powder, the soy milk solidifies to a very silky state.
  • He loved how soft the “soymilk curd” was and brought this back home instead of elixir for immortality. He later spread this wide to the masses, and called it “tofu”.

How to Make Tofu Pudding?

  1. To make silky tofu traditionally, soak the soybeans in water at room temperature for about 5 hours in summer, 10 hours in winter.
  2. Ground the soaked soybeans in machine.
  3. Filter the grounded soybeans and boil them at 98°C to make soy milk.
  4. To make the tofu pudding, boil the soy milk at 100°C, then blend it with gypsum powder.
  5. Leave to solidify for 10 minutes.
  6. Finally, add the rest of the ingredients listed above on top of the tofu pudding.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douhua https://web.archive.org/web/20111225032325/http://www.cits.net/china-guide/china-traditions/tofu.html https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1587924/all-about-curds-and-way https://zolimacitymag.com/forgotten-hong-kong-icon-silky-smooth-tofu-pudding-at-kung-wo/