Dried tofu

Soy milk curdled and pressed — a blank page that takes on whatever it's cooked with.

What to do with it

Classics built on it

FujianPopiahA soft, paper-thin wheat crêpe rolled round a filling of braised vegetables, egg, prawn and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yet AnhuiLi Hongzhang hotchpotchA banquet mix of sea cucumber, fish maw, squid, ham, chicken, tofu and mushroom, simmered together in a good stock.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Silken: Unpressed, custard-soft.
Soft: For mapo tofu and soups.
Firm: Pressed, for frying and stir-fries.

Knowing it

Where to buy: Chinese, Japanese or Korean grocers, fresh if you can.

Kitchens that keep it in

Anhui province, eastern ChinaAnhuiMountain cooking from old Huizhou: bamboo shoots, mushrooms and cured things, braised long and dark, with a taste for the fermented — stinky fish and hairy tofu.8 classics