I love Tofu(豆腐)

豆腐, とうふ, 두부, เต้าหู้, đậu phụ ...
豆腐)or bean curd is the greatest food invented by the Chinese. It is made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the curds into blocks, normally square shapes. Penang people called tofu, Tau-hu.

Tofu is rich source of protein, and it is vegetarian's darling. Tofu is low in calories, but rich of Iron, which is good for woman of child bearing age. It has no saturated fat and no cholesterol.It has high content of calcium, which is good for bone development and maintenance.

I love to eat tofu fresh, not cooked. lt used to be my breakfast item when I was working and lived alone. An easy to prepare breakfast. Fried tofu (炸豆腐)is not bad, a deep fry in oil and served with chilly sauce, but is too oily for me now.

I love douhua (豆花, 豆腐花, 豆腐腦), tofu with high moisture content, and often eaten as dessert. In my childhood days, mum used to take me to Kimberley Street ,Penang after dinner, for a bowl of douhua. It can be served either with white sugar or black sugar(or coconut sugar). l love douhua with black sugar , not only taste good but it is more healthy. White sugar is processed sugar, black sugar is natural sugar. But later in life, I also love douhua sugar free, or without sugar added.

Dried tofu( 豆乾) ,the type of tofu with the least moisture. Teochew dried tofu is the most famous.It is called tau-kua in Penang.

Tofu skin(腐皮) is produced through boiling soy milk, in an open shallow pan. It produced a film or skin on the liquid surface.It is collected as a sheet, which is yellowish color when dried. It is normally used as ingredient in Chinese food, especially soup. If it is dried in stick form, it is called tofu bamboo(腐竹) or tau-ki in Penang.

Bean bubble(豆泡),it is a deep fried tofu, until they are light and airy, thus called tofu bubble. It is frequently used as ingredient in noodle soup e.g. Curry Mee from Penang, the bean bubble is a must.It is called tau-pok in Penang Hokkian dialect.

I love stinky tofu(臭豆腐), a soft tofu which have fermented with in vegetable and fish brine.It has very strong rotten odour, and many people not able to take it. You either love it or hate it ,just like durian. I just love it ......

Pickled tofu(豆腐乳 , 腐乳), the preserved or fermented tofu, in small cubes of dried tofu, which has allowed to fermented from bacterial. It is normally red in color.This is good to eat with porridge.

Another food from tofu is Yong tofu(酿豆腐) , a Hakka food. A must item in Hakka cuisine. The tofu is served with meat filling, either fried tofu or normal tofu; it can served fried, or as Yong tofu soup, with soup from chicken ribs or pig ribs. (四川麻婆豆腐), and many other tofu foods......for us to explore.