Misplaced Pages

Latest revision as of 00:45, 24 December 2024

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Douhua" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Douhua

Douhua in sugar syrup
Alternative names	Doufuhua, doufunao, laodoufu, tofu pudding, soybean pudding
Type	Snack
Place of origin	China
Region or state	East Asia and Southeast Asia
Main ingredients	Tofu
Media: Douhua

Douhua (Chinese: 豆花; pinyin: dòuhuā; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tāu-hoe) is a Chinese sweet or savoury snack made with silken tofu. It is also referred to as doufuhua (Chinese: 豆腐花; pinyin: dòufuhuā), tofu pudding, soybean pudding or, particularly in northern China, tofu brains (Chinese: 豆腐脑; pinyin: dòufunǎo).

History

Tofu is thought to have originated in ancient China during the Han Dynasty. Liu An, the grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han, was ambitious and wanted to invent something to make people live forever. Even though he failed to make the magic pill, he used soybean and bittern to finally get niveous and tender tofu, which was surprisingly tasty. People named it "tofu brains" because of its softness. Tofu brains then became a popular snack during Han Dynasty. In the next 2000 years, it gradually spread throughout China.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Sichuan became the political, economical, and military center of Free China. The boss of a famous Douhua restaurant, Liu Xilu, learnt the methods of making beancurd from others and innovated on them until he finally came up with his own "secret recipe", which greatly improved its taste.

Names

Regional variants

Variants of douhua can be broadly divided into three groups: savoury (鹹), spicy (辣) and sweet (甜). Traditionally, sweet foods were mainly distributed in South China and Hong Kong, and were introduced to Taiwan and Southeast Asia; salty foods were mainly distributed in northern China, and spicy foods were mainly distributed in southwest China.

Savoury

In Northern China, Douhua is often eaten with soy sauce, thus resulting in a savory flavor. Northern Chinese often refer to douhua as tofu brains. Each region may differ in seasonings. Inland cities add chopped meat, pickles or zha cai, and mushrooms, while coastal cities add seaweed and small shrimp. Tofu brains can be found at breakfast stands along the streets in the morning, usually with eggs or youtiao (fried dough sticks). Other times it is hard to find outside of a restaurant.

Spicy

In Sichuan and neighboring Shaanxi, doufunao is often flavored with chilli oil and Sichuan peppers to make it spicy. It is served by carrying pole or bicycle vendors with several condiments such as chili oil, soy sauce, scallions, and nuts.

Sweet

In Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi, sugar is added directly to the tofu curd without adding any other condiments. This way of eating best retains the original flavor of tofu curd (bean curd).

In southern China, Douhua is often eaten with sweet flavoring. Southern China often refers to Douhua as tofu pudding. It is served with sweet ginger or clear syrup. In summer, people eat cold Douhua to relieve themselves of the heat. In winter, people add hot sweet water and beans into Douhua to dispel cold. Hong Kong people add sesame paste into Douhua.

Taiwanese and Cantonese douhua are a symbol of southern Chinese cuisine, and often served as a part of yum cha. Known as tofu fa, it can also be found sold in small stores on the side of popular hiking trails and beaches in Hong Kong.

In Southeast Asia, douhua is almost always sweet, although condiments vary widely.

Filipino cuisine

In the Philippines, it is more commonly known as taho. It is a fresh silken tofu served in sweet brown syrup and sago pearls. It is usually peddled by hawkers in the mornings, by door-to-door or in public plazas, or outside churches. In some regional variations, taho is often served with sugarcane syrup, ube syrup or strawberry syrup.

Indonesian cuisine

In Indonesia, it is known as Kembang tahu or in Java as Tahwa derived from the Chinese Hokkien name Tau Hwe, or Wedang Tahu (ꦮꦺꦢꦁꦠꦲꦸ) (Wedang means hot beverage and Tahu means tofu in Javanese) and is usually sold by hawkers. It is served warm or cold with palm sugar syrup that has been flavored with pandan leaves and ginger.

Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine

In Malaysia and Singapore, it is more commonly known by its names tau hua or tau huay in Hokkien, or by the Cantonese name (tau fu fa), with the Cantonese variation being more common in Malaysia. In Penang, the common term is tau hua, due to Hokkien being its dominant local Chinese language. In Kelantan, the dish is known as pati soya (lit. 'soy essence').

It is usually served either with a clear sweet syrup alone, with ginkgo seeds suspended in the syrup, or in a sugar syrup infused with pandan. Alternatively, it can also be served with palm syrup (Gula Melaka).

Thai cuisine

In Thailand, it is known by its Chinese Hokkien name taohuai (เต้าฮวย). It is usually served cold with milk and fruit salad, which is known as taohuai nom sot (เต้าฮวยนมสด, literally "douhua in fresh milk") or taohuai fruit salad (เต้าฮวยฟรุตสลัด), or served hot with ginger syrup, which is known as taohuai nam khing (เต้าฮวยน้ำขิง).

Vietnamese cuisine

In Vietnam, it is known as tàu hủ nước đường, tàu hủ hoa or tào phớ, đậu hủ, tàu hủ. It varies in three regions in Vietnam:

• Northern region — served with jasmine infused sugary water. It is enjoyed as warm in winter and cold with ice in summer.
• Central region — cooked with spicy ginger. Sugar is added. Douhua pieces are usually unshaped because of their softness.
• Southern region — same with Central region. Often served warm with sugar water, ginger is added. Coconut milk or tapioca pearls are optional.

Vietnamese sweet tofu is generally the same, sometimes it will changes based on summer or winter seasons.

Nutritional value and health benefits

This section needs additional citations for verification. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Douhua is rich in nutrients, contains iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and other trace elements necessary for the human body. It also contains sugar, vegetable oil, and high-quality protein. The digestion and absorption rate of tofu is more than 95%.

In addition to its function of increasing nutrition and helping digestion, tofu is also beneficial to the growth and development of teeth and bones. It can increase iron element in people's blood in the hematopoietic function; tofu does not contain cholesterol, which is very beneficial to people with hypertension, high blood lipids, hypercholesterolemia, arteriosclerosis, and coronary artery disease. It is a valuable food supplement for children and the elders.

Tofu is rich in phytoestrogens as well, which has an effect on preventing and inhibiting osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and blood cancer. The sterols and stigmasterol in tofu are both effective ingredients for suppressing cancer.

Packaged

The dessert is also sold in North American Asian supermarkets in plastic containers.

Requirements

Like all tofu, douhua must have a coagulant, often gluconolactone for smoothness as compared with other coagulants.

Tofu pudding made from agarwood, edible gum, and seaweed extracts is more like soy milk-flavored jelly pudding. Because it melts into liquid soy milk when heated, it can only be eaten at room temperature, but the success rate of making it is extremely high. It is high and easy, so it is widely used.

In popular culture

Tofu pudding was featured on the Netflix TV series, Street Food, in the Chiayi, Taiwan episode.

See also

• Dim sum
• Tofu
• Taho
• List of tofu dishes
• Food portal

References

1. "Tofu Pudding (Douhua)". China Sichuan Food. 21 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
2. "SOYBEAN PUDDING WITH GINGER SYRUP (DOUHUA)". Cookmorphosis. 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
3. "(豆腐脑 dòufu nǎo)". Into the Middle Kingdom. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
4. "豆花的饮食文化：历史由来". www.weibacanyin.com. Archived from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
5. "豆腐脑的来历". 29 September 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
6. "豆腐脑市场价格多少钱一碗 单卖豆腐脑生意怎么样 - 致富热". www.zhifure.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-20. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
7. "Tofu hwa (soybean pudding) is my favourite way of chilling with tofu | SBS Food". Food. Archived from the original on 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
8. "Where to find the best tofu fa outside of Hong Kong Island". Time Out Hong Kong. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
9. "Tofu: Health benefits, uses, and possible risks". www.medicalnewstoday.com. 2017-09-27. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
10. Zhang, qinqin (30 March 2015). "早晨喝豆腐脑的营养更高". Archived from the original on 8 August 2015.
11. Joshua Samuel Brown (22 May 2019). "Taiwan Culture and Cuisine Shine on New Netflix Series "Street Food"". CommonWealth Magazine. Commonwealth Magazin Group. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.

v t e Taiwanese cuisine
Dishes and meals	Beef noodle soup Bento (Taiwan Railway Bento) Congee Coffin bread Cuttlefish geng Eel noodles Geng Karasumi Khong bah png Lo bah png Misua Mongolian barbecue Mongolian beef Oyster vermicelli Pork ball Rice vermicelli Sanbeiji Ta-a mi Turkey rice Tsang Ying Tou Tube rice pudding Wu geng chang wang
Xiaochi	A-gei Alivongvong Ba-wan Chicken wing rice roll Chinese sausage Curry beef turnover Danbing Fish ball Gua bao Hujiao bing Iron egg Milkfish congee Moon shrimp cakes Oyster omelette Pig's blood cake Popiah Scallion pancake Shuangbaotai Sishen soup Small sausage in large sausage Spring roll Stinky tofu Taiwanese fried chicken Tea egg Tempura Xiaolongbao Zongzi
Snacks and desserts	Aiyu jelly Apple bread Bakkwa Chhau-a-koe Coconut bar Concave cake Douhua Dried shredded squid Egg yolk pastry Grass jelly Ji dan gao Kiâm-piánn Lek-tau-phong Mango shaved ice Mochi Peanut soup Pineapple cake Scallion bread Square cookie Suncake Taro ball Taro pastry Tshuah-ping Wheel Pie Youtiao
Beverages	Beer Ginger tea Grape wine Kaoliang liquor Mr. Brown Coffee Papaya milk Soy milk Whisky Taiwanese tea Bubble tea Fo Shou tea Tung-ting tea High mountain tea Pouchong Watermelon milk Winter melon punch
Ingredients	Black bean paste Milkfish Rousong Shacha sauce
Chefs	André Chiang Ching He Huang Erchen Chang Fu Pei-mei
Miscellaneous	Agriculture Aquaculture List of Michelin starred restaurants in Taiwan List of restaurants in Taiwan List of Taiwanese desserts and snacks Night markets List Tea culture Q texture
Category Commons Portal WikiProject bookshelf

v t e Soy (Glycine max)
General	Soy allergy Soy candle Soy ink Soy molasses Soy paint Soy protein Soybean Diseases Soybean meal Soybean oil
Soy-based dishes	List of soy-based foods Aburaage Agedashi tofu Bai ye Douhua Dubu kimchi Edamame Hiyayakko Kongguksu Kongnamul Mapo doufu Miso soup Sundubu jjigae Tahu goreng Tofu skin roll Yong tau foo
Plant milk	Soy milk Soy yogurt Vegan cheese
Meat analogues	Beanfeast Tempeh Textured vegetable protein Tofu Tofurkey Vegetarian hot dog Veggie burger
Sauces and condiments	Soy sauce based Ganjang Ponzu Sweet soy sauce Tamari Teriyaki Tsuyu Yìn yóu Pastes Doenjang Doubanjiang Miso Sweet bean sauce Yellow soybean paste Tương Fermented bean Akhuni Fermented bean curd Douchi Kinema Tauco Nattō
Other foods	Mamenori Mao tofu Oncom Soy flour Soy milk based infant formula Soy nut Soy pulp Stinky tofu Tofu skin List of fermented soy products
Biochemicals	Phytoestrogens Genistein Genistin Glycitein Glycitin Ononin Daidzein Equol (metabolite) O-DMA (metabolite) Daidzin (leaves) Globulins (proteins) Beta-conglycinin Glycinin PHAs (lectins) Soybean agglutinin (lectin) Enzymes Beta-amylase Lipoxygenase Cysteine proteases Trypsin inhibitors Kunitz inhibitor Bowman-Birk inhibitor Other Soy lecithin (mix of Phospholipids) Lunasin Unsaponifiables Tocopherols Sterols Antinutrients Phytates Protease Inhibitors Cystatins
Companies	8th Continent Alpro Boca Burger Gardenburger Kikkoman Morningstar Farms Mr Bean Plamil Foods Silk So Good Tofutti Vitasoy Yamasa Yeo Hiap Seng
Other	Diet for a Small Planet Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi Yuasa, artisan town of historic soy sauce distilleries
Category: Soybeans

• Cantonese cuisine
• Chinese desserts
• Hong Kong desserts
• Sichuan cuisine
• Singaporean cuisine
• Taiwanese cuisine
• Tofu dishes