Tofu and Bean Curd - The Woks of Life

Bean threads or dried bean curd sticks are made from cooking soybean milk until a film forms on the top. The film is then lifted with a stick and hung to dry in ... SkiptoprimarynavigationSkiptoprivacynavigationSkiptorecipesnavigationSkiptomaincontentSkiptoprimarysidebar Facebook Instagram Pinterest YouTube Search JoinOurNewsletterAndReceiveOurFreeTop25RecipesBook! Subscribe TapheretoreceiveourFREEtop25recipebook! HomeChineseIngredientsGlossaryTofuandBeanCurdTofuandBeanCurd TheChinesehavedoneaLOToftastythingswithsoybeans–mostnotable,ofcourse,beingtofu(or,as somesay,beancurd).TherearealotofgreatChinesetofurecipesyoucanmakeathome,thoughsomecomplainthatittasteslikenothing.Well,wesaythisisthetruestrengthoftofu–it’ssomildlyflavored,ittakesonwhateverflavorprofileyouaddtoit.Andofcourse,it’shealthytoboot. Whenyouthinkoftofu,youprobablyenvisiononeofthosewobblywhiteblocksthatlooklikesomethingbetweenfetacheeseandjello;buttherearesomanydifferentkindsoutthere,eachwithitsowntexture,flavor,andpurpose.Thosejigglywhiteblocksarereallyjustthetipoftheiceberg. Thefreshly-madetofupicturedbelowfallsintothecategoryofregularormediumfirmtofuandisthemostversatile.Itissoftenoughtobeusedinsoupsandsteameddishes,yetfirmenoughthat itcanbepanfriedorstir-friedwithoutfallingapart. Thephotobelowwastakenat alocalmarketinBeijing,whereacouplemadeavarietyofdifferentkindsoftofu fresheverymorning.Tofustartswithsoybeanssoakedinwater;thentheyaregroundandcookedtoproducesoymilk. Eventually,thesoymilkcurdles(hence,bean“curd”)andisshapedintolargeblocksoftofu. Thefirsttime,Isawthismini-factory,Istoodsilentlyobservingtheseeminglymagical transformationfrombeantocurd,pricedevenmoremagicallyatjust40centsablock.We’vefoundthatfreshlymadetofuinChinatastesthebestandhasthestrongest,well…tofuflavor.YoucanreallytastethesoybeansinfreshlymadetofuatthelocalmarketsinBeijingversusthepackagedvarietiesyougetatthesupermarkets.Wemention Chinaheremostlybecausewedon’trememberthelasttimeweeverfoundfreshlymadetofuintheUS–itwas probablyinManhattan’sChinatownyearsago. Sohere’sanintroductiontosomeofthemajoraswellasthenot-so-well-knownvarieties thatcanbe readilyfound atmostAsiangrocerystores.ThetofusectionatanAsiangroceryisalmostaslargeandconfusingasthedairysectionofsupermarkets! Ifyou’relookingformore informationonotherChineseIngredients,gotoourmainChineseIngredientsGlossarypagetoreviewthedifferent categoriesandeasilyfindwhatyou’relookingfor.Andifyou’vestillgotquestionsafterreadingthispost,justshootusacommentordropusanemail! SilkenTofu Asyoumayhaveguessedbythename,thisisaverysofttofu.Itfallsapartveryeasily,soitmustbehandleddelicately.It’smostoftenusedin MapoTofu,oneofthemostpopularChinesetofudisheshereintheUS, orcutupintotinycubesinMisoSoup.Silkentofucomesineithertherectangularplasticwhitecontainers, aswellassealedinsmallboxes(theylookkindoflikejuiceboxes)thatdon’thavetoberefrigerated.IfyougotoKoreangrocerystores,you’llalsofinditwrappedinplastictubes. WelovesilkentofuinmapoTofu,andwehaveourHomemadeMapoTofurecipe andwealsohaveaCheat’smapotofurecipethatusesareadymadespiceandsaucepacketthatisasnaptomake! Ofcourse,thereisalwayssilkentofuwith1000YearOldEggs(SOmuchbetterthanitsounds).Wealsohavea SpicyColdTofu(LiangbanDofu) thatisperfectfor silkentofu! SoftTofu Softtofuisverysoftbuthassomebodytoit,allowingittobehandledandcutmoreeasily.Youcanusesofttofufor MapoTofu also;somelikeitbetterthanthesilkentofubecauseittendstoholditsshapebetterduringthecooking.Anotherdishwheresofttofuworkswellis HunanSteamedFishwithSaltedChiliesandTofu(DuoJiaoYu).Thesoftsteamedtofureallypairs nicelywiththefish,soakingupthesaucenicelyand matchingthe softfish. AnotherclassicdishthatisoneofSarah’sfavoritesistheQuickandEasyBraisedTofu(HongshaoDofu),aneasytoprepareandverytastyChinesetofudishservedoverrice! Regular/FirmTofu Thisisoneofthemostcommonkindsoftofuandtheonethatyouprobablyseemostofteninyourlocalgrocerystore.Ithasawiderangeofapplications.Youcanpanfryitasasidedish,substituteitformeatinstirfries,orputitintosoupsandbraiseddishes.Aswasthecasewith silkenvssofttofu,therearedisheswherebothregular/firmorthesofttofuwouldworkandtherearesomedisheswhereregulartofuworksbetterandiseasiertohandle. Agoodexampleis HakkaStyleStuffedTofu wheretheregular/firmtofuworksbest. AnothergreatdishisJudy’sHomestyleTofuStirFry ExtraFirmTofu Extrafirmtofuisthesimplestoftofustodealwith,asit’sbestforapplicationslikepanfryingorgrilling.Weuseit for our SpicyGriddledTofu“Steaks”.Youmayalso wanttousetheextrafirmfor LoadedCrispyTofuTacos!Prettysimple.Usethiswhenyouwantsomethingthatcanwithstandlotsofhandlingandhightemperatures! FiveSpicedDriedTofu-五香豆腐干(wuxiangdoufugan) Itcomesinvacuum-sealedpackagesandismostcommonlylabeled“SpicedTofu”butitalmostalwaysisfive-spicedtofu(五香豆腐干,wuxiangdoufugan).Ithasadarkbrownoutsideandawhiterinsideandismadeinsmallerblocksnomorethan3/4-inchthick.It’susuallythinlyslicedorcutintosmallcubes.Fromthere,youcaneatitraw,tossedwithalittlesesameoil,whitepepperandsoy,orthrownintoawokfullofvegetablesforastirfry.CheckoutoneofourearlyrecipesfromJudy– Jen’sTofuStir-Fry, andbesuretogetsomespicedtofuforyourhotandsoursoup! DriedSeasonedTofu SpicedDriedtofualsocomesinmilderflavorsthatarevacuumpackedin brineandlightseasoning.WeboughtthisvacuumpackedseasonedtofuinShanghai. TherearemanychoicesofseasonedtofuyoucanuseinstirfriedandcolddishbutwelikethistypeofmilderseasonedtofufortheclassicShanghai MaLanTouSpicedTofu dish. Tofu“Skin” Thistypeoftofuiscompressedintothinsheets.IntheUS,thisisoftenpre-packaged,butinBeijing,welovedbuyingitfresh,justafewsheetsatatime. Wemostoftenchiffonadethemforstir-fries,butthereareplentymorecreativewaystousethesetofuskins.Judy’smother makes“goldbars”aroundChineseNewYear,whicharetofuskinsrolled withaveggie-porkfilling,kindoflikeahealthyspringroll. Tofu“Noodles”–豆腐丝(doufusi) Youthoughtzucchininoodleswerethecuttingedge…Thesetofunoodlesaresomewhatsimilarintexturetotofuskin, butarecutintheshapeofthinnoodlesandhaveadensertexture.Theactualtranslationofisshreddedtofuor豆腐丝(doufusi). Wecookthemwithvegetables,abitofpork,andlotsoflonghotpeppersforayummytofunoodlestirfry.Wealsohaveatofunoodlesaladinourrecipearchivesaswell.Readersfeelfreetorequestrecipesforthisingredientifitlooksinterestingandyoucanpurchase themnearyou!Shreddedfive-spicedtofuor五香豆腐丝(wuxiangdoufusi)comeinslightlydifferentformsthanthetofunoodlesshownabove.Thetextureissimilarbuteveryonehastheirpreferencestoaparticularbrandandformfactorsocheckthemoutatyourlocalgrocerystore. BeanThreadorDriedBeanCurdSticksorFuZhu(腐竹) Beanthreadsordriedbeancurdsticksaremadefromcookingsoybeanmilkuntilafilmformsonthetop.Thefilmisthenliftedwithastickandhungtodryinlargesheetsorrolled/foldedtodryas 腐竹Fǔzhú.TheEnglishnameonthepackagingis “BeanThread”perhapsshortfor“soybeanthread”butifyou’refamiliarwithbuyingChineseproducts,Englishtranslationscanbeconfusing.FǔzhúoravariationofitisalsoknowninJapanesecookingasdriedyubasticks. Fǔzhúis abitmoreeccentricandmaybeintimidatingforthefirst-timeChinesechefbutweneedtousetheminmoreofourrecipesbecausetheyaredeliciousliketofuwithaslightlychewytexture. Fǔzhú(Mandarin)orFooJook(Cantonese)comedriedandneedtobesoakedforacoupleofhoursorovernightbeforecooking. Youcanseeavariationofthetranslationfromthepackagingfromthesephotos.Beanthreadordriedbeancurdsticks?NowyouhaveaphotoyoucantaketoyourlocalChinesegrocerystoretoensureyoubuytherightingredient! ShopAmazonfordriedbeancurdSticks,BeanThreadorYuba Ifwe’reinalazymood,wejuststirfrythemwithvegetables,buttheyareabsolutelydeliciouswithbraisedporkorinahotpot.Ifwewerevegetarians,wewouldbeeatingalotmorebeanthreadsonaregularbasis,but,eventoanon-vegetarian,theyarequitetastyandhaveagreatmeatytexturetothem.Youcanseehowwecooktheminoneofourfavoritedishes, MaLaXiangGuo(SpicyNumbingStir-fryPot). FriedBeanCurd–SoyPuffs ThesegoldenpuffsofdeliciousnesscanbefoundintherefrigeratedsectionoftheChinesegrocery.Theycomeinvariousshapes,includingtriangles,squares,andcubes.Witheachshape,you’llgetaslightlydifferenttexture.Tomakethingsevenmorefun,they’reusuallylabeledas“soypuffs.”Whodoesn’twannaeatalittlepuffofsoydeliciousness? SometimesAsianstoresofferlocallypreparedfreshfriedtofuwhichbasicallyisdeepfriedfirmtofu.Friedtofupreparedthiswayisfirmerthanasoypuff,butisstillgreatinmanyofthesamedishesaswhatyouwouldpreparewithsoypuffs–mainlystewsandstir-frieddishes.Soifyoucansnagsomeofthefreshlymadestuff,werecommendtryingit! JustthrowapackoftheseintoanybraisedporkbellydishlikeShanghai-StyleBraisedPorkBelly(HongShaoRou) orRedCookedPork(HongShaoRou):Grandma’sVersion, andthey’llsoakupallthatdeliciousbraisingsauce. Biteofporkbelly…abiteofwhiterice…biteofsoypuff…biteofwhiterice…biteofporkbelly–getthepattern? Youjustcan’tgowrongwithgrandma’sversionofredcookedpork! TofuKnots Theseareathintofuskinfoldedandtiedintolittleknots.They’reprimarilyusedinbraiseddishesorsoups,asalltheflavorofasauceorsoupthey’recookedingetscaughtintothelittlefoldsofeachknot.Youcanfindthempre-madeintheChinesegrocerystore’srefrigeratedsection. Thesetofuknotcanbeeasilyaddedtoanybraisedporkdishlikeourfavorite Shanghai-StyleBraisedPorkBelly(HongShaoRouor thesetofuknotsalsogogreatinsoups.SeehowthesetofuknotsareusedintheShanghaiclassicYanDuXianShanghaiPorkSoupwithBamboo&Tofu. DriedBeanCurdSheets DriedBeancurdsheetsarealsoalsoknownasTofuSkin(fǔpí)腐皮.Thesesheetsarerehydratedinwaterbeforeuseinsoups,stews,wrapsanddimsumdishes.Ifyou’reluckyenoughtohaveawellstockedAsiangrocerystorenearbythendefinitelygetthefreshonesastheyaremucheasiertoworkwithandtastemuchbetter.   DriedBeancurdSheets(TofuSkin/FuZhu)–6oz(Packof3) FreshBeanCurdSheets Freshbeancurdsheetsorzhāixiānfǔpí(齋鲜腐皮)canalsobefoundintherefrigeratororfrozensectionoflocalChinesegrocerystores.“Xian”meansfreshandzhaimeanvegetarianwhichisaredundantbecausemost,ifnotallofthesetofuproducts,arevegetarian. WeusethesefreshbeancurdsheetstomakeJudy’sVegetarianDuckrecipe. FermentedBeanCurds Thisisusednotasamainprotein,butasaflavoringagent.It’soneofthefunkierAsianingredients,butyoucanfinditifyouknowwhatitlookslike.Itcomesinmanydifferenttypesandvariations,butthemostcommoncategoriesarewhiteandred. Theycomecutintosmallcubesandpackagedinjars.Theyareusually eatenwithricecongeeat atraditional Chinesebreakfastmeal. Tobeupfrontwithallyoulovelyreaders,thisisoneofthoseingredientsthatcouldhavebeenfeaturedonFearFactor,asitsappearanceandconsistencycanbealittle…offputting.Fermentedfoodstendtohavethateffect.But,inallhonesty,it’sreallydeliciousandlendsanamazingumamiflavortoanythingyouadditto.Onceopened,theymustbekept refrigerated,andwillkeepalmostindefinitely.Wetendtousefermentedbeancurdsmoreofteninmarinadeslike FriedChineseSpareribs andforalltypesofdishesincludingvegetablestirfries. RedFermentedBeanCurd Redbeancurdisatypeofpreservedbeancurd(alsocalledfermentedbeancurd),thatconsistsofcubesofbeancurdthathavebeenpreservedinricewine,fermentedredriceandotherseasonings. Theredfermentedbeancurdismoreoftenusedinstewsandbraisedmeat dishesduetoitdeep,richflavorbutisalsousedinvegetariandisheslike Buddha’sDelight(LoHanJai). WangzhiheFermentedTraditionalRedBeanCurd250g(Packof2) It’s alsoessentialinoneofour earlyrecipes,a partyfavoriteat ourhouse,FriedChineseSpareribs. Ifyouhaveneverhadeitherofthese,trythem, andyou’llbeaddictedinstantlytotheflavorthatthisfermentedredbeancurdaddstoyourfood.Seehowthisrichingredientisusedinourflavorful ChineseRibsw/aSesameCrust. WhiteFermentedBeanCurd ThewhitefermentedbeancurdhasamoredelicateflavorandismostofteneatenwithricecongeeinsouthernChina.Itusedtobe consideredapoorman’s food,becauseduringtoughtimes,whenmeatandevenvegetableswerescarce,peoplewouldeattheircongeewithfermentedbeancurdasadailystaple.Welovetakinga fewsmallcubesofthisstuffouttohavewithourmorningcongee! SzechuanBrandwhiteFermentedTofu–10oz(Packof3) Mostvegetabledishes thatcallforfermentedbeancurdusethiswhitebeancurd,anditisalmostalwayswhatyouwillgetwhenorderingstirfriedleafygreen vegetableswithfermentedbeancurdinrestaurantstoday. Seehowweusethiswhitefermentedbeancurdinour WaterSpinachstirfry. ReaderInteractions 100CommentsCancelreply Ratethisrecipe: Ratethisrecipe: CommentName* Email* Δ ThissiteusesAkismettoreducespam.Learnhowyourcommentdataisprocessed. Thissiteisafantasticresource;sostokedthatIfoundit. TodayIspontaneouslypurchasedabigpackageof“beancurdcrusts,”andwonderhowtheyarebestused?Theylookliketheymightbebeancurdsheetscutintopieces&deepfried?Notsquishyliketofupuffs(whichIadore),andnottightlywoundlikethetofuknotspicturedabove. Alsowonderingiftofuknotsandsoycurlsarebasicallythesamething?I’vebeenseeingsoycurlspopuponalotofmenusaroundmycity(Victoria,BC). Thankyou! Reply HiAshley,itsoundslikethosebeancurdcrustsmightbefriedtofuskinrolls,whichcanbeusedinhotpotsandsoups.Theydon’ttakeverylongtocook(just20-30secondsinboilingsoup/hotpotbroth).Wehavesomethingsimilarinourhotpotpost:https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-hot-pot-at-home/ Idon’tthinktofuknotsandsoycurlsarethesame.Soycurls,asIunderstandit,arenotaChineseingredient.They’reaveganmeatalternativethatwereinventedbyButlerFoods:https://www.butlerfoods.com/soycurls.html Reply Thanksforthereply–thathotpotlooksdelicious!I’llseehowthecrustsworkoutwiththis.Goodtoknowaboutthesoycurls;Iwonderedwhytheywerepoppingupalloversuddenly.Notanold-schoolingredient! Reply ThiswasthebestexplanationforallthedifferenttypesoftofuthatI’veeverencountered.ThephotosreallyhelpedsoIcouldfindtherightoneIwaslookingfor.Itfeltlikeyouwerewalkingbesidemeinthegrocerystore.CanIgetadetaileddescriptionofthevarietyofbeansaucesnext?Thankyou. Reply HiVivienne,wecovermanybeansaucesinourChinesesaucesglossarypage.Besuretoclickonthelinkinthedescription/entriesbecausewealsohavedetailedpostsformostofthesaucescoveredonthatpage. Reply OlderCommentsPrimarySidebar Welcome! We’reBill,Judy,Sarah,andKaitlin–afamilyoffourcookssharingourhome-cookedandrestaurant-stylerecipes. OurStory 25TopRecipes TOP25RECIPES freeeBook Subscribeforthelatestupdatesonnewrecipes,andgetstartedwithourfamily'sTop25RecipeeBook! GetItNow CookingTools WokGuide Ingredients101 KitchenWisdom SurpriseMe! SignUpForEmailUpdates&ReceiveOur Top25RecipesEbook! Leavethisfieldemptyifyou'rehuman: FreeRecipeEbook! IconsenttoreceiveemailsfromTheWoksofLife. FREETop25RecipeseBook! Getupdatesonnewrecipes&our Nothanks! SUBSCRIBE Nothanks! Thank You! USECOUPONCODE  WELCOME20 FollowusonFacebook