An iconic Taiwanese street food dessert: freshly coagulated silken tofu, topped with a warm ginger syrup and meltingly soft candied peanuts.
Ingredients
- 1 l unsweetened soy milk
- 1 tsp nigari (food-grade magnesium chloride)
- 150 g raw unsalted shelled peanuts
- 120 g light brown sugar
- 30 g fresh ginger
- 1.5 l water
- 1 pinch baking soda
Method
- The day before, rinse the raw peanuts and soak them in a large volume of cold water. Let soak overnight to rehydrate them completely.
- Drain the peanuts. Place them in a saucepan covered with water and a pinch of baking soda. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Cover and simmer until the peanuts are very tender; they should easily crush between your fingers without resistance.
- While the peanuts are cooking, prepare the ginger syrup. Thinly slice the fresh ginger without peeling it. Place it in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Let simmer for a few minutes to infuse well, then add a portion of the brown sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and keep warm.
- When the peanuts are tender, add the remaining brown sugar to the saucepan. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring gently, until the liquid becomes slightly syrupy and coats the peanuts. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
- Prepare the douhua: heat the soy milk in a saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles start to form around the edges; the milk must not boil. Remove from the heat.
- Dilute the nigari in a little cold water. Pour the diluted nigari in a thin stream into the soy milk while stirring gently with a spoon; make a few slow figure-eight motions without over-mixing.
- Cover the saucepan and let rest undisturbed. The milk will coagulate into a soft and creamy tofu. The sensory cue: the surface becomes firm but slightly jiggly, like a barely set custard.
- To assemble: gently scoop layers of douhua with a wide spoon, skimming the surface to get tender flakes. Divide them among individual bowls.
- Top each bowl with warm ginger syrup, then add a generous spoonful of candied peanuts with their syrup. Serve immediately, hot or warm.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 414.6 kcal
- Protein
- 18.1 g
- Carbohydrate
- 39.14 g
- Fat
- 23.03 g
- Fibre
- 4.64 g
- Calcium
- 372.97 mg
- Iron
- 0.63 mg
- Magnesium
- 65.33 mg
