Dou hua (Chinese sweet tofu pudding)

Method

Shortcut: warmed silken tofu (the quick route)

1. Make the ginger syrup first, so it has time to steep while you deal with the tofu. Combine the water and brown sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the ginger, lower the heat, and simmer gently for 10 to 12 minutes, until fragrant and very lightly thickened; it thickens further as it cools. Strain out the ginger for a clear syrup, or leave it in for more bite. Keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, warm the tofu still in its sealed tub: submerge the tubs in a bowl of very hot, not boiling, water for 10 to 15 minutes, topping up with more hot water once if it cools too far. The tofu should feel warm through, not hot, and should still tremble like a barely-set custard when you nudge the tub.
3. Open the tubs and tip off any liquid sitting on top. Using a broad, shallow spoon, scoop the tofu directly into four bowls in wide, thin shards rather than cubes: more surface area means more syrup clings to every spoonful.
4. Spoon the warm ginger syrup generously over the tofu and serve at once.

Traditional: soy milk curdled from scratch (the project route)

1. Stir the cornstarch into the cold water in a small heatproof bowl until smooth, then stir in the GDL until fully dissolved.
2. Bring the soy milk to a gentle boil in a saucepan, then take it off the heat.
3. Pour the hot soy milk into the cornstarch-and-GDL mixture all at once, stirring only once or twice to combine, no more. Skim off any bubbles on the surface.
4. Cover the bowl and let it sit undisturbed at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. It is ready when the surface has a light sheen and barely trembles if you nudge the bowl. Scoop it into shards as in step 3 of the shortcut, and serve warm with the ginger syrup.

Notes

• Gypsum powder, food-grade calcium sulfate, is the traditional coagulant and gives the silkiest texture, but it is hard to find outside Asian grocery stores and needs the soy milk poured over it very evenly, or it curdles unevenly. GDL is the more forgiving choice for a home kitchen, which is why this recipe uses it.
• This recipe curdles store-bought or fresh soy milk rather than grinding and cooking your own from raw soybeans. Making soy milk from scratch is a legitimate and different project, but the quantities here assume you are starting from soy milk, not dried beans.
• Warm tofu takes the syrup’s sweetness far better than cold. If you must serve it cold, chill the tofu and the syrup separately and combine them only just before eating.
• The ginger syrup keeps in the fridge for up to a week; gently rewarm before serving. It is worth doubling the batch, since leftover syrup is good over ice cream or stirred into tea.
• The pudding is done by feel, not by temperature: it should still wobble and barely hold its shape, closer to a trembling custard than a firm tofu.

Sources Consulted

• Delightful Plate, “Tofu Pudding (Tào Phớ)”
• Runaway Rice, “Tofu Pudding with Ginger Syrup (Dau Hu Nuoc Duong / Tao Pho)”
• Vietnamese World Kitchen, “Shortcut Silken Tofu with Ginger Syrup”

From Christoph Mayer

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