Douhua

right|thumb|250px|Soy curd with sugar syrup sold in [[Kwai Chung, Hong Kong]]

Douhua is a Chinese sweet or savoury snack made with silken tofu. It is also referred to as doufuhua or tau foo fah, doufunao in northern China, tofu pudding, and soybean pudding.

History

The earliest records of douhua date from the Han dynasty; it was called dòufunǎo, or "tofu brains", because of its softness. In the next 2000 years, it gradually spread throughout China. Ming dynasty scholars credited Han Prince Liu An with inventing tofu and douhua as foods soft enough for his ailing mother to eat.

Savoury

thumb|Beijing style salty doufunao

In Northern China, Douhua is often eaten with soy sauce, resulting in a savoury flavor. Each region may differ in seasonings. Inland cities add chopped meat, pickles or zha cai, and mushrooms, while coastal cities add seaweed and small shrimp. Tofu brains can be found at breakfast stands along the streets in the morning, usually with eggs or youtiao (fried dough sticks).

Spicy

thumb|Sichuan style spicy doufunao

In Sichuan and neighboring Shaanxi, doufunao is often flavored with chilli oil and Sichuan peppers to make it spicy. It is served by carrying pole or bicycle vendors with several condiments such as chili oil, soy sauce, scallions, and nuts.

Sweet

In Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi, sugar is added directly to the tofu curd without adding any other condiments. This way of eating best retains the original flavor of tofu curd (bean curd).thumb|Sweet douhua sold in dessert shop

In southern China, Douhua is often eaten with sweet flavoring. Southern China often refers to Douhua as tofu pudding. It is served with sweet ginger or clear syrup. In summer, people eat cold Douhua to relieve themselves of the heat. In winter, people add hot sweet water and beans into Douhua to dispel cold. Hong Kong people add sesame paste into Douhua.

Taiwanese and Cantonese douhua are a symbol of southern Chinese cuisine, and often served as a part of yum cha. Known as tofu fa, it can also be found sold in small stores on the side of popular hiking trails and beaches in Hong Kong.

thumb|There are special bean curd dessert shops in the south. This bean curd contains: bean curd, milk, pearls, taro paste, and taro balls.

In Southeast Asia, douhua is almost always sweet, although condiments vary widely.

Filipino cuisine

thumb|Taho, the Philippine version of douhua, served in a small plastic cup

In the Philippines, it is more commonly known as taho. It is a fresh silken tofu served in sweet brown syrup and sago pearls. It is usually peddled by hawkers in the mornings, by door-to-door or in public plazas, or outside churches. In some regional variations, taho is often served with sugarcane syrup, ube syrup or strawberry syrup.

Indonesian cuisine

thumb|Tahwa, served with sweet ginger palm sugar syrup and peanut

In Java, it is known as kembang tahu, wedang tahu "hot tofu soup" or tahwa derived from Hokkien tau hwe. They are usually sold by hawkers. It is served warm or cold with palm sugar syrup that has been flavored with pandan leaves and ginger.

Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine

thumb|Tau fu fa doused in palm sugar syrup

In Malaysia and Singapore, it is more commonly known by its names tau hua or tau huay in Hokkien; and tau fu fa in Cantonese,

Tofu is rich in phytoestrogens as well, which has an effect on preventing and inhibiting osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and blood cancer. The sterols and stigmasterol in tofu are both effective ingredients for suppressing cancer.

Packaged

The dessert is also sold in North American Asian supermarkets in plastic containers.

Requirements

Like all tofu, douhua must have a coagulant, often gluconolactone for smoothness as compared with other coagulants.

Tofu pudding made from agarwood, edible gum, and seaweed extracts is more like soy milk-flavored jelly pudding. Because it melts into liquid soy milk when heated, it can only be eaten at room temperature, but the success rate of making it is extremely high. It is high and easy, so it is widely used.

In popular culture

Tofu pudding was featured on the Netflix TV series, Street Food, in the Chiayi, Taiwan episode.