Frozen Tofu: A Southern Foodie's Discovery
Spring Festival has passed, and now Xiao Yuan is finally sharing what I learned in Northeast China during the New Year, as well as many foods I had never seen in the south. I mentioned two unfamiliar vegetables in the previous article, and they were very expensive, with vegetables selling for 30 yuan a kilogram.
Today, I'm mainly sharing about frozen tofu. I only knew about soft tofu and old tofu before, but I didn't know about this frozen tofu. It tastes very fragrant and has a slight crispness. This is something that doesn't exist in southern tofu.
That day when I went to the market, I bought a lot of vegetables to store for eating, including this tofu. There was a big uncle selling this northern tofu at the market entrance for two yuan a kilogram, so I bought two kilograms and froze them at home. The taste was surprisingly good!
Tofu comes in two types, southern tofu and northern tofu. Southern tofu is usually made with gypsum tofu, while northern tofu is made with brine tofu. The methods are basically the same, just with different gelling agents. Frozen tofu is not originally called frozen tofu, but brine tofu. It's just that after being frozen in the refrigerator, it appears with a honeycomb-like texture, which is then called frozen tofu.
Brine tofu has a more chewy texture and feels firmer when eaten because it has a lower water content. Brine tofu tastes of bean flavor and looks white with a slight yellow tint. Brine tofu is commonly known as 'old tofu' or 'northern tofu'.
Frozen tofu is often used for braising, boiling soup, and brushing for hot pot. I only ate it boiled during this New Year, and it was very fragrant and tasted great. I teased my grandma and said I wanted to eat frozen tofu every day, and grandpa said I would smell like bean flavor if I ate it every day!
Now, Xiao Yuan will share the recipe for cooking frozen tofu in soup.
Frozen Tofu and White Cabbage Soup— Features: Nutritious, refreshing taste, bean flavor and a slight crispness, simple to make.
IngredientsOne kilogram of brine tofu, several pieces of white cabbage, half a bunch of green onions.
SeasoningsCooking oil, salt, oyster sauce, chicken broth.
——Let's start making——
First step:
Cut the tofu into small square pieces when you get it back. For convenience, put it in a plate and freeze it in the refrigerator for a night. The next day, take it out and add a little water and a little salt to melt it open.Second step: Chop the green onion into and cut the white cabbage into small pieces, prepare. In a pot, heat the oil, add the green onion to stir-fry, then add the white cabbage, add salt and oyster sauce to stir-fry evenly.
Third step: Squeeze the water out of the frozen tofu and add it, pour in boiling water to cover the ingredients, cover the lid and cook for 5 minutes. If it's not salty enough, add a little salt.
Finished product: It doesn't look great, but it tastes great!
Do you guys have a heart for this frozen tofu? Xiao Yuan definitely does, and plans to buy some old tofu to try to freeze it into a honeycomb shape when it's available in the south. If that's possible, that would be awesome! I'm really fascinated by this frozen tofu!
Okay, that's the end of this episode. Thank you for watching, see you next time! 88.
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