Soybean Curd (Wobby Tau Foo Fah)

This is the soybean curd recipe as promised. It is so smooth, I finally got it. Apart from the typical hot soybean curd, I did another version of chilled beancurd, set with the right amount of gelatine and Aaron really like this one so much that he asked me not to bother fidgeting and getting all mad and crazy about gypsum.

This is good and cold and very very smooth. The pictures you see here, the one with Gula Melaka Syrup is the one set with gelatine (picture below) and the one with Pandan-Ginger Syrup is set with coagulant, a mixture of gypsum, cornflour and tapioca starch (picture above). I however didn't use gypsum this time. I found Pectin from my local supermarket, the one used to make fruit jams so I use that one instead. It sets the curd beautifully. From my experience, pectin has a higher range of setting the curd compared to gypsum. I'm sorry but I give up on gypsum already.

My mum makes her beancurd using Gypsum powder and so does the lady that taught her so. I don't know if it's the weather but hers always set so beautifully. This one can't beat mum's one but this is good enough for me and Aaron really thinks the chilled beancurd anytime beats any Tau Fo Fah anytime! So I've included both for you all to try. We both personally prefer the Gula Melaka Syrup and ended up using the Pandan-Ginger Syrup to sweeten our Soy milk.

The recipe is provided by the nice woman that mum bought her soybean grinder from, let's call her Mrs. Buffalo because she is a sales person for the brand, Buffalo.

Give it a go, it's not tough at all. Gypsum can be very tricky sometimes.

Soybean Curd
(courtesy of Mrs. Buffalo)

• 4 cups of boiling hot soy milk
• Coagulants (see below)
• Room temperature sugar syrup to serve (see below)

After the 3 times of boiling the soy milk, stir the coagulant one last time and pour it into a slow cooker pot. Then pour in the hot soy milk from a height making sure you pour it over all the coagulant paste so they are finely dispersed. Cover with a tea towel and place on the lid of slow cooker (it has to be a heavy glass lid). Set it aside to coagulate for 50 minutes, do not move or relocate the slow cooker, do not peek, do not open, do not stir. Just sit there with a chair and a book and guard it. I have too many people with itchy hands in here so I have to guard it!

To serve, scoop out thin layers of the pudding and place it in a serving bowl. Drizzle over sugar syrup and serve immediately. For every time you scoop a new bowl of Tau Foo Fah, you'll notice a water layer in the pot. Just scoop away the water layer and proceed to scoop the curd like normal.


Coagulant:

• 1/2 tsp gypsum powder (can substitute with 3/4 tsp Pectin or GDL or Lactone)
• 1/2 tbsp cornflour
• 1/2 tbsp tapioca starch
• 3 tbsp water

Mix all the above together, making sure the cornflour and tapioca starch is completely dissolved. Set aside until needed.
Chilled Soybean Curd

• 300ml soy milk
• 1 tsp gelatine
• Sugar syrup to serve, chilled until very cold

Dissolve the gelatine by sprinkling it over 1 tbsp of water. Set it aside to swell for 5 mins. Measure out the soy milk and place it in a milk pot and reheat gently. When it is about hot to touch, turn the heat off and pour in the gelatine paste, scrapping everything in. Whisk it to combine for a minute. Scoop off as much bubbles as possible that is produced from the vigorous stirring. Cool it down to room temperature and chill it overnight in the fridge, cover tightly with a plastic cling wrap.

To serve, scoop out thin layers of the pudding and place it in a serving bowl. Drizzle over cold sugar syrup and serve immediately.

Gula Melaka Syrup:

• 1/4 cup Gula Melaka, shaved and compact into measuring spoon and measure
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Water, as much as you like but not too much

Bring everything to boil until all sugar is melted. Remove from heat and chill until very cold.

Pandan-Ginger Syrup:

• 1/4 cup raw sugar or rock sugar
• 2 pandan leaves, cleaned and knotted
• Thumb-size ginger, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife
• Water, as much as you like but not too much

Bring everything to boil and when all is melted, let it simmer for 5mins. Remove from heat and cover to let pandan and ginger infuse the sugar syrup. Cool it down and chill until very cold.


I hope you like this post and find some information helpful to you. I hope the pictures can show you how silky smooth the Tau Foo Fah is and get you to make some for your loved ones! Whatever you do, please don't use store-bought Soy Milk for this because they just won't work.