The market · Beans and pulses · East Asia, Southeast Asia
Tofu
Soy milk curdled and pressed — a blank page that takes on whatever it's cooked with.
silky · mild
What to do with it
JavaneseGado-gadoBlanched vegetables, potato, tofu, tempeh, egg and lontong under a thick peanut sauce, with prawn crackers on top.No one here has made it yetSundaneseNasi timbelRice rolled hot in banana leaf, served with fried chicken, tofu, tempeh, salted fish, raw vegetables and sambal.No one here has made it yetSundaneseBatagorFried fish dumplings and fish-stuffed tofu, cut up under a peanut sauce with kecap manis, chilli and lime.No one here has made it yetSundaneseSiomay BandungSteamed fish dumplings with cabbage, potato, bitter gourd, tofu and egg, all steamed together and drowned in peanut sauce.No one here has made it yet
ThaiPad thaiThin rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar, egg, tofu and prawns, with beansprouts, chives and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yetAnhuiHuizhou one-potA deep iron pot layered with bamboo shoots, pork, fried tofu, egg dumplings and greens, simmered slowly and brought to the table whole.No one here has made it yetBeijingInstant-boiled muttonPaper-thin slices of raw mutton swished for a moment in plain boiling water, in a chimneyed copper pot over charcoal, then dipped in a rich sesame sauce.No one here has made it yetSichuanMapo tofuSoft tofu in a fiery, glossy sauce of doubanjiang, fermented black beans, minced beef and ground Sichuan pepper.No one here has made it yetSichuanChongqing hotpotA pot of beef-tallow broth thick with chilli, Sichuan pepper and chilli bean paste, kept boiling at the table for cooking raw meats, offal and vegetables.No one here has made it yetJapaneseGōyā chanpurūBitter melon stir-fried with firm tofu, pork and egg — Okinawa's everyday dish, bitter, savoury and soft at once.No one here has made it yet
KoreanKimchi jjigaeA stew of old, sour kimchi simmered with pork belly and tofu until the broth turns deep red and savoury.No one here has made it yet
ThaiPad thaiThin rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar, egg, tofu and prawns, with beansprouts, chives and crushed peanuts.No one here has made it yetAnhuiHuizhou one-potA deep iron pot layered with bamboo shoots, pork, fried tofu, egg dumplings and greens, simmered slowly and brought to the table whole.No one here has made it yetBeijingInstant-boiled muttonPaper-thin slices of raw mutton swished for a moment in plain boiling water, in a chimneyed copper pot over charcoal, then dipped in a rich sesame sauce.No one here has made it yetSichuanMapo tofuSoft tofu in a fiery, glossy sauce of doubanjiang, fermented black beans, minced beef and ground Sichuan pepper.No one here has made it yetSichuanChongqing hotpotA pot of beef-tallow broth thick with chilli, Sichuan pepper and chilli bean paste, kept boiling at the table for cooking raw meats, offal and vegetables.No one here has made it yetJapaneseGōyā chanpurūBitter melon stir-fried with firm tofu, pork and egg — Okinawa's everyday dish, bitter, savoury and soft at once.No one here has made it yetKoreanKimchi jjigaeA stew of old, sour kimchi simmered with pork belly and tofu until the broth turns deep red and savoury.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Silken
- Unpressed, custard-soft.
- Soft
- For mapo tofu and soups.
- Firm
- Pressed, for frying and stir-fries.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Chinese, Japanese or Korean grocers, fresh if you can.
Kitchens that keep it in
Central and East Java, and Madura, IndonesiaJavaneseThe cooking of Indonesia's most populous island: sweet with palm sugar and kecap manis in the centre, saltier and hotter towards the east, with tempeh and tofu at nearly every meal.9 classicsWest Java, IndonesiaSundaneseThe cooking of West Java's highlands: raw vegetables and fresh sambal, pond fish wrapped in banana leaf, rice packed hot in a leaf, and Bandung's street snacks.8 classicsJiangsu province and the lower Yangtze, eastern ChinaHuaiyangDelicate and exact: fine knife work, clear stocks and a gentle sweetness, cooked to bring out an ingredient's own flavour rather than to cover it.7 classics