Tofu Pudding

Smooth and tender.....Goes best with authentic toppings in summer or ginger-infused syrup in winter.

The Origin of Tofu Pudding

Who is the crucial figure that created this gourmet?

About the origin of tofu pudding, there are three different versions of the story, but they are all related to a historical figure, Liu An.

In accordance with the first version, Liu An invented tofu pudding when he was looking for an elixir by combining edible gesso with soybean powder; the second version claims that Liu An created tofu pudding out of the soybean drenched by a flood; on the other hand, some state that in order to prepare meals for his sick mother, Liu An combined soybean milk with edible gesso, which turned out to be tofu pudding.

No matter which one of them is true, it can be confirmed that Liu An is the one who invented tofu, which has been recorded in an ancient Chinese book 本草綱目.

From the stories mentioned previously, it could be some how surmised that the ingredients of tofu pudding include soybeans, water, and coagulant, all of which are all commonly available.

The Varieties of Tofu Pudding

These days there are mainly three types of tofu pudding.

Sweet Tofu Pudding

Mostly available in Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong
It goes well with black sugar, brown sugar, ginger syrup especially in winter, and all kinds of other toppings, such as green beans, red beans, taros, peanuts, grass jelly, tapioca balls, tanyuan, and pearl barley.

Three Types of Sweet Tofu Pudding

Traditional tofu pudding is made of coagulant.
For white tofu pudding, people replace traditional coagulant with gelatine. Soybean powder is substituted with black bean powder to make black tofu pudding.
Three colors tofu pudding is composed of soybean powder mixed with different fruit condensed juice or even chocolate.

Savory Tofu Pudding

Also called “豆腐腦”
Could be mainly found in Northern China, yet the toppings and base differ in each area. The locals usually flavor it with mushroom, pepper, fungus, eggs, and soybean sauce or beef or lamb soup.

Spicy Tofu Pudding

Mainly available in Sichuan and Chongqing, China.
Compared to normal tofu pudding, it is more solid and tight but looser than tofu itself.
In Sichuan and Chongqing, people eat it with spicy sauce and rice, which presents a stark contrast against sweet tofu pudding.

Here is the recipe!

This is an easy one! Let's make it together!

First, soak soybeans in water for four to eight hours, depending on the breed of soybean.
After soybeans absorb the adequate amount of water, pulp them, filter the residue, boil the soybean milk and lower the temperature to 80°C.
Mix a little bit of coagulant to the soybean milk. The process is called “沖豆花,” which is also the origin of the Chinese two-part allegorical saying, “滷水點豆腐--一物降一物,” meaning that everything has its kryptonite on the planet.
Lastly, place the entire soybean milk still for five to fifteen minutes, and viola~

Tips: The key to making good tofu pudding lies in the temperature control and the technique of mixing coagulant and soybean.

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Christine Cheng & Sharmane Lin

Instructor: Gretchen Lee

Department of English Language and Literature

Fu Jen Catholic University

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