Silken Tofu in Ginger Syrup (Tau Hu Nuoc Duong, 豆花 dòuhuā in Chinese) is a light and delicate Vietnamese/Chinese dessert. You may have seen this dessert as one of the many offerings at Dim Sum. In Vietnam, this dessert is commonly sold as street food. Vietnamese women would lug around two large baskets on opposite ends of a pole over their shoulders and chant the name of the dish as they make their way through the narrow neighborhood alleys. Whenever we visit Vietnam, my extended family usually hail over the tofu dessert lady and buy out her whole supply. The family would enjoy a simple yet elegant dessert while helping out a hardworking woman.
What is Silken Tofu in Ginger Syrup
Silken tofu in ginger syrup, also known as tofu pudding, is made from coagulated soy bean milk to form silken tofu and then generously topped with a sweet ginger syrup. You can easily buy silken tofu in the refrigerated section of many supermarkets. However, if you are looking for tofu in the purest form (without all those extra questionable ingredients), this is the recipe to make your own tofu. Homemade tofu made from pure soy milk has the most incredible flavor that is just perfect for this dessert.
To make your own tofu at home, all you need are soy beans and a coagulant. For this particular recipe, I’m using Glucono Delta Lactone as my coagulant. There are many other tofu coagulants like vinegar, lemon/lime juice, Nigari, Gypsum, epsom salt, etc. I find that the commercially produced coagulants such as Nigari, Gypsum and Glucono Delta Lactone result in the most consistent texture and flavor. However, the best one by far is Glucono Delta Lactone. It requires the least amount to successfully coagulate soy milk, resulting in much better flavor (the more coagulant, the bitter the flavor). Glucono Delta Lactone also results in the smoothest texture.
I do not recommend using store-bought soy milk to make this tofu. Previous experiences have shown that store-bought soy milk do not always coagulate properly. The proteins and fats in store-bought soy milk are simply not there to work with coagulants. The lack of proteins and fat prevents the soy milk from solidifying properly for tofu.
If you do decide to use store-bought soy milk, you must use the cheat-version of this recipe. The cheat-version doesn’t require a coagulant but a gelatin. Flavor and texture will be affected so use at your own risk.
