Chinese tofu: This delicious food is the best representation of Chinese cuisine – “northern and southern tofu””

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　　Chinese tofu: This delicious food is the best representative of Chinese cuisine – “northern and southern tofu”. In China’s vegetarian dishes, tofu is a common ingredient. One method involves turning soybeans into soy milk; the other involves setting this soy milk solid, using heat and coagulants to turn it into a gelous substance rich in water, which is what we call tofu. That’s why it is often referred to as “plant meat”. 　　Those who are familiar with tofu know that it comes in two types: southern tofu and northern tofu. Southern tofu has a finer texture and contains more moisture, while northern tofu is firmer, more chewy, and has less moisture; it does not break easily when fried or cooked in other ways. When it comes to cooking tofu, it’s necessary to introduce 7 distinctive tofu dishes that will surely make those who love tofu enjoy it even more, and even those who don’t like tofu might come to appreciate it! 1. Two-Color Tofu Balls http://i3.go2yd.com/image.php?url=0EF6bFrc85 Ingredients: North soybean tofu, carrots, spinach, flour, starch, green and red peppers, ** powder Method: 1. Wash the carrots and grate them, then chop the spinach finely. 　　2. Prepare two bowls; break up the northern tofu by hand and divide it into two portions in the bowls, then add an appropriate amount of flour and a small amount of starch. 　　3. Squeeze carrot juice into one bowl, and spinach juice into another; add a little water and mix well. 　　4. Next, add the shredded radish and chopped spinach separately, along with an appropriate amount of salt and five-spice powder. 　　5. Form the two types of pastes into small balls respectively. Add water to a wok and bring it to a boil; add the balls to the boiling water to cook them, then transfer them to a plate. 　　6. Heat a wok with a little oil, add water and soy sauce, then thicken the mixture with cornstarch; stir in salt and **flour to create a dressing, which can be poured over the cooked meatballs. 　　7. Finally, cut the green and red peppers into pieces and sprinkle them on as a garnish. 　　II. Sweet and Sour Tofu in Sauce http://i3.go2yd.com/image.php?url=0EF6bFCEQ0 Ingredients: ketchup, white vinegar, sugar, salt, soy sauce, North China tofu, green onions, white sesame seeds Instructions: 1. First, prepare a sauce by mixing ketchup, white vinegar, sugar, salt, soy sauce, and water. 2. Cut the North China tofu into pieces and fry them in the pan. 　　3. Pour in the seasoning sauce, bring to a boil over high heat, simmer on medium heat to let the flavors blend, then reduce the heat to high to thicken the sauce. 　　4. Remove from the pan and sprinkle with green onions. 　　III. Sesame Tofu Cakes http://i3.go2yd.com/image.php?url=0EF6bFV1NL Ingredients: 400 grams of northern tofu, 150 grams of sesame seeds, 20 grams of wheat flour, 5 grams of cooking wine, 4 grams of salt, 2 grams of monosodium glutamate, 1 gram of five-spice powder, 5 grams of ginger, 120 grams of vegetable oil Instructions: 1. Drain the water from the northern tofu and blend it into a fine paste. 　　2. Add cooking wine, refined salt, monosodium glutamate, five-spice powder, ginger minced, and flour, then mix well. 　　3. Spread the sesame seeds on a plate, and shape the prepared tofu filling into balls the size of egg yolks. 　　4. Coat evenly with sesame seeds, then press into small round cakes with your hands. 　　5. Add oil to the spoon and heat it to 50% temperature; fry the tofu cakes until fully cooked, then remove them and place them on a plate. 　　IV. Silk-Tangled Tofu http://i3.go2yd.com/image.php?url=0EF6bFtCOM Ingredients: Southern tofu, baking powder, white sugar, cooking oil, flour, starch Instructions: 1. Cut the southern tofu into cubes. 　　2. Use four teaspoons of flour, two teaspoons of starch, and one teaspoon of baking powder; mix them with an appropriate amount of water to form a paste. Finally, add a little cooking oil to the paste and stir well. 　　3. Coat the tofu in batter, then dip it in a little starch, and fry it in hot oil until golden brown before removing it. 　　4. Add clear water and white sugar, heat slowly while stirring continuously. As the sugar solution in the pot melts and the bubbles become smaller, and its color turns slightly yellow, remove it from the heat and add the tofu to the pot so that it is evenly coated with the syrup; then it can be served. 　　V. Tofu Glutinous Rice Balls
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Ingredients: Half a box of edamame tofu, an appropriate amount of glutinous rice flour, an appropriate amount of sugar, an appropriate amount of red bean paste, and an appropriate amount of shredded coconut.
Instructions:
1. Soak the edamame tofu in hot water to remove any bean odor, then drain the water and press it into a paste. 　　2. Add glutinous rice flour and sugar; no additional water is needed, just enough to form a dough. 　　3. Roll it into a strip, divide it into portions, shape it into small bowl-like forms with your hands, fill them with an appropriate amount of red bean paste; use your left thumb to press down on the filling while using your right hand to close the shape by rotating it simultaneously. 　　4. Take a large tray, brush it with some oil, place the prepared glutinous rice balls on it. Once the water in the steamer is boiling, put it in the steamer and steam for 5-6 minutes. 　　5. Finally, roll it in the shredded coconut. 　　VI. Steamed Glutinous Rice Tofu Balls http://i3.go2yd.com/image.php?url=0EF6bF033p Ingredients: 150 grams of ground meat, one block of firm tofu, an appropriate amount of long-grain glutinous rice, **flour, ginger minced, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, one egg white, and an appropriate amount of salt. 　　Instructions: 1. Soak the long-grained glutinous rice in water for 2 hours, then drain the water and set aside. 　　2. Blanch the tofu in boiling water and then press it into a paste. 　　3. Add **flour, ginger powder, a teaspoon of sesame oil, one egg white, and salt to the ground meat, then mix well. 　　4. Add the tofu paste from step 2 to the ground meat with the mixed seasonings, and stir in one direction until well combined. 　　5. Roll the mixed tofu and meat paste in the glutinous rice from step 1. 　　6. Place it in the steamer basket and steam for 15 minutes. 　　VII. Tofu and Vegetable Stuffed Bowl http://i3.go2yd.com/image.php?url=0EF6bFLtUS Ingredients: 100g tofu puffs, 40g pork mince, 20g carrots, 20g green peppers, 20g shiitake mushrooms, 20g corn kernels. 3g salt, 2g monosodium glutamate, 4g sesame oil, 3g seafood soy sauce, 4g chopped green onions and ginger, 3g cooking wine, 3g ** powder, 2g sugar. 　　Method: 1. Cut one side of the tofu puffs in half, and use a small spoon to remove the tofu from the center, creating a shape similar to a tofu box. 　　2. Add salt, monosodium glutamate, sesame oil, seafood soy sauce, chopped green onions and ginger, cooking wine, ** powder, and white sugar to the meat mixture, and stir evenly in one direction. 　　3. Chop the dug-out tofu, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, green peppers, and corn kernels, then mix them together with salt, **flour, and monosodium glutamate respectively. 　　4. Place the meat mixture at the bottom of the tofu containers, without filling them completely; then add the other various vegetables on top of the meat mixture, and arrange everything on a plate. 　　5. Put water in the steamer pot, bring it to a boil over high heat, place the dish in it, and steam for 8 minutes over medium heat. 　　How can one not love tofu when it’s prepared in this way? It is said that the digestibility and absorption rate of tofu exceeds 95%; just two small pieces of tofu can meet a person’s daily calcium needs. No wonder tofu is often referred to as \"vegetable meat\" – there’s indeed some truth to that. In fact, there are many more ways to prepare tofu, but I’ll introduce only these for now; we’ll continue next time~