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Burmese tofu (, ; or , ) is a food of Shan origin and of Chinese from
Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
Province, made from water and flour ground from yellow
split pea Split peas are an agricultural or culinary preparation consisting of the dried, peeled and split seeds of '' Pisum sativum'', the pea. Harvesting The peas are spherical when harvested, with an outer skin. The peas are dried and the dull-colou ...
s and the Burmese version of
chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual plant, annual legume of the family (biology), family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, ga ...
flour, also known as ''besan'' flour, in a fashion similar to
polenta Polenta (, ) is an Italian cuisine, Italian dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. It may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried or Grilling, grilled. The variety of cereal used is ...
. The flour is mixed with water,
turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...
, and a little salt and heated, stirring constantly, until it reaches a creamy consistency. It is then transferred into a tray and allowed to set. It can also be made using dried chickpea instead of processed flour. In this process, dried chickpeas are soaked overnight. Once the peas have been re-hydrated, they are ground into a puree with some of the liquid used to soak the peas, then allowed to set for a couple of hours. Much of the top layer of clear liquid is then skimmed off and the remaining puree is brought to a boil with turmeric and salt and cooked and set in the same manner as the version using chickpea flour. It is matte yellow in colour, jelly-like but firm in consistency, and does not crumble when cut or sliced. It may be eaten fresh as a Burmese tofu salad or deep-fried into a Burmese fritter. It may also be sliced and dried to make crackers for deep frying. Despite the name, Burmese tofu is unrelated to Chinese
tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...
, which is made from
soy milk Soy milk (or soymilk), also known as soya milk, is a plant-based milk produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein. Its original ...
with added coagulants.


Varieties and etymology

*''Pè bya'' (, ) refers to Chinese tofu and is translated into 'beancurd' in English in
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
.
Stinky tofu Stinky tofu ( zh, c=臭豆腐, p=chòu dòufu) is a Chinese form of fermented tofu that has a strong odor. It is usually sold at night markets or roadside stands as a snack, or in lunch bars as a side dish, rather than in restaurants. Traditio ...
or the fermented form of tofu, however, is called ''si to hpu'', probably a version of the Chinese word '' chòu dòufu'' ( 臭豆腐). *''Won ta hpo'' (from zh, c=, l=warm tofu) is the yellow form of tofu made from yellow split peas or in
Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...
. It is similar to Chinese version of chickpea tofu. In Chinese pronouncation it is called ''wāndòu fěn'' (豌豆粉), which literally means "split pea jelly." It is unknown whether chickpea tofu originated in southern China or Shan State. * (တိုဖူးခြောက်း ) is yellow tofu sliced into a long thin rectangular form and dried in the sun. They are similar to fish or prawn crackers and sold in bundles. *''To hpu'' (တိုဖူး or တို့ဖူး) made from
chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual plant, annual legume of the family (biology), family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, ga ...
(''kala bè'') flour or ''pè hmont'' is the common version in mainland Burma. It has the same yellow colour and taste but slightly firmer than Shan tofu. *''Hsan ta hpo'' (ဆန်တဖိုး) is still mainly confined to Shan regions, made from rice flour called ''hsan hmont'' or ''mont hmont'', and is white in colour. It has the same consistency but slightly different in taste. It is as popular as the yellow form as a salad. There is no (as in "French") in the
Burmese language Burmese (; ) is a Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Myanmar, where it is the official language, lingua franca, and the native language of the Bamar people, Bamar, the country's largest ethnic group. Burmese dialects are a ...
; hence, (as in the word "pot") is used in ''to hpu'', the Burmese version of "tofu".


Preparation


Fried

* (တိုဖူးကြော်) is yellow tofu cut into rectangular shapes, scored in the middle, and deep fried. Tofu fritters may be eaten with a spicy sour dip, or cut and made into a salad. They are crispy outside and soft inside. They are similar to the Sicilian snack panelle. * (နှစ်ပြန်ကြော်) is so called because the fritters are "twice fried" after the tofu is cut into triangular shapes. It is the traditional form in the Shan States. * (တိုဖူးခြောက်ကြော်) or deep fried tofu crackers, like , are usually served with ''htamin gyin'' (), balls kneaded together with tomato and fish or potato), another popular Shan dish. Fried tofu goes very well with (
glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...
) as a
breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night. Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regi ...
option, and also with ''
mohinga Mohinga (, ; also spelt mont hin gar) is the national dish of Myanmar. Mohinga is fish soup made with rice noodles, typically served as a hearty breakfast. It features a rich broth flavored with lemongrass, turmeric, and fish sauce, often garnish ...
'' (rice
vermicelli Vermicelli (, ; , literally "little worms"), is a traditional type of pasta round in section similar to spaghetti. In Anglosphere, English-speaking regions it is usually thinner than spaghetti, while in Italy it is thicker. It is typically made ...
in fish soup), '' nan gyi thouk'' (rice noodle salad) and
Shan khauk swè Shan may refer to; People and languages *Shan (surname), or 单 in Chinese, a Chinese surname *Shan, a variant of the Welsh given name usually spelled Siân *Occasionally used as a short form of Shannen/Shannon (given name), Shannon Ethnic grou ...
(Shan-style rice noodles).
Green tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...
is the preferred traditional drink to go with all these in Burma.


Salad

*'' To hpu thouk'' (တိုဖူးသုပ်) or tofu salad with either ''to hpu'' or ''hsan ta hpo'' is very popular as a snack or a meal in itself whereas fried tofu on its own is considered a snack. Both may form part of a meal where all the dishes are customarily shared at the same time. Fresh tofu, cut into small rectangular slices, constitutes the main ingredient of the salad, dressed and garnished with peanut oil, dark
soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...
, rice vinegar, toasted crushed dried chilli, crushed garlic, crushed roasted peanuts, crisp-fried onions, and
coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...
. This dish is similar to the Chinese dish ''
liangfen ''Liangfen'' ( zh, s=凉粉, t=涼粉, hp=liángfěn, l=cool rice noodles), also spelled ''liang fen'', is a Chinese cuisine, Chinese legume dish consisting of starch jelly that is usually served cold, with a savory sauce, often in the summer.Wil ...
''. * (တိုဖူးကြော်သုပ်) refers to tofu fritters cut up and served as a salad as above. * (တိုဖူးနွေး, ) or (တိုဖူးပျော့, ) is the soft creamy tofu served hot before it sets, usually as a salad dressed and garnished the same way. It may be combined in the same dish with tofu fritters or rice noodles.


Curried

* '' To hpu gyet'' (တိုဟူးချက်) - Sliced yellow tofu may also be curried with fresh tomatoes, onions and garlic, cooked in peanut oil and
fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...
, and garnished with coriander and green chilli. It makes a good
pescatarian Pescetarianism ( ; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is a dietary practice in which seafood is the only source of meat in an otherwise vegetarian diet. The inclusion of other animal products, such as eggs and dairy, is optional. According to res ...
dish to go with rice, but also popular among the poor if meat or poultry is unaffordable.


Gallery

File:Tophu thoke.JPG, ''To hpu thouk'' - yellow tofu salad is a national favourite. File:Hsan ta hpo.JPG, ''Hsan ta hpo'' (rice tofu) salad from the
Shan States The Shan States were a collection of minor Shan people, Shan kingdoms called ''mueang, möng'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' (''sawbwa''). In British rule in Burma, British Burma, they were analogous to the princely states of Britis ...
is as popular as the yellow Burmese tofu salad. File:IMG Shanhkaukswè.JPG, ''Shan hkauk swè'' (Shan rice noodles) with (tofu fritters) served with ''monnyingyin'' (pickled mustard greens) on the side File:To hpu nway and to hpu gyaw salad.jpg, ''To hpu nway'' (warm Shan tofu) and (Shan tofu fritters) salad combines the creamy and crispy forms into a satisfying meal. File:Twice fried tofu.jpg, - twice fried tofu at Shan Market in Mandalay File:Tofu_crackers.JPG, Fried make great crackers - a welcome treat. File:Street vendor preparing tofu salad.jpg, ''To hpu thouk'' (Shan tofu salad) hawker at Kaingdan Market in Mandalay File:Tofu salad hawker in Myanmar.jpg, ''To hpu thouk'' (Burmese tofu salad) hawker at
Kuthodaw Pagoda Kuthodaw Pagoda (, ; , and formally titled Mahalawka Marazein ) is a Buddhist stupa, located in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), that contains the world's largest book. It lies at the foot of Mandalay Hill and was built during the reign of King Mi ...
, Mandalay


See also

* Cuisine of Myanmar * Dotorimuk * Farinata *
Jidou liangfen ''Liangfen'' ( zh, s=凉粉, t=涼粉, hp=liángfěn, l=cool rice noodles), also spelled ''liang fen'', is a Chinese cuisine, Chinese legume dish consisting of starch jelly that is usually served cold, with a savory sauce, often in the summer.Wil ...
* Memilmuk * Nokdumuk * Panelle *
Tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...


Notes


External links


Burmese tofu recipeLarge scale manufacture of Shan tofu
Inle Lake, Myanmar - video {{Legume dishes Burmese cuisine Tofu Legume dishes Chickpea dishes