Warm, silken soybean curd so soft it has to be scooped in thin sheets, bathed in a fragrant ginger-and-sugar syrup. Called tao pho in the north, tau hu in the south and dau hu in Hue, it is a soothing street snack sold from baskets carried on a shoulder pole.
A Vietnamese cousin of Chinese douhua, sold by itinerant hawkers who once called out 'Ai tao pho day!' through the streets. Served warm in winter and iced in summer, it varies in syrup spicing by region.
The curd is almost weightless, dissolving on the tongue like warm custard. The ginger syrup is sweet and gently spicy, its heat lingering pleasantly after each cool, slippery spoonful.
A coagulant cross-links soy proteins into the softest possible gel when hot milk is poured in and left still. Ginger's gingerol gives the syrup a warming pungency that balances the sweetness.
Variations
Served with tapioca pearls, pandan tofu, coconut milk, or iced in summer (tau hu da)
On the Palate
Where Tau Hu Nuoc Duong sits in the Vietnamese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 115 min
Blend soaked soybeans with water and strain to extract fresh soy milk.
- 215 min
Cook the soy milk gently, skimming any skin, then let it cool slightly.
Watch outCook the soy milk gently and skim the skin — a hard boil scorches the bottom and leaves a burnt note in the tofu.
- 32 min
Dissolve a coagulant such as gypsum or GDL in a little water in the setting pot.
- 41 min
Pour the hot soy milk swiftly into the coagulant and leave it undisturbed to set.
Watch outPour the hot milk in fast and in one go, then don't touch it — jostling the pot while it sets breaks the curd and weeps water.
- 512 min
Simmer sliced ginger with sugar and water to make a fragrant syrup.
Watch outSimmer the ginger long enough to smell warm and sharp — that pungency is what keeps the syrup from being flat sweet.
- 63 min
Add pandan leaf to the syrup for extra aroma if desired.
- 73 min
Scoop the set tofu in thin curds into bowls with a flat spoon.
Watch outScoop in wide flat sheets, not chunks — dragging the spoon sideways keeps the curd silky instead of grainy.
- 82 min
Ladle the warm ginger syrup over the tofu and serve, hot or over ice.
