Where I live, dou hua is very, very common. Most every street has a dou hua shop where you can see the huge stainless steel bowl, steaming on its charcoal burner at the front of the restaurant.
Dou Hua is a type of soft tofu. The watery soup it is boiled in can be drunk as well. But since tofu has no flavor, you add a lot of spices. Here’s a typical set up — sort of a flavoring buffet. You choose what spices and oils you want and serve them into your bowl. Options include — minced garlic, chopped cilantro, salt, MSG, pepper, numbing spice, flavored oils, sesame oil, green onions, dried pepper flakes,
and of course fresh hot peppers!
I was at a rural villa type of place and saw people making dou hua, so of course I snapped some photos. I was a little late on the process, so I missed the first steps. But I asked the cook, and she told me that the soy beans are cooked and mashed and then strained through a cloth. I’m not sure why they are straining it through a basket as well. What could the basket catch that the cloth didn’t? I didn’t notice that until I got home. Now it’s too late to ask.
Then the resulting liquid is boiled until it curdles into dou hua. Did you know that tofu is basically soy cheese? We Westerners eat dairy cheese, but Chinese people eat soy cheese. Quite interesting. When people here ask me what cheese is (because they pretty much don’t have any clue), I tell them it’s like tofu made from milk.
I didn’t like tofu until I’d been in China for a few years. It’s one of those things that grows on you. The more you eat it, the more you like it. Now I crave dou hua! It’s especially good for women, and I know when I’m eating it, I’m doing something good for my body.
More Posts Like This One:
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I love dou hua!! Brings back fond memories for me. I didn’t know you moved your blog so I haven’t been following for over a year now. It’s good to relocate your blog.
Lois´s last [type] ..Starting a New Christmas Tradition