Foolproof Sichuan Tofu Pudding (Douhua, 豆花)
Servings: 4
The Mala Market
Equipment
- steaming rack/steamer
- cheesecloth
Ingredients
Douhua (makes up to 4 individual servings or 1 family-style bowl)
- 100 grams dry soybean approx. overfilled ½ cup
- 1000 grams water 1L, approx. 4¼ cups
- 1 medium egg per individual serving (if desired, measure weight once cracked, in grams)* up to 4 for family style
- ⅛ teaspoon salt per individual serving ½ teaspoon for family style
Toppings, per individual serving (x4 for family-style)
- 1 teaspoon Chinese light soy sauce (Zhongba preferred)
- 1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (Cuizi preferred)
- ½ tablespoon chili oil with flakes
(preferably homemade) - drizzle Chinese sesame paste, optional
- zhacai pickled mustard stems, optional
- ½ tablespoon roasted soybeans or peanuts
- 1-2 scallions, finely sliced
- pinch ground huajiao (Sichuan pepper)
see note - pinch salt
- pinch sugar
Instructions
SOYBEAN PREP
- The night before, wash and soak the dry soybeans in a medium bowl. Add enough water for the beans to comfortably double in size, at least 2 inches of overhead depending on the bowl. Soak at least 8 hours, no more than 24.If you can't use the soaked beans in time, drain them and pat dry with paper towels before storing the drained beans in the fridge up to 2 days.
MAKING THE SOY MILK
- Drain the soaked beans. In a blender, add the soaked beans and just enough water from the measured liter of water to cover and blend the beans, likely ¾-1 cup of water. If you have a good blender, you can get away with less. Blend for 1-2 minutes on high to ensure the highest soy milk yield possible. Strain through a cheesecloth or nut milk bag to isolate the soybean dregs. Use some more of the reserved water (no more than ½ cup if possible) to clean out the blender and strain that through the cheesecloth as well.Tip: Save the leftover soybean mash to use instead of flour in scallion or kimchi pancakes! It will stay good in a sealed container in the fridge for several days.
- Add the remaining reserved water to a 3-quart pot and bring to a rolling boil. Pour in the strained soy milk. Boil 5 minutes on medium-high heat without stirring, but do keep watch! When the soy milk comes back to a boil, it will foam up and you may need to briefly turn the heat lower if your pot is not big enough. You do not need to skim the foam, as it will resolve itself once boiling. This method prevents scalding and forming a tofu skin if executed correctly with enough boiling water to agitate the milk itself, which is why you don't need to stir.Turn off the stove and remove the pot from the heat to gradually cool down to at least 140°F/60°C while you prepare the next step.
STEAMING AND SERVING DOUHUA
- In the bowl(s) you will use to serve (individual or family-style), beat the egg(s) with the salt (1 pinch per individual serving bowl or ⅛ teaspoon family-style) until well-mixed. *Measure the weight of the cracked egg for results as pictured.Once the soy milk cools to at least 140°F/60°C (any higher and the egg whites will start to cook), pour into the beaten egg bowl(s) at a ratio of about 4.5-5 times soy milk by weight per egg. Mix together and skim off surface foam. Expect an average around 250g/1 cup soy milk per medium egg/serving. It does not need to be exact to be edible, like baking, so you can eyeball this, but also like baking, you shouldn't expect the same results if you differ.Instructions as written make 1 large bowl or up to 4 individual bowls.
- Add a couple inches of room-temperature water to a steamer and place the individual bowl(s) or family-style bowl on the steaming rack. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down low/medium-low and set a timer for 5 minutes, at which point you can begin checking for doneness. For an individual bowl, I generally steam around 7 minutes with soy milk that is hot/bearably hot to the touch (about 120-130°F/49-54°C). Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle. If it stays standing on its own, it's done. Garnish with the topping ingredients and serve hot.For a family-style serving in a larger bowl (and pot), start steaming from cold water and continue cooking to doneness, checking every minute or so depending on the size and depth of your equipment. Refer to full post for more details on temperature and even cooking.If you use cold/refrigerated soy milk to make this douhua, you can start with cold water and steam up to 15 minutes total, or about 10 minutes after reaching a boil—but, better yet, microwave the soy milk briefly until it's hot to the touch (but not hot enough that you can't keep your finger in it) and proceed with the regular instructions.
- Top hot douhua with seasonings and enjoy immediately. For sharing from a family-style portion, scoop desired serving into individual bowls and season separately.
Notes
*To be precise, the preferred factor for silken softness and coagulability is about 4.5-5 times soy milk by weight compared to beaten egg. I cannot control for the production standards of the hen that pushed out your particular egg. Eggs in the same dozen will not weigh the same either, and a deviation of just 10 grams will result in a wildly different result.
To make Kathy's family's Sichuan homestyle lajiaoyou using roasted rapeseed oil and fragrant-hot ground chilies, see her Traditional Sichuan Chili Oil recipe. Or, for the ultra-mouthwatering 香辣 (xiānglà)/fragrant-hot version, see the Aromatic Sichuan Chili Oil recipe!
GROUND HUAJIAO (Sichuan pepper):
Toast whole huajiao in a dry skillet until pods start to smell very fragrant, but do not brown them. Let peppercorns cool, then grind in a spice grinder or in a mortar + pestle to your desired coarseness. Sichuan pepper powder will retain its potent flavor and numbing punch for only a few weeks.