Tofu Pudding/Dou Fu Hua 幼滑豆腐花

The texture of a dish is as important as its taste. It will be a big disappointment if a food that is supposed to be crunchy turns out to be soft or soggy. On the other hand, if it should be smooth and silky but it is rough and firm, people might be surprised and wary. The best texture for tofu pudding is smooth and silky, which you can just swallow.

What's the trick to making silky tofu pudding? The temperature of the soymilk is critical. The optimal temperature to mix soy milk and the coagulant is 155F/85C. If the soy milk is boiling hot, the resulting pudding will not be as smooth.

The coagulant used in most of tofu making is gypsum (calcium sulfate). It is a mineral mined from natural rock, not a synthetic chemical.

The correct ratio between gypsum and potato starch in the following recipe gives the best texture and minimal amount of whey.

食物除了味道之外，正確的口感也很重要。應該脆口的食物如果變軟，應該入口幼滑而變成粗糙，那麼便大打折扣了。正如豆腐花，幼滑的質地便極其重要。那麼竅門是什麼呢？正確豆漿溫度便是決定成敗的關鍵，不能太低--低於華氏155度或攝氏85度--不會凝結，太高--大滾或接近沸點--口感粗糙。

做豆腐花或豆腐的凝結劑石膏粉是天然礦物質。

正確的石膏粉及薯粉比例便能做出幼滑豆腐花，不會出太多水。

Ingredients to make half a gallon of pudding:

2 quarts/half gallon soy milk, unsweetened

10g/2 tsp gypsum

10g/3 tsp potato or tapioca starch

½ cup water

Ginger Syrup:

¾ cup sugar or 140g rock sugar

4 thick slices of ginger, peeled, about 50g

2 cups water

1) Use ½ cup of water to dissolve gypsum and potato starch in a tall pot or container.

2) Bring the soy milk to a boil in another pot. Stir frequently to prevent a skin from forming. Remove from heat and let it cool down slightly to about 155°F/85°C. (Or heat until the soy milk reaches 155°F/85°C.)

3) Whisk the pot of coagulant before pouring in the hot soy milk.

4) Hold the hot soy milk pot about a foot higher than the gypsum mixture pot. Pour the hot soy milk into the coagulant. The gush of turbulence will mix the ingredients. DO NOT STIR.

5) Cover and let it sit undisturbed for at least 15 minutes.

Ginger Syrup:

1) Put sugar, ginger, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.

2) Let it simmer for at least 5 minutes.

3)  Remove from heat. If a stronger ginger flavor is desired, leave the ginger in the syrup for longer time. Otherwise, remove the ginger.

半加侖無糖豆漿

十克/兩茶匙石膏粉

十克/三茶匙薯粉

半杯水

薑味糖漿：

¾ 杯白糖或140g 片糖，約兩片

四片薑, 去皮，約五十克

兩杯水

1) 在一高身鍋內加入石膏粉和薯粉，放入水，攪勻。

2) 用另一鍋煲豆漿至滾，不時攪拌，熄火。讓溫度稍降至約華氏155度/攝氏85度。(或直接將豆漿加熱至華氏155度)

3) 再次攪勻高身鍋內之粉漿。

4) 將熱豆漿從約一尺高撞入高身鍋內。不要攪拌。

5) 上蓋，靜待至少十五分鐘。

薑味糖漿：

1) 在一鍋內放入水、糖及薑片，煮至滾。

2) 讓糖水煮約五分鐘。

3) 熄火，如要多薑味，可讓它浸泡長一點時間。