tofu tasting like blue cheese - how to make?

[telegiovi]

Dears, I would love to make tofu like blue cheese; is there a tutorial online? Or a web page for tofu lovers? Thank you!

[abcdefg]

Do you mean fermented tofu, such as 腐乳 or 卤腐？The process is different from making "stinky" cheese. And the finished product does not taste like blue cheese although it is very pleasant, very pungent, very prized in some Chinese cuisine. 

 

Recipes for 腐乳 are not hard to find in Chinese. Note that quite a few regional variations exist. 

 

Start here for an overview: https://baike.baidu.com/item/腐乳/813421?fr=aladdin 

And here for more of the technical aspects: https://baike.baidu.com/item/自制豆腐乳/2335633 

 

What I actually think might be best is to just buy some either in the Chinatown of a nearby city or on Amazon and taste it to be sure you like it before investing a lot of time and trouble in learning how to reproduce the taste at home. 

 

Here's an English-language method that I just now found. (Have not tried it; cannot vouch for it.) 

https://www.yumofchina.com/how-to-make-fermented-tofu/ 

 

[imron]

As a lover of blue cheese myself, OP is almost certainly wanting to make 臭豆腐 (stinky tofu). 
 

The first time I tried 臭豆腐 my first thought was “this tastes like blue cheese’!

[telegiovi]

Thank you for your answers. I am italian and live in Italy. Unfortunately I do not understand chinese and so cannot join forums and blogs about tofu.

Tofu is a very interesting food. I like it and I make it for our shop of organic food in my town.  Chinese people living in the nieghborhood buy it and say that it is good. This makes me very happy.  What I would like to produce is fermented tofu; but not in the same way chinese do but with a more italian taste. If possible.

I was in Taiwan and was tasting "stinky tofu". The smell is horrible (for me), but the taste was good!   The problem with fermenting tofu is that I fear botulinum which can be developed by fermenting protein rich food. I need someone to talk to (forum or blog) in order to have a kind of tutor.     As an example, I was trying some kind of fermentation and after 4 days I got that tofu (see picture). But I was afraid to taste it and had nobody to ask if that appearance means "good" or "bad".   So I am looking to find a way to start tofu fermentation correctly and after trying to let it develope a taste in a more italian way without sugar.   Thank you

[abcdefg]

On 1/25/2022 at 4:49 AM, telegiovi said:

I was in Taiwan and was tasting "stinky tofu". The smell is horrible (for me), but the taste was good! 

 

I know what you mean! In Taipei several years ago I visited a "stinky tofu shop" as part of a food tour. They offered several grades of pungency, from mild to extreme. Some definitely resembled blue cheese. Unfortunately, I don't know how to make it. I respect your concern about doing it safely. Nothing would be worse than making your customers sick. 

[vellocet]

This is the wrong forum to be asking on.  You need a cooking forum, one that specializes in fermented foods.  It's out there, somewhere...

[Jellyfish]

That sounds like a fun project! Have you tried this video yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti0Tw93zG8k

 

I'm glad you didn't try your first experiment; as a rule of thumb, in fermentation, blue mould can be the right (tasty and harmless) type you want, whereas red mould tends to be the bad stuff. This looks pretty red or pink to me so something went wrong there I think.

Would be great if you could share results here if you try another method! I'd certainly be interested in how it all turns out.

[telegiovi]

On 1/26/2022 at 1:51 AM, vellocet said:

You need a cooking forum, one that specializes in fermented foods.  It's out there, somewhere...

 

Thank you vellocet. This is what I am looking for. Glad if you could share a link!

[telegiovi]

Thank you Jallyfish!  This of "red or blue mould" is the first important information I receive ! Great !  I was watching the video on stinky tofu.  It is very well explained but I am looking for a fermented tofu to be eaten "as it is" without frying.  

[Jan Finster]

On 1/25/2022 at 11:49 AM, telegiovi said:

The problem with fermenting tofu is that I fear botulinum which can be developed by fermenting protein rich food.

Really interesting your remark on botulism:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6226a1.htm

http://scitech.people.com.cn/BIG5/n1/2016/0726/c1007-28584436.html

http://www.81.cn/zghjy/2016-07/24/content_7170781.htm

 

 

[Jellyfish]

On 1/26/2022 at 2:16 PM, telegiovi said:

I am looking for a fermented tofu to be eaten "as it is" without frying

 

I see! That changes things.

 

I know you said you can't read Chinese but I found this:

https://mip.zuofan.cn/175538.html

 

I think you should be able to get by with google translate and pictures. What GT will no doubt translate as "white wine" is in fact baijiu, a very strong (usually 50%) clear spirit which you can get at an asian supermarkt or probably replace with any other equally strong spirit since its main purpose is to kill bad bacteria (of course, using a different spirit will alter the taste but you said you want to make an Italian version so that might be just what you're after then!)

 

If anything else isn't clear you can let me know and I can help you translate.

 

[abcdefg]

On 1/25/2022 at 6:51 PM, vellocet said:

This is the wrong forum to be asking on.  You need a cooking forum...

 

Actually, this forum does have a food and drink section, even though it is less active than it once was. Tofu, in its many forms, has a prominent place in China life. Here are a few links to tofu discussions and tofu recipes:

 

• https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/57002-neighborhood-tofu-a-short-practical-tour/#comment-441841
• https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/54450-getting-the-most-from-shiping-tofu-香煎石屏豆腐/#comment-418186
• https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/56990-addictive-smoked-tofu-青椒豆腐干/#comment-441718 

 

 

 

[telegiovi]

Very interesting abcdefg! I love to learn everything about tofu.  There was a  video (unfortunately has been cancelled) about tofu made with seawater as coagulant; I did it and got a very nice product.  What I like to understand are technical details; for example how important is soy milk temperature when putting coagulant? Is it true that in China a lower soy milk temperature is preferred? Why?   I would have more and more questions but I don't want to put too many at once.

[abcdefg]

On 1/26/2022 at 12:18 PM, telegiovi said:

What I like to understand are technical details; for example how important is soy milk temperature when putting coagulant? Is it true that in China a lower soy milk temperature is preferred? Why?   

 

I understand, @telegiovi. Wish I could help you with questions of that sort, but I've never made tofu myself, only cooked with it. I will continue looking for some better on-line resources for what you need. 

[Jellyfish]

On 1/27/2022 at 12:26 AM, abcdefg said:

Actually, this forum does have a food and drink section, even though it is less active than it once was.

 

Thank you for bringing that up, I was also going to point this out in my first reply but forgot. I for one love reading food and drink related posts on here!

The fact that the food and drinks section is less active than it used to be is probably entirely down to you not being in Kunming at the moment. I really miss your posts and enjoy revisiting old ones!

 

Sorry for detailing the main discussion about sticky tofu. @telegiovii if you do end up following any of the links and suggestions here or embark on other stinky tofu experiments, please do share your results here if you have time. I'd love to hear more about it.

[abcdefg]

On 1/26/2022 at 5:59 PM, Jellyfish said:

The fact that the food and drinks section is less active than it used to be is probably entirely down to you not being in Kunming at the moment.

 

Yes, I'm afraid that's true. Thanks for your kind words!