what is tofu?

Answer 1

Tofu (the Japanese "Romaji" spelling), also called doufu (the Chinese "Pinyin" spelling often used in Chinese recipes) or bean curd (the literal translation), is a food of Chinese origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. The making of tofu from soy milk is similar to the technique of making cheese from milk. Wheat gluten, or seitan, in its steamed and fried forms, is often mistakenly called "tofu" in Asian or vegetarian dishes.

Answer 2

I make my own so here is how I do it.

I start with soaked raw whole soybeans to which I put into my soymilk maker. This machine soaks the beans and pulverizes them at the same time. This creates a milk like liquid which when sweetened and salted is very similar to milk. Before I sweeten and add salt to it, i add a coagulant (mixture of salts) which separates the "milk" into curds and whey. I filter out the curds, discard the whey, and press the curds into a brick. Depending on my plans I can press out a lot of the water to create a firm style tofu, or a little water to have a soft tofu.

Homemade tofu is so much better tasting than the store bought stuff, I often find myself eating raw and uncooked.
But I prefer to cook a nice thai curry with it.

Answer 3

Tofu is a product made from Soy beans.

Most people in the west associate it with bland vegetarian or vegan diets. However it is a delicious and multi-varied food.

High in both protien and calcium, it is a must for vegans (who don't drink milk) and the lactose intolerant (who can't drink milk).

It is common in japanese food, espeically in Japanese soups and chinese food. It obsorbs the flavour of what it is cooked with, so is actually delcious in meet dishes. In Mongolia they add Tofu to their tea (not soy milk, they add milk, cheese, tofu, among other things to their morning bowl of tea).

In China it is common to make fake meat dishes from tofu, though I find this rather silly. Also sometimes if you order abolone in a chinese restaurant they make it out of Tofu and flavour it like abolone.

Answer 4

Tofu (the Japanese "Romaji" spelling), also called doufu (the Chinese "Pinyin" spelling often used in Chinese recipes) or bean curd (the literal translation), is a food of Chinese origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. The making of tofu from soy milk is similar to the technique of making cheese from milk. Wheat gluten, or seitan, in its steamed and fried forms, is often mistakenly called "tofu" in Asian or vegetarian dishes.

Answer 5

Tofu, sometimes called bean curd, is made from coagulated soy milk. In some ways it is like cheese. It has a bland taste, and is often cut up into cubes and cooked with vegetables in East Asian (e.g. Chinese or Japanese) cuisine.

This article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu
probably tells you more than you want to know about it.

Answer 6

Soy milk that has been curdled with calcium or other curdling agent...then collected in a square box to form the shape and refrigerated. It is bland flavored (unless it says otherwise) and it takes on the flavor of the oil or sauce or spices that it is cooked with or marinated in. Good source of protein and calcium.

Answer 7

It is bean water. Soybean water. Grind the beans with a water stone grinder. Strain it. Cook it. Add a curdling agent (gypsum [china] or nigari [japan]) to make it solidify. That's it. Just hardened bean water. Same as hard cheese is just curdled milk using renet (calf stomach juices).

Answer 8

Tofu is made from soybean. taste very beautiful

Answer 9

Tofu is a Chinese word for beancurd.

Answer 10

It's soy compacted into a solid bar.